How much is Covid-19 to blame for growing NHS waiting times?

How much is Covid-19 to blame for growing NHS waiting times? The pandemic has had an enormous impact on health and care services, but to what extent is it to blame for the current pressures facing the NHS? Jessica Morris and Sarah Reed take a closer look at access and waiting times before and after the start of the Covid crisis. Quality Watch

See also:

• Covid-19 not solely to blame for scale of NHS care backlog Quality Watch
• NHS backlog would have been at 'alarming' levels affecting five million patients even without Covid The Daily Mail
• More than five million people would still be on NHS waiting lists even without the pandemic The Daily Telegraph
• The NHS will recover with an 'all hands on deck' approach The Independent

What are the health and care challenges for the next Prime Minister?

What are the health and care challenges for the next Prime Minister? What are the immediate health and care pressures the next Prime Minister will need to address once they're in post? Podcast from The King's Fund

Fuel poverty, cold homes and health inequalities in the UK

Fuel poverty, cold homes and health inequalities in the UK This report reviews the evidence on both the direct and indirect impacts of fuel poverty and cold homes on health; the inequalities in who this effects the most, and the relation between health inequalities and climate change. It makes the case for prioritising reducing fuel poverty through policy suggestions at both the national and local level. Institute of Health Equity

Expansion of polio sewage surveillance to areas outside London

Expansion of polio sewage surveillance to areas outside London Following the findings of poliovirus in sewage samples collected from the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works, which covers parts of North and East London, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) working with the Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are now expanding the surveillance to a range of areas outside of the capital.

JCVI advises use of additional bivalent vaccine for autumn booster campaign

JCVI advises use of additional bivalent vaccine for autumn booster campaign Following on from the previous advice on which vaccines should be used in this year’s autumn booster programme, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has updated its published advice to include an additional bivalent vaccine now approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). UK Health Security Agency

See also:

• Independent report: COVID-19 vaccines for autumn 2022: JCVI advice, 3 September 2022 Department of Health and Social Care
• Guidance: The R value and growth rate UK Health Security Agency
• Research: Consensus statements and medium-term projections on COVID-19 UK Health Security Agency
• Guidance: Emerging infections and zoonoses: epidemic intelligence scanning procedures UK Health Security Agency

Covid: Millions invited for booster jabs from Monday

Covid: Millions invited for booster jabs from Monday Millions of people will be invited for their autumn Covid booster jab in England and Scotland next week, with care home residents the first to receive them.

Although infections are falling, health bosses are predicting a resurgence of Covid and flu this autumn and winter.

They are urging those eligible to protect themselves from serious illness by getting vaccines against both. BBC News

See also: 

• EU watchdog passes first blood test for diagnosing long Covid The Daily Mail
• Omi-gone! Covid wave crashes to lowest level since June - with fewer than a million now infected The Daily Mail
• Covid app that detects virus in your voice ‘more accurate than lateral flow tests’ The Daily Telegraph
• UK approves second Covid vaccine targeting Omicron variant The Guardian
• Covid-19 booster jab programme gets under way The Independent

Fixing the NHS - a near impossible job for new PM?

Fixing the NHS - a near impossible job for new PM? On Monday we will find out who will be the new prime minister. But as summer makes way for autumn, the alarm bells are ringing loud and clear in the NHS.

And while the cost of living crisis has dominated the attention during the leadership contest, talk to anyone in the NHS and they will tell you they are worried what the coming months will bring.

Put simply, this summer has been worse than any winter this century. Dr Adrian Boyle, of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, says the demise has been so sharp that the service is "struggling to perform even its central function - to deliver care safely and effectively". BBC News

NHS whistleblower Shyam Kumar wins case against regulator

NHS whistleblower Shyam Kumar wins case against regulator A doctor who was sacked for raising patient safety concerns has won a case against England's hospital regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Orthopaedic surgeon Shyam Kumar worked part-time for the CQC as a special adviser on hospital inspections, but Manchester Employment Tribunal found that he was unfairly dismissed. BBC News

Care homes will 'go to the wall' over energy costs putting further strain on the NHS

Care homes will 'go to the wall' over energy costs putting further strain on the NHS Many care homes could be forced to close because of sky high energy bills this winter putting further strain on the NHS, experts in the sector have warned.

Providers cannot cut back on consumption and will “go to the wall” because “there’s nowhere to go”, they warned. The Independent

Ministers to make it easier for foreign nurses and dentists to work in NHS

Ministers to make it easier for foreign nurses and dentists to work in NHS Ministers will introduce legislation as soon as parliament returns on Monday to tackle the NHS’s worsening staffing crisis by making it easier for overseas nurses and dentists to work in the UK.

The move is part of a drive by the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to increase overseas recruitment to help plug workforce gaps in health and social care. The Guardian

Child cancer deaths have HALVED since late 80s thanks to UK's world-leading trials and research

Child cancer deaths have HALVED since late 80s thanks to UK's world-leading trials and research The number of children dying from cancer in Britain has almost halved in the past 33 years.

