Omicron 'not mild for everyone' warning issued in Northants

Omicron 'not mild for everyone' warning issued in Northants The Director of Northamptonshire's Vaccination Programme has issued a stark warning to locals.

Chris Pallot, who has run the vaccination programme since it was set up in the county at the end of 2020 has warned locals that the new Omicron variant of Covid "is not mild for everybody". Northants Live

See also: 

• Clinically extremely vulnerable people struggle to access Covid antiviral drugs despite guidelines iNews
• Former Covid patient launches fundraiser for Northampton General Hospital to get a family room after they saved her life Northampton Chronicle and Echo
• 19 neighbourhoods and villages in Northamptonshire with the highest Covid rates Northamptonshire Telegraph
• Kettering restaurant boss given big Covid fine after hosting lockdown wedding Northamptonshire Telegraph
• What Northants was up to while Downing Street hosted garden party Northants Live

Air ambulance scrambled to 375 missions in Northants last year

Air ambulance scrambled to 375 missions in Northants last year The Northamptonshire air ambulance was called to nearly 400 missions last year.

During 2021, air ambulances across the midlands were called to 3,300 missions as the service remained fully in operation despite covid restrictions. Northants Live 

The full list of products recalled by major supermarkets after salmonella warning

The full list of products recalled by major supermarkets after salmonella warning Supermarkets Tesco, Aldi, Morrisons,Sainsbury’s and Asda have issued an urgent warning after salmonella was found in several products

Bake Away products are among the items being affected, such as their ready-to-roll raw pastry and dough products. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

Chart of the week: The rise, fall and rise again of NHS staff sickness absences

Chart of the week: The rise, fall and rise again of NHS staff sickness absences With staff absences in the NHS having been in the headlines recently, Billy Palmer looks at the daily number of staff absent through sickness or self-isolation across NHS acute trusts in England since the start of the pandemic. The numbers are presented as an average across seven days. Nuffield Trust

Past and projected period and cohort life tables: 2020-based, UK, 1981 to 2070

Past and projected period and cohort life tables: 2020-based, UK, 1981 to 2070 Life expectancy (eₓ), probability of dying (qₓ) and number of persons surviving (lₓ) from the period and cohort life tables, using past and projected mortality data from the 2020-based interim national population projections (NPPs), for the UK and constituent countries. Office for National Statistics

See also: 

• Life expectancy calculator Office for National Statistics
• Latest data shows that a child born in the UK today will die nearly 5 years earlier than previously predicted The Health Foundation
• Children born today will die five years earlier than predicted a decade ago as life expectancy falls The Independent

‘Miracle’ Cystic Fibrosis Treatment For Children on The NHS

‘Miracle’ Cystic Fibrosis Treatment For Children on The NHS Hundreds of children are set to benefit from a ‘miracle’ treatment for cystic fibrosis, which has already changed the lives of thousands of people, the NHS has announced today. Patients here were some of the first in Europe to benefit from Kaftrio when NHS England secured a landmark deal in June 2020. NHS England 

More than 40 million people have now had a second jab after bumper week

More than 40 million people have now had a second jab after bumper week More than 40 million second doses have now been delivered by the NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, after a bumper week saw over 200,000 people come forward for their second jab. NHS England 

About 4.3 million Covid infections estimated in UK

About 4.3 million Covid infections estimated in UK About 4.3 million people in the UK had a Covid infection in the week up to 7 January - up from 3.7 million the previous week, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates.

That is 6.7% of the population, but the rise in people testing positive is slowing down in all four UK nations. BBC News

See also:

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey headline results, UK: 12 January 2022 Office for National Statistics
• Care services struggle with Omicron staff-sickness spike BBC News
• Covid: Hospital staff come in on days off to cover absences BBC News
• In full: Boris Johnson's apology over lockdown drinks party BBC News
• Boris Johnson: Senior Tories urge PM to quit after party apology BBC News
• What has the PM said before about No 10 parties? BBC News
• Covid: Chile starts fourth vaccine dose amid rise in cases BBC News
• Face masks can slash distance infectious Covid droplets travel by up to EIGHT-FOLD, study suggests The Daily Mail
• 'Eventually it will have to break': LMC alert systems show general practice in distress GPonline
• Sajid Javid urged to delay mandatory jabs for NHS staff in England The Guardian
• Use of ‘VIP lane’ to award Covid PPE contracts unlawful, high court rules The Guardian
• ‘What we saw alarmed us’: the long fight to expose ‘VIP lane’ Covid contracts The Guardian
• Boris Johnson admits attending Downing Street party during lockdown The Guardian
• Covid loses almost all its ability to infect beyond short distances, new study finds The Independent
• ‘Deltacron’: New Covid variant or laboratory error? The Independent
• Man fined £100 for standing in the street same day No 10 accused of holding party The Independent
• COVID-19: Patient in intensive care regrets being 'too lazy' to get vaccine Sky News

6m people on hospital waiting lists in England

6m people on hospital waiting lists in England The number of people on a hospital waiting list in England has hit 6 million for the first time, NHS data shows.

Around one in 20 of those have been waiting more than a year.

This figure is for the end of November and covers operations such as knee and hip surgery. That is before Omicron hit so it is likely these figures will have worsened. BBC News

Jonathan Van-Tam stepping down as deputy chief medical officer

Jonathan Van-Tam stepping down as deputy chief medical officer Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, is stepping down from his position, it has been announced.

