Northampton General Hospital awarded £20.6 million Government grant to replace fossil fuel heating

Northampton General Hospital awarded £20.6 million Government grant to replace fossil fuel heating Northampton General Hospital (NGH) has been awarded a multi-million pound Government grant to replace fossil fuel heating with more renewable sources.

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy announced the £20.6 million grant as part of its public sector decarbonisation schemes, which aim to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75 percent by 2037. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• Kettering General Hospital achieves green travel award Northamptonshire Telegraph

Northamptonshire population rises by 13.5% shows census

Northamptonshire population rises by 13.5% shows census Northamptonshire's population has grown by 13.5% in the past 10 years, results of the 2021 census from the Office for National Statistics have shown. BBC Northampton

What do NHS leaders want from the health disparities white paper?

What do NHS leaders want from the health disparities white paper? Ahead of the publication of the health disparities white paper, NHS Confederation members have identified four priorities in a briefing they hope it will reflect. These priorities are: health equity in all policies, incentivise prevention, inclusive innovation, integration and access and action on the cost-of-living crisis for communities. NHS Confederation

PSNC Pharmacy Advice Audit 2022

PSNC Pharmacy Advice Audit 2022 This year’s audit report finds that more than 1.2 million consultations a week – or 65 million a year – are now being carried out by community pharmacy teams in England. The audit of over 4,000 community pharmacies, carried out earlier this year, recorded 82,872 informal patient consultations, with the average pharmacy completing 19 consultations per day. Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published The main points from this week’s national influenza and COVID-19 surveillance report are:

Surveillance indicators suggest that, at a national level, COVID-19 activity has increased in several indicators in week 25 of 2022.

The number of acute respiratory infection incidents (suspected outbreaks) increased in England to 382 in week 25, compared to 261 in the previous week. UK Health Security Agency

Guidance: Who can issue fit notes: guidance for healthcare professionals and their employers

Guidance: Who can issue fit notes: guidance for healthcare professionals and their employers Guidance to provide advice to doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists, physiotherapists and their employers about certifying fit notes. Department of Health and Social Care

New treatments to tackle pandemic of drug-resistant infections

New treatments to tackle pandemic of drug-resistant infections New treatments to tackle drug-resistant infections that pose the greatest threat to global health are to be developed following a multi-million-pound investment by the UK government.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – where serious infections have evolved so much that antibiotics and other current treatments are no longer effective – is a silent killer costing millions of lives across the world a year, with one in five of these deaths in children under the age of 5. Department of Health and Social Care

Patients to benefit following clinical research boost

Patients to benefit following clinical research boost Patients across the UK will benefit from a super-charged clinical research system, backed by £175 million of dedicated investment, which will save lives across the country.

The UK-wide plan published on Thursday 30th June, will enable innovative research to be carried out more quickly, helping patients access cutting-edge treatments sooner, speeding up diagnosis and helping to bust the Covid backlogs. Department of Health and Social Care

See also:

• Policy paper: The Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery: 2022 to 2025 implementation plan Department of Health and Social Care

Help 999 teams find missing heart defibrillators

Help 999 teams find missing heart defibrillators Ambulance services are appealing for the public's help to find 70,000 defibrillator devices scattered in community locations across the UK.

The machines can be a life-saver for people having a cardiac arrest.

Most of the devices, which deliver an electric shock to get the heart pumping properly, will be in public places such as sports clubs and supermarkets.

The emergency services, helped by Ordnance Survey and the British Heart Foundation, want to map the locations. BBC News

Pride: Stay at home if you have monkeypox symptoms

Pride: Stay at home if you have monkeypox symptoms London's top public-health doctor is urging anyone with monkeypox symptoms not to attend Pride events this weekend.

Prof Kevin Fenton said people needed to watch out for unusual rashes, blisters, fevers and swollen glands.

There have been more than 1,000 confirmed monkeypox cases in the UK since 6 May, the latest official figures show. BBC News

See also:

• Public health advice for gatherings during the current monkeypox outbreak World Health Organization
• 'I never thought it would be something that I would get' BBC News
• Monkeypox shows that if we can’t talk openly about sex and disease, bigots will The Guardian
• Monkeypox mutating 12 times faster than expected amid warning UK cases could hit ‘60,000 a day’ The Independent
• 'Sustained transmission' of monkeypox risks vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, children and the immunocompromised, warns WHO Sky News

Covid fifth wave: Hospitals bring back masks on wards just weeks after rules relaxed

Covid fifth wave: Hospitals bring back masks on wards just weeks after rules relaxed Hospitals are bringing back requirements for masks on wards just weeks after rules were relaxed as Covid rates spike, The Independent can reveal.

Experts have warned of a surge in cases, believed to be the fifth wave, with one in 40 people in the UK testing positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, latest NHS data shows more than 8,000 Covid-positive patients on wards following a warning of a “deleterious” impact on hospital waiting times.

