Drop-in clinics offering Covid spring booster jabs in bid to keep pressure off hospitals

Drop-in clinics offering Covid spring booster jabs in bid to keep pressure off hospitals Health chiefs are urging people to take up offers of Covid vaccine spring boosters in a bid to slow down the rise in hospital cases and deaths in Northampton. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• NHS tribute made from bed sheets unveiled in Northampton Northants Live

Research: Hepatitis C in England and the UK

Research: Hepatitis C in England and the UK Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health threat in the UK. These reports summarise the scale of the problem and are intended to support focused action. UK Health Security Agency

New calorie labelling rules come into force to improve nation’s health

New calorie labelling rules come into force to improve nation’s health New rules requiring calorie information to be displayed on menus and food labels come into force from Wednesday 6th April 2022.

The changes – which were approved by Parliament in 2021 – mean it is now a legal requirement for large businesses with more than 250 employees, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways, to display calorie information of non-prepacked food and soft drinks. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Calories now appear on menus in large restaurant chains  BBC News

Covid: Blood clot risk higher for six months after having virus

Covid: Blood clot risk higher for six months after having virus After a Covid infection, there is an increased risk of developing a serious blood clot for the next six months, a study from Sweden suggests.

The research found people with severe Covid, and those infected during the first wave, had the highest clot risk.

This highlights the importance of being vaccinated against the virus, the researchers say. BBC News

See also:

• Risks of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and bleeding after covid-19: nationwide self-controlled cases series and matched cohort study (open access) The BMJ
• Covid rates in England are now the 'highest we've EVER seen', mass-testing survey reveals The Daily Mail
• Go to work if you have a headache or feel tired, Sajid Javid says (even though it might be Covid) The Daily Mail
• Cancer patients seriously ill after struggle to access Covid drugs in England The Guardian
• Covid-related deaths rise in England with infections at record high The Guardian
• Sadiq Khan calls on leading vaccine manufacturers to share Covid jab blueprints with world The Independent
• Covid cases: Why so many people are catching coronavirus for the first time now after two years avoiding it iNews

Mental health groups call for trans conversion therapy ban

Mental health groups call for trans conversion therapy ban Mental health bodies in the UK have called for the government to include transgender people in forthcoming legislation to ban conversion therapy.

Last week No 10 rolled back on a promise to include therapies to supress someone's gender identity.

It led to a huge backlash from LGBT organisations and the cancellation of the government's first LGBT conference. BBC News

See also:

• Memorandum of understanding on conversion therapy in the UK The British Psychological Society et al
• Conversion ‘therapy’ ban must protect trans people too - current plans are a betrayal to all trans people Mind
• First trans MP Jamie Wallis hits out at conversion therapy decision BBC News
• Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams urges ministers to include transgender people in proposed conversion therapy ban The Daily Mail
• Battle still on to protect trans people under conversion ban, say Tory MPs The Guardian
• Javid Claims Excluding Trans People From Conversion Therapy Ban Is 'Sensitive' Approach Huffington Post UK
• Boris Johnson defends not banning trans conversion therapy claiming it would harm children with gender doubts The Independent
• UK cancels global LGBT+ conference over trans conversion therapy dispute Reuters
• 'We need to be more careful' when it comes to transgender conversion therapy, says health secretary Sky News

NHS under ‘enormous strain’ in England as trusts declare critical incidents

NHS under ‘enormous strain’ in England as trusts declare critical incidents Hospitals and ambulance services across England are under “enormous strain” fuelled by “heavy demand”, “severe” staff shortages and soaring Covid cases, health leaders have warned after NHS trusts covering millions of patients declared critical incidents.

Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system, said the situation had become so serious that “all parts” of the health service were now becoming “weighed down”.  The Guardian

See also:

• Latest critical incidents highlight mounting pressure on NHS NHS Confederation
• Yorkshire A&E patients face 12-hour wait times amid rise in demand The Guardian
• Almost every hospital bed across Hampshire and Isle of Wight full as Covid rates rocket ITV News
• Critical incident declared at Portsmouth NHS trust hours after South Central Ambulance Service makes same move Sky News

More than a third of British cancer patients are diagnosed in A&E

More than a third of British cancer patients are diagnosed in A&E More patients are diagnosed with cancer in A&E in Britain than in other comparable high-income countries, according to the first major study of its kind. The Guardian

See also:

• Risk factors and prognostic implications of diagnosis of cancer within 30 days after an emergency hospital admission (emergency presentation): an International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) population-based study (open access) The Lancet Oncology

Fury as UK Government-funded vaccine manufacturing site SOLD to private firm

Fury as UK Government-funded vaccine manufacturing site SOLD to private firm A British taxpayer-funded vaccine manufacturing centre was today bought by a US pharmaceutical giant.  

The Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, in Oxford, was built in 2018 with the goal of developing vaccines to protect against future pandemics, jab shortages and price wars. 

But New Jersey-based Catalent has purchased the 74,000-square metre facility for an undisclosed sum. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Harwell VMIC: New vaccine centre sold to company BBC News

Cannabis will be tested as pain relief medication that could pave the way for NHS prescriptions

Cannabis will be tested as pain relief medication that could pave the way for NHS prescriptions Cannabis will be tested as a pain relief drug on thousands of Britons – which, if successful, could see the drug prescribed on the NHS.

Cannabis will be taken daily through inhalers in the trial with 5,000 participants with chronic pain, caused by conditions including arthritis. The Daily Mail 

Time to get tougher on the risk factors fraying our health?

Time to get tougher on the risk factors fraying our health? For the last decade, gains in life expectancy have been stalling. We’re living more years in poor health too, with a 20 year gap in healthy life expectancy between women living in the richest and poorest areas. 

The biggest risk factors driving the UK‘s high burden of ill health are smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use. All are socioeconomically patterned and contribute significantly to widening health inequalities. Podcast from The Health Foundation

Social prescribing standard

Social prescribing standard Social prescribing helps connect people to services that can improve their health and wellbeing, and sharing information is key to ensuring people get the support they need in the community. This standard is designed to help ensure the right information flows between services to support better care and outcomes for people using social prescribing. 

PRSB were asked by NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop an information standard to record an individual’s experience of social prescribing: to support people providing social prescribing services; to support individuals experiencing social prescribing; and to support the information needed for secondary purposes (local and national). Professional Records Standards Body

Inadvertent oral administration of potassium permanganate

Inadvertent oral administration of potassium permanganate A joint National Patient Safety Alert has been issued by the NHS England and NHS Improvement National Patient Safety Team and the British Association of Dermatologists on the risk of inadvertent oral administration of potassium permanganate.

Health and Social Care Levy to raise billions for NHS and social care

Health and Social Care Levy to raise billions for NHS and social care From Wednesday 6 April, the Health and Social Care Levy will come into effect and begin to raise billions to help tackle the Covid backlogs and reform the adult social care system.

Over the next three years, a record £39 billion will be invested in the health and social care system to ensure it has the long-term resource it needs to provide world-class care, while delivering the biggest catch up programme in the NHS’ history. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• £500 million to develop the adult social care workforce Department of Health and Social Care
• National Insurance rise starts to hit pay packets BBC News
• National Insurance: Sajid Javid defends tax hike choice for NHS funding BBC News
• Boris Johnson defends ‘necessary and fair’ National Insurance rise The Daily Telegraph
• Boris Johnson defends tax hike as national insurance rise comes into force The Independent
• When will National Insurance increase? Date the tax is rising and what it means for how much you will pay iNews
• Health and social care levy ‘will help clear NHS backlog’ ministers promise  iNews
• National insurance rise: How will it work and what will it mean for you? Sky News

Covid: React study finds latest wave 'may have peaked' in young

Covid: React study finds latest wave 'may have peaked' in young There are signs that the latest wave of Covid infections may have peaked in children and younger adults, according to scientists tracking the outbreak.

But rates in those older groups most vulnerable to severe disease are continuing to increase in England.

