Join webinars by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on how to manage menopause

Join webinars by Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on how to manage menopause People are being invited to join free workshops on how to help manage the symptoms of menopause.

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT) is inviting people to join its online Talking Therapies workshop for anyone who thinks they might be going through any stage of the menopause (perimenopause, menopause or post-menopause) and experiencing low mood or anxiety. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Woman, 22, arrested after nurse assaulted at Northampton General Hospital

Woman, 22, arrested after nurse assaulted at Northampton General Hospital A 22-year-old woman has been arrested following an incident when a nurse was assaulted at Northampton General Hospital.

The incident happened on January 27, between 7.30pm and 7.50pm. A female patient assaulted a nurse by grabbing her lanyard before throwing water over another patient, Northamptonshire Police have said. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Expanding volunteer support in the allied health professions to start an NHS career

Expanding volunteer support in the allied health professions to start an NHS career Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust used volunteers to support their allied health professionals, offering a first step into an NHS career. NHS Employers

Supporting clinical leadership in virtual wards: a guide for integrated care system clinical leader

Supporting clinical leadership in virtual wards: a guide for integrated care system clinical leader This guidance supports integrated care system clinical leadership to create and develop their virtual ward service. NHS England

First toddler receives life-saving gene therapy on NHS

First toddler receives life-saving gene therapy on NHS Teddi from Northumberland with a rare and devastating genetic condition has become the first child to be treated on the NHS with a life-saving gene therapy.

The drug, called Libmeldy, is the most expensive medicine ever approved for the NHS. BBC News

See also:

• NHS to roll out life-saving gene therapy for rare disease affecting babies NHS England
• The UK’s most expensive drug saved one sister, but it is too late for the other BBC News
• Little Teddi becomes the first child to receive revolutionary gene therapy drug on the NHS The Daily Mail
• Girl with deadly inherited condition is cured with gene therapy on NHS The Guardian
• Heartbreak as one sibling saved using miracle drug, but older sister not eligible for treatment The Independent

Male contraceptive pill prototype stops sperm swimming

Male contraceptive pill prototype stops sperm swimming An on-demand, non-hormonal male contraceptive pill may be a real possibility say scientists who have found a cell pathway, or switch, that stops sperm from being able to swim.

Tests in mice suggest it keeps sperm stunned for at least a few hours - long enough to stop them reaching the egg.

Many more tests are planned and needed, moving to rabbits before people. BBC News

See also:

• On-demand male contraception via acute inhibition of soluble adenylyl cyclase (open access) Nature Communications
• ‘On demand’ male contraceptive pill stops sperm swimming The Independent

Government’s mental health review will not prevent ‘appalling’ abuse of patients, campaigners warn

Government’s mental health review will not prevent ‘appalling’ abuse of patients, campaigners warn A government review into mental health hospitals will fail to prevent the “appalling” treatment of patients, campaigners have warned.

The urgent inquiry into inpatient mental health services will focus solely on data, the government said on Tuesday.

The “rapid review”, launched following investigations by The Independent into “systemic abuse” across a group of children’s mental health hospitals, will last 12 weeks and is being led by a former national NHS mental health director Dr Geraldine Strathdee.

See also:

• Terms of reference for rapid review into data on mental health inpatient settings Department of Health and Social Care

NHS strikes force thousands to wait 18 months for surgery as flagship target to be missed

NHS strikes force thousands to wait 18 months for surgery as flagship target to be missed Thousands of patients are being forced to wait more than 18 months for treatments such as knee and brain surgery as the health service is set to miss its flagship target because of NHS strikes.

NHS England last week claimed it was “on track” to hit the mandated target, but senior sources have warned that the impact of prolonged walkouts combined with unprecedented demand for emergency care means that this is now unlikely. The Independent

Nine viruses the World Health Organisation is concerned about

Nine viruses the World Health Organisation is concerned about Equatorial Guinea has just confirmed its first-ever outbreak of Marburg disease, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which reports that at least nine people have already died of the Ebola-related virus.

The case is the latest reminder that, for infectious diseases experts, the job is never done. The Independent

See also:

• WHO convenes 'urgent' meeting over outbreak of one of world's deadliest diseases The Daily Mail
• Now Marburg virus spreads to Cameroon The Daily Mail
• Bird flu 'may mutate to kill more than 50% of humans' The Daily Mail
• What is Marburg virus and how does it spread? The Independent

Weight loss jabs to be sold via high street chemists in England

Weight loss jabs to be sold via high street chemists in England Weekly weight-loss jabs that are popular with celebrities will soon be made available through high street chemists in England, despite controversy over their use.

