Biggest shake-up in health and social care leadership in a generation to improve patient care

Biggest shake-up in health and social care leadership in a generation to improve patient care The Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid has welcomed the publication of an independent review of health and adult social care leadership, led by General Sir Gordon Messenger and Dame Linda Pollard – and, in what will be the biggest shake-up in health and social care leadership in a generation, is accepting all 7 transformative recommendations they have put forward. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• The King’s Fund response to review of leadership in health and care The King's Fund

Policy paper: Coronavirus: lessons learned to date report: government response

Policy paper: Coronavirus: lessons learned to date report: government response The government’s response to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee joint report 'Coronavirus: lessons learned to date'. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Government accepts or partially accepts majority of MPs’ recommendations on response to coronavirus pandemic Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee 
• Vaccine Taskforce to merge with UKHSA and OLS  Department of Health and Social Care
• Official Statistics: National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports: 2021 to 2022 season UK Health Security Agency

Covid infections up after Platinum Jubilee celebrations

Covid infections up after Platinum Jubilee celebrations Covid infections are up across the UK, according to latest figures that capture the Jubilee weekend of partying.

An estimated 1.4 million people or one in 45 has the virus - up from one in 65 the week before. That's a rise of 43%.

Experts say two new fast-spreading subvariants of Omicron -called BA.4 and BA.5 - are behind some of the new infections. BBC News

See also:

• BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron: How worried should we be? BBC News
• 'Long Covid' risk lower with Omicron, study finds BBC News
• UK health chiefs aren't considering jabbing babies against Covid yet The Daily Mail
• Experts tear apart flawed survey which anti-vaxxers have hailed as proof that jabs were never needed The Daily Mail
• Covid hospital numbers consistently rise for first time since April The Daily Telegraph
• UK Covid infection rate rising, with more than a million cases in England The Guardian
• Covid infections increased by 43% in week after platinum jubilee, new estimates show The Independent
• Desperate couple with long Covid planned suicide as ‘neglected’ sufferers struggle The Independent
• Former PMs urge government to increase spending on infectious diseases after Covid setbacks The Independent
• We could be heading into a summer surge of COVID Sky News

England appoints ambassador to shake up women's health

England appoints ambassador to shake up women's health England's first women's health ambassador is calling for "one-stop shops" where women can sort out their health needs.

Dame Lesley Regan, also a practising doctor, wants to make it easier for women and girls to access care such as contraception and smear tests in the community.

Her new role aims to close the "gender health gap". BBC News

See also:

• Dame Lesley Regan appointed Women's Health Ambassador Department of Health and Social Care

NHS takes action to tackle overprescribing

NHS takes action to tackle overprescribing England’s top doctor has refuted the concept of a “pill for every ill” as the NHS in England pledged to take action to reduce unnecessary prescriptions.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for the NHS in England, raised concerns that the Covid-19 pandemic could have exacerbated the problem. The Independent

NHS will miss target for 50,000 more nurses by 2024, leaked data shows

NHS will miss target for 50,000 more nurses by 2024, leaked data shows The government is set to break Boris Johnson’s key manifesto pledge to add 50,000 NHS nurses to the workforce by 2024, leaked data shows.

New NHS modelling, seen by The Independent, indicates that the government could miss its target by more than 10,000.

It comes despite claims from health secretary Sajid Javid in April that the government was on track to meet its election promise.

NHS England already under as much pressure as in winter, says boss

NHS England already under as much pressure as in winter, says boss Frontline NHS services are already under as much pressure as they usually face in the winter, due to lack of staff and hospitals’ inability to discharge patients, the health service’s boss said on Wednesday.

In a speech to senior health service managers, NHS England’s chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, admitted that cuts to the number of beds had gone too far. But she blamed difficulties in social care for hospitals being left unable to admit the growing number of seriously ill people needing care urgently and patients being left stranded in the back of ambulances outside A&E units. The Guardian

See also:

• Hospital waiting list 6.5 million in England BBC News
• Ambulance waits: 'Can you please tell them to hurry up or I shall be dead' BBC News
• NHS waiting list shoots to ANOTHER record high as crisis leaves 6.5MILLION patients stuck in queue The Daily Mail
• How badly is the NHS crisis affecting your hospital? The Daily Mail
• Almost 100,000 facing excessive wait for serious cardiac care in England  The Guardian
• The Guardian view on ambulance waiting times: signs of a collapsing NHS | Editorial The Guardian

New strike chaos as teachers and NHS staff warn of action over pay

New strike chaos as teachers and NHS staff warn of action over pay A wave of 1970s-style economic unrest is threatening to spread from the railways across the public services, as unions representing teachers and NHS workers warn of potential industrial action over pay. The Guardian

UK monkeypox outbreak not yet under control, say experts

UK monkeypox outbreak not yet under control, say experts The monkeypox outbreak in the UK is not yet under control, experts have warned, with some suggesting that vaccines may need to be offered to all men who have sex with men.

Monkeypox, which is to be given a new name by the World Health Organization (WHO), is typically found in west and central Africa, but an unprecedented outbreak in recent weeks has resulted in cases appearing in a host of countries from France to Canada and Australia. It is understood the WHO will hold a meeting next week to decide whether to label the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. The Guardian

Horror flu season in Australia prompts warnings virus will cause havoc in Britain this winter

Horror flu season in Australia prompts warnings virus will cause havoc in Britain this winter Concerns are being raised about a major flu outbreak this winter in Britain and the US as the virus wreaks havoc in Australia.

Experts have been warning about the potential of an influenza surge throughout the pandemic, with lockdown thought to have weakened people's immune systems.

