Northampton: Maternity unit's staffing levels concerns regulator

Northampton: Maternity unit's staffing levels concerns regulator A maternity unit did not always have enough qualified and experienced staff to keep women safe from avoidable harm, inspectors have said.

The care regulator found the Northampton General Hospital (NGH) unit "did not always control infection risk well".

It rated the service as requiring improvement but said staff managed safety incidents well.

The hospital said it had undertaken "a lot of work" in the past 18 months. BBC Northampton

See also:

• Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust maternity services remain rated requires improvement by CQC Care Quality Commission
• Northampton General Hospital's maternity services told to improve after inspection Northants Live
• Northampton General Hospital’s maternity services rated ‘requires improvement’ for second time in four years Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Dying well at home: commissioning quality end-of-life care

Dying well at home: commissioning quality end-of-life care Increasingly people are dying at home rather than in hospital and this trend is set to continue. This report from The King's Fund, and accompanying policy brief, offer recommendations for commissioners, integrated care boards and national bodies who want to improve care for those dying at home.

MHRA safety review of medicines containing pseudoephedrine

MHRA safety review of medicines containing pseudoephedrine Pseudoephedrine is used for the symptomatic relief of coughs, colds and allergies. Pseudoephedrine has been used in the UK for decades in millions and millions of people.

We are reviewing the available evidence relating to the very rare risk of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) associated with pseudoephedrine-containing medicines. PRES and RCVS are rare, reversible conditions, and most patients fully recover with appropriate treatment. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

See also:

• PRAC starts safety review of pseudoephedrine-containing medicines European Medicines Agency
• Nasal decongestant safety review due to rare brain risk BBC News
• The deadly conditions behind Sudafed safety review which may see flu remedies pulled from shelves The Daily Mail
• Are THESE what spooked health chiefs into a safety review of Sudafed? The Daily Mail
• Regulator reviewing cold and flu decongestants containing pseudoephedrine over rare brain risk ITV News
• MHRA to review evidence of harm linked to pseudoephedrine-containing medicines The Pharmaceutical Journal

UKHSA update on avian influenza

UKHSA update on avian influenza The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published its latest technical briefing on avian influenza. UKHSA continues to work with partners including the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to assess the risk to human health from avian influenza and improve our understanding of the virus. While the very high levels of transmission in wild birds present a constant risk, there is no evidence so far that the virus is getting better at infecting humans or other mammals.

See also:

• H5N1: Cambodian girl dies in rare bird flu case BBC News
• H5N1: Governments should invest in vaccines for all flu strains, says incoming WHO chief scientist The BMJ
• Health chiefs are modelling worst-case bird flu scenarios in case killer virus jumps to humans The Daily Mail
• Bird flu ‘cluster’ in Cambodia sparks global alarm The Daily Telegraph
• UK health chiefs modelling scenarios for bird flu pandemic Evening Standard
• Bird flu: 11-year-old girl in Cambodia dies after being infected The Guardian
• Flu experts gather with H5N1 risk on the agenda Reuters

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published

National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports published Coronavirus (COVID-19) activity increased in most indicators in week 7.

The COVID-19 hospital admission rate for week 7 was 9.38 per 100,000 population, an increase from 7.92 per 100,000 in the previous week.

Hospital admission rates for COVID-19 are highest in the South East, with a rate of 12.47 per 100,000 population. UK Health Security Agency

NHS cuts elective backlog with longest waiters down a quarter in one month

NHS cuts elective backlog with longest waiters down a quarter in one month NHS staff across England have reduced the number of patients waiting more than a year and a half by over a quarter in just one month, despite the busiest winter ever.

The total number waiting more than 18 months has fallen by 27% from 54,382 on 15 January to 39,903 as of 12 February.