Many people struggle to tackle obesity through diet and exercise alone as they often find they regain the weight that they lose.

However a range of drugs, initially used for people with type 2 diabetes, has shown promise in treating obesity, with trials revealing that when combined with supervised weight-loss coaching they help people lose significant amounts of weight. The Guardian

See also:

• Hollywood weight loss jab to be sold by Boots chemist BBC News
• What is weight loss drug Semaglutide? What are Ozempic's side effects? The Daily Mail

Half of NHS trusts missed key 2-week cancer diagnosis target last year

Half of NHS trusts missed key 2-week cancer diagnosis target last year Half of NHS hospital trusts missed a crucial two-week cancer diagnosis target every month last year, new figures reveal.

The health service says 93 per cent of patients should have an appointment with a specialist within a fortnight of an urgent GP referral.

But analysis of official data by the House of Commons library shows this was missed by 63 out of 132 trusts in England (48 per cent) every month in 2022. The Daily Mail

See also:

• Cancer statistics for England House of Commons Library
• Two-week cancer diagnosis target missed by half of NHS trusts in England in every month last year, data reveals Sky News

Exciting new phase for 'crisis houses' in Northamptonshire

Exciting new phase for 'crisis houses' in Northamptonshire New sensory garden for people with autism among plans being unveiled.

Just a few days after the Prime Minister described Northamptonshire’s mental health services as “trailblazing”, exciting plans have been unveiled to transform the county’s innovative ‘crisis houses’. Northamptonshire Telegraph

Trusts' chair to leave amid CEO instability

Trusts' chair to leave amid CEO instability The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire Group – which covers Northampton General Hospital Trust and Kettering General Hospital Foundation Trust – today confirmed Alan Burns would not extend his term of office, which ends on 31 March. Health Service Journal

Tech transformation disrupts leadership styles

Tech transformation disrupts leadership styles Digital technologies are transforming the NHS and social care, changing how care is accessed, provided and experienced, by both patients and staff, and the effectiveness of services. Leaders have an important part to play in creating the conditions in which digital technologies to be effectively implemented and used, but this requires a significant change in leadership behaviours. The King's Fund

10 steps hospitals can take to tackle ethnic inequalities in elective waiting lists

10 steps hospitals can take to tackle ethnic inequalities in elective waiting lists Across England, hospital activity continues to be seriously impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic with large falls in routine care resulting in millions of patients now subject to vast backlogs. Data analysis shows people from Asian groups faced larger falls in planned hospital care – both before and during the pandemic – than people from White, Black or Mixed ethnic groups. This infographic resource, designed in collaboration with the Nuffield Trust, aims to support the healthcare system by highlighting ten key ways to tackle these disparities, and to take practical actions to address the ethnicity gap in care provision. NHS Race & Health Observatory

Long Covid & employment

Long Covid & employment This report calls on government to introduce guidance for employers on long Covid alongside a compensation scheme for frontline workers. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus

Delayed hospital discharges and adult social care

Delayed hospital discharges and adult social care This explainer sets out what the government is doing to reduce the number of people staying in hospital longer than necessary. House of Commons Library

One-stop-shops for testing deliver over 3 million potentially lifesaving checks, tests and scans

One-stop-shops for testing deliver over 3 million potentially lifesaving checks, tests and scans Tens of thousands of patients across the country will benefit from quicker access to tests, with 19 new community diagnostic centres which will perform 1.1 million tests, checks and scans every year set to open later this year. Department of Health and Social Care

Hospitals in England with worst A&E waits revealed

Hospitals in England with worst A&E waits revealed A&E waiting times have deteriorated so much this winter that at some hospitals in England more than half of patients have had to wait more than four hours.

BBC analysis of data for December and January shows Hull University Hospitals, Wye Valley and Shrewsbury and Telford were worst for A&E waits.

The best trust out of the 107 providing data, Northumbria Healthcare, had fewer than 10% waiting more than four hours.

NHS England said plans were being put in place to support struggling trusts. BBC News

Watford General Hospital recorded 50 times birth gas legal limit

Watford General Hospital recorded 50 times birth gas legal limit Nitrous oxide levels on Watford General Hospital's maternity suite far exceeded legal limits during peak periods, a BBC investigation has found.

In February 2022, air monitoring showed levels of almost 5,000 parts per million (ppm) - 50 times what is safe.

The hospital's trust said it had since installed machines to remove the gas. BBC News