See also:

• What pandemic? Isolated British island that still hasn't had one Covid case The Daily Mail
• Unequal impact of COVID-19 'utterly predictable' amid rising inequality, says Marmot GPonline
• Doctors treat first UK patient in Covid ‘super donor’ blood trial The Guardian
• Yes, the number of Covid cases in the UK is rising – but that is no cause for alarm Matt Hancock The Guardian
• How Long Until Covid Cases Start To Go Down Again? Huffington Post UK
• Covid infection rates in UK approach record high amid wave of cases after Glastonbury The Independent
• Will there be another lockdown? Why rising Covid cases in the UK are unlikely to spark new restrictions iNews
• COVID infections rise in 110 countries as WHO's director general warns pandemic is far from over Sky News

High-street blood checks promised in NHS England shake-up

High-street blood checks promised in NHS England shake-up blood checks will be available in betting shops and specialists in children’s mental health drafted in to GP surgeries in some parts of England as part of a major shake-up of the NHS.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS England’s chief executive, pledged that 42 new “integrated care systems” (ICSs) launched on Friday would “transform” how healthcare is provided and cut avoidable deaths. The Guardian

NHS ambulance of the future? Experts claim this sleek vehicle could revolutionise the aging fleet

NHS ambulance of the future? Experts claim this sleek vehicle could revolutionise the aging fleet An electric ambulance which uses Formula 1 technology and is fitted with X-ray machines could be coming to a hospital near you.

The sleek six-wheeler Integro-E can go twice as fast as the NHS' current fleet of vans and is kitted out with all of the medical gear needed to 'bring the hospital to patients'.

There has been a drive in the NHS towards more eco-friendly vehicles over the past decade, with health bosses insisting on making the health service carbon neutral by 2045. The Daily Mail 

Fresh call for people in Northamptonshire to get their Covid-19 vaccinations

Fresh call for people in Northamptonshire to get their Covid-19 vaccinations As infection levels rise in Northamptonshire, the NHS is urging those eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations to come forward as soon as possible.

People aged 75 and over or 12 and over with a weakened immune system are particularly being reminded to get a spring booster vaccine. Northamptonshire Telegraph

More than a quarter of GP and general practice nursing posts could be vacant in 10 years

More than a quarter of GP and general practice nursing posts could be vacant in 10 years New analysis published today by the Health Foundation’s REAL Centre warns that without urgent, significant policy action, the NHS in England is facing a crippling shortage of GPs and general practice nurses over the coming decade. 

The REAL Centre’s projections show that the shortage of qualified, permanent GPs is set to get substantially worse over this decade. The Health Foundation

See also: 

• Projections: General practice workforce in England The Health Foundation
• Royal College of GPs response to Health Foundation report warning of escalating crisis in general practice Royal College of General Practitioners
• Quarter of GP posts vacant within a decade in England, study warns BBC News
• NHS on course for shortfall of 11,000 GPs within a decade GPonline
• NHS faces 'disastrous' shortfall of 10000 GPs by 2030, report warns The Independent

Policy paper: A plan for digital health and social care

Policy paper: A plan for digital health and social care The plan for digital health and social care sets out a vision for a digitally enabled health and social care system and how we can achieve it – it collates existing digital strategies, plans and guidance into one single action plan. Department of Health and Social Care

Archie Battersbee parents win appeal to reconsider case

Archie Battersbee parents win appeal to reconsider case The parents of a 12-year-old boy at the centre of a life support dispute have won an appeal for his case to be heard again.

Archie Battersbee was found unconscious at his home in Southend, Essex, on 7 April.

A High Court judge previously ruled Archie was dead and told doctors they could end his life support treatment. BBC News

NHS cancer care's 'culture of over treatment' is wasting time and money, report reveals

NHS cancer care's 'culture of over treatment' is wasting time and money, report reveals The NHS is wasting time and money due to a ‘culture of overtreatment’ in cancer care, a report has revealed.

An All-Party Parliamentary Group paper released on Tuesday on minimally invasive cancer treatments (MICTs) found only 10 per cent of cancer patients are offered non-invasive treatments. The Independent

NHS privatisation drive linked to rise in avoidable deaths, study suggests

NHS privatisation drive linked to rise in avoidable deaths, study suggests The privatisation of NHS care accelerated by Tory policies a decade ago has corresponded with a decline in quality and “significantly increased” rates of death from treatable causes, the first study of its kind says. The Guardian

See also:

• Outsourcing health-care services to the private sector and treatable mortality rates in England, 2013–20: an observational study of NHS privatisation (open access) The Lancet Public Health

Coroner issues warning on NHS mental health services after girl’s suicide

Coroner issues warning on NHS mental health services after girl’s suicide A coroner has said Britain is failing young people and more will die because of under-resourced mental health services, as she ruled that neglect led to the death of a 14-year-old girl.

Penelope Schofield, the senior coroner for West Sussex, said she would write to the health secretary, Sajid Javid, to raise concerns after the case of Robyn Skilton, who killed herself after being let down by “gross failures” in NHS mental health services. The Guardian