Overall infections in March rose to the highest level recorded in the pandemic, Imperial College's React study found. BBC News

See also: 

• Have I got Covid, a bad cold or something else? BBC News
• Shanghai Covid lockdown extended to entire city BBC News
• Why you DON'T need to panic about new Covid variant 'XE' The Daily Mail
• A NEW Covid variant, named XE, is detected in the UK The Daily Mail
• Thousands of recovered people can't get free test to prove they're negative as infections hit high The Daily Mail
• When should I do a Covid test in England and do I still have to isolate if positive? The Guardian
• Covid-related deaths rise in England with infections at record high The Guardian
• Scientists warn public health at risk as leading Covid surveillance programme ends The Independent

Women are 700% more likely than men to have ‘debilitating’ gut disease

Women are 700% more likely than men to have ‘debilitating’ gut disease Women are 700 per cent more likely than men to have a “debilitating” gut disease called microscopic colitis, new research has found.

The study, carried out by Guts UK, demanded more research is conducted to work out why the gender gap exists to ensure women are diagnosed more quickly and treatment for the illness improves. The Independent

Cancer patients seriously ill after struggle to access Covid drugs in England

Cancer patients seriously ill after struggle to access Covid drugs in England Cancer patients infected with coronavirus in England are becoming seriously ill after they were unable to access antibody or antiviral medicines on the NHS.

Ministers have promised to provide early treatment for 1.3 million people whose immune systems mean they are at higher risk of severe disease, hospitalisation or death. The treatments include the monoclonal antibody sotrovimab (Xevudy) and the antiviral medicines nirmatrelvir and ritonavir (Paxlovid), remdesivir (Veklury), and molnupiravir (Lagevrio). The Guardian 

NHS staffing crisis is jeopardising patients' safe care, say nurses at Northampton and Kettering hospitals

NHS staffing crisis is jeopardising patients' safe care, say nurses at Northampton and Kettering hospitals Patients are at risk of experiencing poor care or harm due to persistent staff shortages, according to nurses in Northamptonshire.

Findings from an annual Royal College of Nursing survey carried out between September and November last year revealed as few as one in six nurses believes there are enough staff for them to do their job properly. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Lack of ‘serious effort’ on cancer workforce shortages risks reversal of survival rates

Lack of ‘serious effort’ on cancer workforce shortages risks reversal of survival rates The absence of a serious effort by Government to tackle gaps in the cancer workforce is jeopardising earlier diagnosis, the key to improving overall survival rates and catching up with comparable countries.

In a highly critical report on cancer services in England, MPs raise the alarm on the damaging and continuing impact of the pandemic and warn of a real risk that gains in cancer survival will reverse. Health and Social Care Committee

See also:

• NHS not making progress on early cancer diagnosis BBC News
• Lack of 'serious effort' on cancer workforce shortages risks reversal of survival rates, scathing MP-led report warns The Daily Mail
• 340,000 cancer patients face late diagnosis due to NHS staff shortages The Guardian
• Warning 340,000 cancer patients could be diagnosed late amid NHS staff shortages The Independent
• Workforce pressures threaten cancer treatment, MPs warn The News Statesman
• Key target for waiting times on cancer treatment missed in 98% of NHS England areas in January Sky News

Five relationships that are essential to successfully managing the elective backlog

Five relationships that are essential to successfully managing the elective backlog Now that the national plan to tackle the elective backlog is public, thoughts will be turning to how to achieve the challenging task ahead. A week before the plan was published, we held a roundtable, supported by Novartis, with local health care leaders to discuss just that. The King's Fund

What next for NHS management? Messages for Messenger

What next for NHS management? Messages for Messenger A review of leadership in health and social care, led by General Sir Gordon Messenger, is underway and due to report in spring 2022. Ahead of the review’s recommendations, the NHS Confederation and independent academics from the University of York and London South Bank University are publishing a series of long reads on NHS management. In this final instalment, Professor Ian Kirkpatrick and Professor Becky Malby examine the implications for the future of NHS management and provide some key messages for the Messenger review and for systems leaders. NHS Confederation