One of England’s most recognisable and trusted medics of the pandemic, Prof Van-Tam is set to return to the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Nottingham, where he has been on secondment from since 2017. The Independent 

PROF KAROL SIKORA warns thousands of lives will be lost to cancer without urgent action

PROF KAROL SIKORA warns thousands of lives will be lost to cancer without urgent action Anyone who tuned into the debate today amongst a smattering of MPs on the issue of access to radiotherapy would have found it a truly sobering experience.

MPs from all parties lined up to set out in chilling terms the desperate situation we are now facing with cancer. In their words, it is a crisis in every shape and form. The Daily Mail 

UK doctors could soon begin giving heart transplant patients organs from PIGS after US case

UK doctors could soon begin giving heart transplant patients organs from PIGS after US case Transplant patients could routinely be given animal organs within years, according to the surgeon behind the world's first operation to give a dying man a pig heart.

Many experts see the field – known as xenotransplantation – as a solution to a global shortage of human organ donors that is expected to get worse as we live longer.

Last week, a genetically modified pig heart was transplanted into a terminally ill heart failure patient and the organ appears to be functioning properly so far. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Three ethical issues around pig heart transplants BBC News
• First pig heart to human transplant is a game-changer, say surgeons BBC News

Military personnel brought in to support East Midlands Ambulance Service with non-emergency responses

Military personnel brought in to support East Midlands Ambulance Service with non-emergency responses Arrangements have been made for 60 military personnel to support East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) with responding to non-emergency patients in the coming weeks. Northamptonshire Telegraph 

Integration and innovation in action: community capacity

Integration and innovation in action: community capacity This report outlines a range of examples where NHS organisations are working collaboratively to improve outcomes for patients and local communities. Based on interviews with NHS leaders, it reflects on the opportunities and challenges of models of care that aim to treat patients in the community. NHS Confederation 

Diverting children from unnecessary hospital attendances in York

Diverting children from unnecessary hospital attendances in York This case study shows how local GP provider organisation Nimbuscare worked with the local authority, volunteers, local businesses and health providers in York to turn an area of wasteland into the beginnings of a health village. The disused car park hosts an innovative paediatric hub pilot scheme to help prevent under-fives from going into hospital, provides preventative health checks and delivers flu, Covid-19 and booster vaccinations on behalf of the eleven GP practices within the city. NHS Confederation 

People with a positive lateral flow test no longer required to take confirmatory PCR test

People with a positive lateral flow test no longer required to take confirmatory PCR test From 11 January, most people with a positive lateral flow test do not need to take a confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test to confirm they have COVID-19. UK Health Security Agency 

Is the worst of Omicron really over?

Is the worst of Omicron really over? Covid cases in the UK are on the way down - at least according to the daily figures released by the government.

The number of cases confirmed over the past seven days is 13% down on the previous week.

But does this really mean the Omicron wave has peaked? BBC News

See also: 

• Covid: Half of Europe to be infected with Omicron within weeks - WHO BBC News
• Covid: Quebec to impose health tax on unvaccinated Canadians BBC News
• Covid-19 vaccine: Why are some athletes so reluctant to get the jab? BBC News
• Downing Street party: What Covid rules would it have broken? BBC News
• MPs demand answers over Covid drinks claim BBC News
• Doctor reveals every critically ill Covid patient being treated at his hospital is unvaccinated The Daily Mail
• Pfizer plans to produce up to 100 million doses of new Omicron-specific Covid vaccine by spring The Daily Mail
• Garden party hangover might explain why Boris Johnson didn’t sack Dominic Cummings straight away The Daily Telegraph
• What does the Omicron winter crisis mean for the NHS? The Guardian
• One in seven could still be infectious after five-day Covid isolation The Guardian
• ‘The party’s over, Boris’: what the papers say about Johnson’s No 10 crisis The Guardian
• UK records 379 Covid deaths and 120,821 new cases as PCR test rule change begins The Independent
• No 10 staff told to ‘clean up’ phones amid lockdown party allegations, sources claim The Independent
• Police fined more than 800 people for breach of Covid rules in week of Downing Street party The Independent

RSV: Parents should be alert to symptoms of common winter virus

RSV: Parents should be alert to symptoms of common winter virus A charity is warning parents to be alert to a common winter virus that can cause breathing problems in very young children.

The British Lung Foundation says respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) could rebound in January after few cases last winter - but numbers are currently low.

As with Covid, most children have mild symptoms but a small number need hospital treatment. BBC News 

Ex-NHS chief bids to force ministers to 'reveal hand' on mental health cash

Ex-NHS chief bids to force ministers to 'reveal hand' on mental health cash A move that would force the Government to show it is “putting its money where its mouth is” on mental health funding has been proposed at Westminster by a former NHS boss.

Against the backdrop of other pressing issues such as tackling operation waiting lists, Lord Stevens of Birmingham stressed the need for the sector to remain a priority. The Independent 

As a paramedic, I see an NHS ambulance service at breaking point, letting down those who need it most

As a paramedic, I see an NHS ambulance service at breaking point, letting down those who need it most | The Secret Paramedic Patients wait up to 12 hours. Some die waiting. How long must we wait for this dire situation to improve?

Waiting, and waiting, and waiting. For a GP appointment, a routine screening, a vaccine. To see a clinician in A&E, or for an ambulance to take you there. Waiting for a referral appointment, for the community nurse to arrive, for a care worker to call. The NHS waiting list feels endless. The Guardian