Over 70 NHS trusts in England now have fewer than 100 patients waiting more than a year and a half, ahead of the ambition to virtually eliminate these waits by April. NHS England

Speak Up Review of ambulance trusts in England

Speak Up Review of ambulance trusts in England The National Guardian’s Office has published Listening to Workers – the report following its Speak Up review of NHS ambulance trusts in England. The review found the culture in ambulance trusts did not support workers to speak up and that this was having an impact on worker wellbeing and ultimately patient safety.

The National Guardian’s Office undertook this Speak Up review as the speaking up culture in NHS Ambulance Trusts appeared be more challenged compared to other trust types.

See also:

• Ambulance staff afraid to speak out amid a culture of sexism, racism and bullying, report warns The Independent

Record levels of NHS staff seek mental health help in crisis deemed ‘worse than pandemic’

Record levels of NHS staff seek mental health help in crisis deemed ‘worse than pandemic’ Record levels of NHS staff are seeking mental health help as clinicians warn the “crisis” facing workers is “worse than the pandemic”.

Hundreds of staff are being referred to the specialist mental health service, NHS Practitioner Health, with 842 workers referred in October 2022 – up from 534 in the same month the year before and 371 in 2020.

Around 40 per cent of the staff seeking the service are GPs and 50 per cent are hospital doctors. The Independent

See also:

• Doctors like me are leaving the medical profession – this is why The Independent

Fact Check: why are junior doctors striking, could industrial action make NHS backlogs worse, and nurse pay talks – explained

Fact Check: why are junior doctors striking, could industrial action make NHS backlogs worse, and nurse pay talks – explained Junior doctors in England are set to take part in a 72-hour walkout after voting in favour of striking over pay.

This comes as nursing strikes have been paused while talks over pay take place between the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and ministers.

But why are junior doctors striking, could industrial action make current NHS backlogs worse, and could nurses still walkout?

Here’s what we know so far. Channel 4 News

See also:

• Rebellious nurses warn they may strike AGAIN next winter if union accepts below-inflation pay offer The Daily Mail
• Strikes to protect patients as NHS ‘at breaking point’, says junior doctor Evening Standard

Draft of NHS workforce plan calls for doubling of medical school places

Draft of NHS workforce plan calls for doubling of medical school places Britain could double the number of doctors and nurses it trains under NHS plans to tackle a deepening staffing crisis, according to reports.

The proposal to increase the number of places in UK medical schools from 7,500 to 15,000 is contained in a draft of NHS England’s long-awaited workforce plan, which is expected to be published next month. The Guardian

See also:

• Medical school places could double under drastic plans to solve dire NHS workforce crisis The Daily Mail

'We've cut out the middleman': How NHS virtual wards mean acute patients are now being treated at home

'We've cut out the middleman': How NHS virtual wards mean acute patients are now being treated at home Elizabeth Simpson, 80, was anxious when she found out she might need to go to hospital because she didn't want to be separated from her family. However, a virtual ward has allowed her to be treated at home - with benefits for both her and the health service. Sky News

Government urged to introduce prostate cancer screening

Government urged to introduce prostate cancer screening Prostate cancer screening could soon be offered to all middle-aged men after trials showed new techniques slashed the chances of overdiagnosis.

Experts have long argued that only a national screening programme will significantly reduce deaths from the leading cancer in men.

Until now, tests have been too unreliable to pass the threshold, with the potential for unnecessary harms deemed to outweigh the benefits. The Daily Mail

World-first vaccine could be rolled out in MONTHS for baby killer winter bug RSV

World-first vaccine could be rolled out in MONTHS for baby killer winter bug RSV A vaccine to prevent severe cases of the highly contagious respiratory syncytial virus in babies could be coming as soon as August.