Since the late Eighties, the mortality rate has plunged thanks to world-leading research and trials in the UK. The Daily Mail

Routine surgeries could be postponed due to blood shortages

Routine surgeries could be postponed due to blood shortages Routine surgeries could be delayed because of a shortage of blood, experts have warned. Supplies are at around half their normal levels and hospitals have been told they should be ready to implement emergency measures – possibly as early as this month – should the situation get worse. The Daily Mail

World Suicide Prevention Day: Where events, help and training is available in Northamptonshire

World Suicide Prevention Day: Where events, help and training is available in Northamptonshire This World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10), Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (NHFT) is partnering with the Samaritans, Northampton Filmhouse, the Grosvenor shopping centre and Northampton Town Football Club to raise awareness and tackle the stigma around the subject. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

See also:

• World Suicide Prevention Day Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Eleven ways to protect your mental health Northamptonshire Telegraph

NHS simply doesn't have enough staff to deliver everything being asked of it

NHS simply doesn't have enough staff to deliver everything being asked of it Today's vacancy figures are staggering and further proof that the NHS simply doesn't have enough staff to deliver everything being asked of it.

With nearly one in 10 posts in trusts in England now vacant and tens of thousands more right across the health and care system, many staff face unsustainable workloads and 'burnout' as they strive to bring down waiting lists and treat patients as quickly as possible in the face of ever-growing demand. NHS Providers

See also:

• NHS Vacancy Statistics England April 2015 – June 2022 NHS Digital
• Government still lacks proposals to retain NHS staff BMA
• NHS staff vacancy numbers paint a bleak picture NHS Confederation
• 'Enough is enough' says RCN General Secretary as NHS nursing vacancies in England at record high Royal College of Nursing
• Boosting funding and pay are the best ways to fix NHS staffing UNISON
• Record one in 10 NHS posts in England vacant, new data shows Evening Standard
• NHS vacancies in England at 'staggering' new high as almost 10% of posts empty The Guardian
• NHS staff vacancies at highest level since records began The Independent
• Government ‘asleep at the wheel’ as NHS job vacancies hit ‘staggering’ high The Independent
• The NHS needs immigration – don't cut non-British staff out of the narrative The Independent
• Number of unfilled nurse jobs jumps by over 8,000 in just a year Nursing Notes
• Student nurse numbers headed ‘in the wrong direction’ Nursing Notes

Folic acid added to flour to prevent brain and spinal conditions in foetuses

Folic acid added to flour to prevent brain and spinal conditions in foetuses The number of pregnancies affected by life-threatening issues such as spina bifida could fall by more than a fifth as the government moves one step closer to actively adding folic acid to non-wholemeal flour.

Following a consultation with industry and stakeholders on whether to add folic acid to non-wholemeal flour, a public health policy which has already been successful in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, today the government is consulting on its proposal to add 250 micrograms of folic acid per 100 grams of flour. Department of Health and Social Care

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 decreased in most indicators in week 34 of 2022.

The number of acute respiratory infection incidents (suspected outbreaks) decreased in England in week 34 to 111 compared to 124 in the previous week. Department of Health and Social Care

430,000 Britons have long Covid two years after infection, says ONS

430,000 Britons have long Covid two years after infection, says ONS An estimated 430,000 Britons were still suffering from long Covid two years after first contracting the virus, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics.

One in every 32 people in the UK was estimated to have some form of long Covid at the end of July, equivalent to 2 million people. Of those, around 1.5 million said their symptoms were adversely affecting their daily activities, while 384,000 said their ability to undertake daily activities had been “limited a lot”. The Guardian

See also:

• Prevalence of ongoing symptoms following coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the UK: 1 September 2022 Office for National Statistics 
• Long Covid: 11-year-old on Leeds long Covid clinic help BBC News
• Boris defends Covid lockdowns YET AGAIN: PM insists orders DID NOT plunge the NHS into chaos The Daily Mail
• Chengdu locks down 21 million people in fresh Covid outbreak The Guardian
• ‘Record-high’ 892,000 people living with long Covid for a year, figures show The Independent
• People with health conditions invited to come forward for Covid booster vaccine ITV News

Prostate cancer symptoms and treatment: What to check for

Prostate cancer symptoms and treatment: What to check for Bill Turnbull's campaigning saved lives and encouraged "thousands and thousands" of men to come forward for prostate cancer testing, experts say.

The broadcaster died from the disease, at the age of 66, on Wednesday.

When Turnbull revealed his diagnosis, in 2018, referrals to the NHS increased by about 20%, according to charity Prostate Cancer UK, and calls to its helpline saw a large increase. BBC News

See also:

• Prostate cancer NHS UK
• Prostate cancer symptoms Prostate Cancer UK

Next PM must overhaul social care as level of unmet need astonishing, say charities

Next PM must overhaul social care as level of unmet need astonishing, say charities The new prime minister must “turn the page” on social care to transform it amid an “astonishing” level of unmet need, charities have warned.

The Care and Support Alliance (CSA), which represents more than 60 charities, is calling on the next Conservative Party leader to act fast, with research suggesting one in eight older people is going without the social care they need. The Independent

Major breakthrough as new treatments for most severe form of skin cancer could be developed

Major breakthrough as new treatments for most severe form of skin cancer could be developed Scientists have developed a novel way to stop the growth of melanoma – a major breakthrough that offers hope of one day effectively treating the cancer.

Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, with around 16,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The Independent