Investing in Patient Safety and Outcomes Health and care nursing workforce and supply in England

Investing in Patient Safety and Outcomes: Health and care nursing workforce and supply in England A new report by the RCN shows how failure by successive UK governments to tackle the nursing workforce crisis in England has created “the greatest risk to publicly funded health and care services since their creation”.

The report, which presents solutions for sustainable nursing recruitment and retention, outlines how past, current and impending government policies are causing severe nursing workforce shortages, with demand for staff vastly exceeding supply.

There are record nursing vacancies in the NHS in England and the latest data shows there will be 2,000 fewer nursing students graduating from education in 2025 than there are in 2024. Royal College of Nursing

Why have ambulance waiting times been getting worse?

Why have ambulance waiting times been getting worse? In England, people are waiting longer than ever for ambulances to arrive. For the most critical calls, with a target response time of 7 minutes, patients in 2021/22 waited 8 and a half minutes on average – almost a fifth longer than they would have waited in 2018/19. For less urgent cases that still require an ambulance response, waits have more than doubled to an average of 3 hours. The Health Foundation

See also:

• Increasing handover delays contributing to growing ambulance waiting times The Health Foundation

Joining the dots for population health

Joining the dots for population health Population health is one of the top priorities for integrated care systems, the NHS, us at The King’s Fund, at a global level and increasingly for anyone in health and care who recognises that many of the current challenges facing the health and care system in England are often linked to the lack of earlier and more concerted focus on population health. The King's Fund

Health and Care Act 2022: combined impact assessments

Health and Care Act 2022: combined impact assessments The Health and Care Act received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. This primary legislation aims to build on the NHS’s own proposals for reform to make the health and care system less bureaucratic, more accountable and more integrated in the wake of coronavirus. These documents assess the impact of the legislation. Department of Health and Social Care

Nurses set to hold first UK-wide strike

Nurses set to hold first UK-wide strike The biggest ever strike by nurses looks set to go ahead.

The Royal College of Nursing is due to unveil the results of its ballot, which ended last week, in the next few days.

The final results are being counted but RCN sources say a large majority of nurses have voted in favour of action in a dispute over pay.

The RCN had recommended to its 300,000 members that they walk out. If strikes take place, they would affect non-urgent but not emergency care. BBC News

See also:

• Thousands of nurses WILL strike before Christmas after 100-year-old union's members voted in favour of first EVER mass NHS walk-out The Daily Mail
• Plans in place to deal with strike action by UK’s nurses, government says The Guardian
• Nurses across UK vote to strike in first ever national action The Guardian
• Nurses vote to strike in first ever national action as cost of living bites The Independent
• Biggest-ever NHS nurses’ strike ‘would hit A&E patients’ and worsen Covid backlog iNews
• What happens if nurses vote for strike action - and how many will take part? ITV News
• Nurses set to strike in first ever national action - as patients braced for disruption Sky News

Child speech delays increase due to lockdowns

Child speech delays increase due to lockdowns The number of five and six year olds who need speech and language support at school has risen by 10% in England over the past year, BBC analysis shows.

The increase, which is substantially greater than previous years, is partly due to lockdown limiting social interactions, experts say.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists says the profession is struggling to cope with the demand. BBC News

NHS to prescribe cognitive behavioural therapy apps to children with anxiety

NHS to prescribe cognitive behavioural therapy apps to children with anxiety Children as young as five who suffer from anxiety are to be prescribed cognitive behavioural therapy apps on the NHS via mobile phones, tablets and computers.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the health regulator, has conditionally recommended digital CBT for use in the health service to help children and young people with symptoms of mild to moderate anxiety. The Guardian

See also:

• NICE conditionally recommends digital cognitive behaviour therapies for use in the NHS to help children and young people with symptoms of mild to moderate anxiety National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

New hope for sickle cell patients as UK trial of lab grown red blood cells begins

New hope for sickle cell patients as UK trial of lab grown red blood cells begins Laboratory grown red blood cells have been transfused into volunteers in a world first clinical trial that could help revolutionise treatments for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia.

The manufactured blood cells were grown from stem cells from donors, which in future could allow donor blood to be expanded into much larger volumes for transfusion. The trial is studying the lifespan of the lab grown cells compared with infusions of standard red blood cells from the same donor. The Guardian

See also:

• RESTORE: Recovery and survival of stem cell originated red cells NHS Blood and Transplant
• First ever clinical trial of laboratory grown red blood cells being transfused into another person underway University of Bristol
• Lab-grown blood given to people in world-first clinical trial BBC News
• Lab-grown blood used for human transfusion in world first The Independent

Getting a flu vaccine lowers your risk of a STROKE years later, study shows

Getting a flu vaccine lowers your risk of a STROKE years later, study shows Getting a flu shot might be more important than ever — a study indicates it also lowers the risk of a stroke years later.

Researchers say health officials should push harder for everyone to get routine influenza vaccines rather than just the most vulnerable.