Pharmaceutical behemoth Pfizer has developed an RSV vaccine that is administered to expectant mothers to confer antibody protection from severe disease to their unborn babies through six months of age. The Daily Mail

See also:

• U.S. FDA Accepts Biologics License Application for Pfizer’s Respiratory Syncytial Virus Maternal Vaccine Candidate for Priority Review Pfizer
• Pfizer RSVpreF RSV Vaccine Precision Vaccinations

Fewer cancelled operations at Northampton General Hospital than last year, figures reveal

Fewer cancelled operations at Northampton General Hospital than last year, figures reveal Northampton General Hospital cancelled fewer elective operations at the last minute in the three months to December 2022 than across the same time period the year before, new NHS figures show. Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Public perceptions of the NHS: a winter of discontent

Public perceptions of the NHS: a winter of discontent The NHS is under extreme strain and debate about the future of the health system is growing louder. As political parties look ahead to the next general election, understanding what the public thinks should help inform thinking on NHS funding and reform.

This long read examines public perceptions and expectations of the NHS. We present findings from the third wave of our programme of polling research with Ipsos that tracks the public’s views on health and social care in the UK every 6 months. The Health Foundation

See also:

• Public support for government’s handling of the NHS reaches new low, polling finds The Health Foundation
• Public support for Government’s handling of the NHS in England falls to new low Evening Standard
• Just 10% of Britons think ministers have right policies on NHS, study shows The Guardian

New figures show NHS workforce most diverse it has ever been

New figures show NHS workforce most diverse it has ever been The NHS workforce is more diverse than at any other point in its history, according to an annual report into race equality across the health service.

Published today, the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard shows Black and minority ethnic (BME) staff make up almost a quarter of the workforce overall (24.2% or 383,706 staff) – an increase of 27,500 people since 2021 (22.4% of staff).

The analysis shows more than two fifths (42%) of doctors, dentists, and consultants, and almost a third (29.2%) of our nurses, midwives, and health visitors are from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds. NHS England

See also:

• NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) 2022 data analysis report for NHS trusts NHS England
• NHS Confederation responds to WRES 2022 report NHS Confederation
• On the day briefing: Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) NHS Providers
• Record NHS diversity levels, new report finds National Health Executive
• WRES report warns of ‘disadvantage’ facing Black nurses Nursing Times

Ethnic minority Covid death gap closes – ONS

Ethnic minority Covid death gap closes – ONS People from ethnic minority backgrounds are no longer significantly more likely to die of Covid-19, new Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows.

Analysts looked at mortality rates for different ethnic communities between January and November 2022, when Omicron was the dominant Covid variant.

Early in the pandemic, deaths involving coronavirus were higher among black and Asian people than white people. BBC News

See also:

• Updating ethnic and religious contrasts in deaths involving the coronavirus (COVID-19), England: 24 January 2020 to 23 November 2022 Office for National Statistics
• The King's Fund responds to the updated ONS data on changes in Covid-19 mortality The King's Fund

Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas users risk spine damage, say doctors

Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas users risk spine damage, say doctors Doctors at an east London hospital say they are seeing so many risky cases of laughing gas misuse that they have drawn up treatment guidelines for colleagues in the UK.

Nitrous oxide, sold in metal canisters, is one of the most commonly used drugs by 16 to 24-year-olds.

Heavy use can lead to a vitamin deficiency that damages nerves in the spinal cord.

The Royal London Hospital team say medics need to be on alert. BBC News

See also:

• Nitrous oxide-induced subacute combined degeneration of the cord: diagnosis and treatment (open access) Practical Neurology

Derby maternity deaths may have been prevented - report

Derby maternity deaths may have been prevented - report Three women who died under the care of a hospital's maternity unit may have survived if earlier recommendations had been implemented, a report has said.

The cases occurred at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton (UHDB) NHS Foundation Trust over 16 months.

A review by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) also found a culture of intimidation and bullying and made safety recommendations. BBC News

Hospital patients with learning disabilities developed diabetes after being fed treats and lack of exercise

Hospital patients with learning disabilities developed diabetes after being fed treats and lack of exercise Vulnerable patients who have been detained in hospitals for years developed diabetes due to a lack of exercise and an over-reliance on treats, a national NHS review has warned.

NHS England looked into the care of almost 2,000 patients with learning disabilities and autism and found that the physical health of many had significantly declined during their stays because of poor care. The Independent