So far those fears have not materialised in the northern hemisphere, but Australia is currently in the midst of its worst flu season in years. The Daily Mail

Hope for drug-resistant superbugs as NHS strikes deal with pharmaceutical companies

Hope for drug-resistant superbugs as NHS strikes deal with pharmaceutical companies New drugs to fight superbugs are to be given to hundreds of patients across England as part of a deal which it is hoped will "save lives and strike a blow" in the global battle against antimicrobial resistance.

Some 1,700 patients a year will be given the new "superbug-busting drugs" on the NHS for infections which have become resistant to traditional antibiotics. Sky News

We will be back on Monday 20th of June

Our health news service will be taking a break due to annual leave, but we will be back on Monday the 20th of June.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

In the meantime, you can still get updates from our Twitter feed @NHFTNHSLibrary

No honour in abuse: harnessing the health service to end domestic abuse

No honour in abuse: harnessing the health service to end domestic abuse This report  looks at domestic abuse from a health perspective and states NHS England and the Department of Health must play a greater role in tackling what has traditionally been seen as a criminal justice issue. Health professionals need to be given the training and confidence to call out domestic abuse, which has such an enormous mental and physical impact on survivors, perpetrators, and their children. The health service needs to improve its collaboration with third sector support services which can often be better at meeting the need of victims. Centre for Social Justice

Tackling mental health disparities

Tackling mental health disparities Mental health inequalities mean that while it is true that anyone can experience mental ill health, the risks are much higher for certain groups who experience structural discrimination and disadvantage. This briefing sets out ten evidence-based actions that the government could take in the forthcoming disparities white paper. Centre for Mental Health

Beds in the NHS

Beds in the NHS This report shows that an additional 13,000 staffed beds are required in the NHS across the UK to drive meaningful change and improvement. Meaningful change and improvement would constitute a significant improvement in A&E waiting times, ambulance response times, ambulance handover delays, and a return to safe bed occupancy levels. Royal College of Emergency Medicine

See also:

• Emergency care is in “dire” situation after loss of NHS beds, says royal college The BMJ
• NHS needs 13,000 extra beds with major shortage putting lives at risk The Daily Mail
• Loss of 25,000 NHS beds caused ‘serious patient safety crisis’, finds report The Guardian
• NHS needs 13,000 beds to tackle A&E waiting times and ambulance delays – report The Independent

NHS staffing tracker: General practice

NHS staffing tracker: General practice Monitoring and analysis of key workforce targets and trends.

Most of the contact that people have with the NHS is with general practice: there are an estimated 300 million appointments each year. These services provide the first step in diagnosing and treating most patients’ health conditions. 

What are the trends in staff numbers working in general practice? Nuffield Trust

See also:

• GP pressures being felt across the country, but some areas more impacted than others Royal College of General Practitioners
• The areas with the fewest GPs revealed BBC News

Violent incidents at GP surgeries double in five years

Violent incidents at GP surgeries double in five years Violent incidents at GP surgeries have doubled in less than five years, according to figures from police forces across the UK.

An investigation by the British Medical Journal found the number of assaults at surgeries and health centres resulting in injury had almost doubled too.

Police forces recorded 1,068 violent incidents between 2021 and 2022, up from 586 between 2017 and 2018. BBC News

See also:

• Violent incidents at GP surgeries double in five years, BMJ investigation finds (open access) The BMJ
• RCGP responds to BMJ investigation on increase in abuse against GP staff Royal College of General Practitioners
• GPs tell of ‘appalling’ abuse as violence at UK surgeries worsens The Guardian
• Criminal acts of violence at UK GP surgeries almost double in five years The Guardian

Cervical screening every five years ‘prevents as many cancers as every three’

Cervical screening every five years ‘prevents as many cancers as every three’ Women could be screened for cervical cancer every five years instead of every three and as many cancers could still be prevented, a new study suggests.

Researchers at King’s College London said that screening women aged 24 to 49 who test negative for human papillomavirus (HPV) at five-year intervals prevented as many cancers as screening every three years. The Independent

See also:

• Extension of cervical screening intervals with primary human papillomavirus testing: observational study of English screening pilot data (open access) BMJ
• Women can safely have fewer smears thanks to HPV test BBC News
• Screening every five years safe for women who test negative for HPV, study confirms King's College London

Shrewsbury hospital bed death of ex-police officer ‘avoidable’, inquest rules

Shrewsbury hospital bed death of ex-police officer ‘avoidable’, inquest rules The death of a retired police officer whose head became trapped between the rails and mattress of his hospital bed was an “avoidable accident”, a coroner has concluded.

Max Dingle, 83, died 15 minutes after he was found “entrapped” on a ward at Royal Shrewsbury hospital on 3 May 2020. A senior coroner found resuscitation had not been attempted despite Dingle electing for life-saving intervention and having a pulse when he was found. The Guardian

See also:

• Shrewsbury hospital: Man's bed death was avoidable, says coroner BBC News

Monkeypox: Eleven more cases detected in England, taking UK total to 190

Monkeypox: Eleven more cases detected in England, taking UK total to 190 A further 11 cases of monkeypox have been detected in England, health officials have said.

It brings the total number confirmed since 7 May to 183.

There are also four cases of the virus in Scotland, two in Northern Ireland and one in Wales, taking the UK total to 190, while the first case was reported in Ireland last Saturday. Sky News

See also: 

• UK monkeypox cases rise to 190 as 11 more Brits test positive The Daily Mail
• Warning as monkeypox scam targets NHS patients The Daily Telegraph
  
• Monkeypox isn’t shingles in disguise Full Fact
• Festival season could 'amplify' monkeypox outbreak as nearly 200 cases identified in UK ITV News