The study analyzed the health records of more than 4million adults in Alberta, Canada, over a 10-year period. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Association between influenza vaccination and risk of stroke in Alberta, Canada: a population-based study (open access) The Lancet Public Health
• NHS delivers 13 million flu jabs NHS England

Fewer than HALF of those eligible for Covid booster have come forward for vaccine, analysis shows

Fewer than HALF of those eligible for Covid booster have come forward for vaccine, analysis shows Millions of Britons eligible for the autumn Covid booster vaccine have yet to come forward, according to official figures.

Only 12.2million over-50s, health and care workers and immunocompromised people in England had a top-up jab by October 30. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Covid infections falling in England and Wales, says ONS BBC News
• Only 8% of care home staff have received their latest Covid-19 booster jab The Daily Mail
• Covid cases fall in England and Wales as 1 in 35 people infected The Independent

'Disgusted' man criticises Northampton General Hospital after mother, 76, waits two hours in 'freezing' cold outside A&E

'Disgusted' man criticises Northampton General Hospital after mother, 76, waits two hours in 'freezing' cold outside A&E A man has criticised Northampton General Hospital (NGH) after his 76-year-old mother was made to wait outside A&E in the “freezing” cold for two hours. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Why can't I get care?: older people's experiences of care and support

Why can't I get care?: older people's experiences of care and support This report aims to answer the question as to why 14,000 people per week are having their requests for care turned down by councils, many of which are facing growing demand and static or reducing resources with which to respond. It highlights the number of unpaid carers who provide hours of care for their loved ones, often at the expense of their own health and wellbeing. Age UK

Combatting racial discrimination against minority ethnic nurses, midwives and nursing associates

Combatting racial discrimination against minority ethnic nurses, midwives and nursing associates This resource is designed to support nurses, midwives and nursing associates, providing advice on the action that can be taken if witnessing or experiencing racism. It also aims to support those in leadership roles to be inclusive leaders. NHS England

Developing healthcare workers’ confidence in AI (Part 2)

Developing healthcare workers’ confidence in AI (Part 2) This research is a collaboration between the NHS AI Lab and Health Education England. Its primary aim is to inform the development of education and training to develop healthcare workers’ confidence in artificial intelligence (AI). NHS England

See also:

• Understanding healthcare workers’ confidence in AI (Part 1) NHS England

New industrial action resources

New industrial action resources To support employers with potential industrial action, this new web section from NHS Employers brings together key resources including:

• updated industrial action guidance and FAQs from our legal partners Capsticks
• current dates for ballots and potential industrial action
• the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) positions on industrial action.

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published Swab test positivity for influenza has continued to increase and is now at 6.1%, it is highest in 15 to 44-year-olds at 13.4%, followed by 5 to 14-year-olds at 10.4%.

Hospitalisation rates for flu are highest in those aged 85 and over at 2.37 followed by those aged 75 to 84 at 1.63.

Vaccine uptake for flu compared to the previous 2021 to 2022 season is comparable for 65-year-olds and over, currently 64.3%. For those under 65 years in clinical risk groups, 29.9% and for pregnant women 20.7%, but lower in 2 and 3 years old, 20.3% and 21.8%. UK Health Security Agency

Poorer areas in England suffer most from GP shortage, study finds

Poorer areas in England suffer most from GP shortage, study finds The gap between the number of GPs per patient in richer and poorer parts of England is widening, according to analysis by University of Cambridge.

The study for BBC Newsnight saw "stark inequalities" in GPs' distribution.

Separate BBC research also found patient satisfaction on measures such as how easy a practice is to reach by phone is lower in deprived areas.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it was focusing support on those who need it most. BBC News 

See also:

• 'General practice in England is unsafe': stark warning from LMCs over workforce and funding crisis GPonline
• All GP practices should declare themselves as ‘requires improvement’ to CQC, says LMC Pulse

GPs giving antidepressants to children against guidelines

GPs giving antidepressants to children against guidelines GPs are breaching medical guidelines by prescribing antidepressants for children as young as 11 who cannot get other help for their mental health problems, NHS-funded research reveals.

Official guidance says that under-18s should only be given the drugs in conjunction with talking therapies and after being assessed by a psychiatrist. The Guardian

See also:

• Antidepressants for children and teenagers: what works for anxiety and depression? National Institute for Health and Care Research

Ministers may order inquiry or review over English mental health care failings

Ministers may order inquiry or review over English mental health care failings Ministers may order a public inquiry into mental health care and patient deaths across England because of the number of scandals that are emerging involving poor treatment.

Maria Caulfield, the minister for mental health, told MPs on Thursday that she and the health secretary, Steve Barclay, were considering whether to launch an inquiry because the same failings were occurring so often in so many different parts of the country. The Guardian

See also:

• Minister not ruling out public inquiry into mental health hospitals The Independent

Regulator investigates lawyers acting for NHS trust over ‘gagging’ clauses

Regulator investigates lawyers acting for NHS trust over ‘gagging’ clauses Lawyers acting for an NHS trust are being investigated over “gagging” clauses proposed in a settlement agreement with a whistleblower who raised concerns that mistakes by paramedics in the deaths of patients were being covered up.

In June, the then health secretary, Sajid Javid, announced an NHS review into “tragic failings” by North East Ambulance Service after Paul Calvert went public with claims that reports into deaths were doctored to cover up failings by staff. The Guardian