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Sam

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  1. News Article
    Staff failed to provide kind and compassionate care and did not treat children with respect at a private hospital downgraded from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’, a report by health inspectors has revealed. Huntercombe Hospital Stafford was placed in special measures in 2016, but was rated “good” by the Care Quality Commission two years later. Now, its first inspection under provider Huntercombe Young People Ltd in October 2021 has exposed a raft of safety concerns and instances of poor care. Huntercombe Young People Ltd took over the service in February 2021. Heavy reliance on agency staff, workers spotted with their “eyes closed” on observations, and staff not respecting young people’s pronouns were among concerns inspectors flagged. Staff observation of patients was also found to be “undermined” by a blind spot where people could self-harm unseen, the CQC report, published today, said. Children also told the CQC they felt staff did not always understand their mental health condition or know how to support them, particularly those on the psychiatric intensive care ward with eating disorders or autism. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 10 March 2022
  2. News Article
    Hundreds of people identified as contacts following a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in a Carmarthenshire village are yet to attend a screening, health officials have said. Public Health Wales (PHW) said 31 cases of active TB had been identified since the 2010 outbreak in Llwynhendy. PHW urged the 485 people who have been identified as contacts, but not attended a screening, to act. More than 2,600 people have attended screenings since June 2019. TB is a bacterial infection, spread through inhaling tiny droplets from the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. It is a serious condition, but can be cured with proper treatment. PHW said since 2010, 303 people - or more than one in 10 of those who had been screened - had been diagnosed with latent TB, which is not infectious and does not affect a person's quality of life, but may develop into active TB at a later date. Dr Brendan Mason, from Public Health Wales, said: "We understand that during the coronavirus pandemic people may have been reluctant to go to a hospital to have their screening done, but I can assure them that there are safety measures in place in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19. "Now is the time to get tested. "It is really important that we screen all the contacts identified and make sure that anyone diagnosed with latent or active TB gets the monitoring or treatment that they need to prevent any further spread." Read full story Source: 24 February 2022
  3. News Article
    Pregnancy-related deaths among US mothers climbed higher in the pandemic’s first year, continuing a decades-long trend that disproportionately affects Black people, according to a new government report. Overall in 2020, there were almost 24 deaths per 100,000 births, or 861 deaths total, numbers that reflect mothers dying during pregnancy, childbirth or the year after. The rate was 20 per 100,000 in 2019. Among Black people, there were 55 maternal deaths per 100,000 births, almost triple the rate for white people. The report from the National Center for Health Statistics does not include reasons for the trend and researchers said they have not fully examined how Covid-19, which increases risks for severe illness in pregnancy, might have contributed. The coronavirus could have had an indirect effect. Many people put off medical care early in the pandemic for fear of catching the virus, and virus surges strained the healthcare system, which could have had an impact on pregnancy-related deaths, said Eugene Declercq, a professor and maternal death researcher at Boston University School of Public Health. He called the high rates “terrible news” and noted that the US has continually fared worse in maternal mortality than many other developed countries. Reasons for those disparities are not included in the data, but experts have blamed many factors including differences in rates of underlying health conditions, poor access to quality healthcare and structural racism. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 February 2022
  4. News Article
    Sickle cell patients have begun receiving the first new treatment for the blood disorder in over 20 years. The inherited condition can cause severe pain and organ failure, often requiring hospital admissions. Crizanlizumab is given as a monthly infusion and is thought to cut visits to A&E by 40%. Loury Mooruth, 62, received the treatment at Birmingham City Hospital, having suffered repeated periods of intense pain for decades. During a crisis, patients often need powerful opioid painkillers but Loury, like many others, has faced suspicion when at A&E. "You know the protocol when you go in, which needles and so on. They think straight away you are a drug addict - they don't believe you," she says. She has refused to go to hospital during a crisis for the past two years because of her negative experiences. A report from MPs last year found "serious failings" in sickle cell care with some evidence of discrimination against patients. Dr Shivan Pancham, a consultant haematologist at Birmingham City Hospital, told the BBC: "Our patients often find the experience in emergency departments challenging with a lack of understanding of the severity of pain. "It is hoped with these new therapies if we reduce the likelihood of attending emergency departments, ultimately this will be much better for the patients." Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 February 2022
  5. News Article
    A doctor who has suffered violent shakes and hallucinations during her ongoing 15-month battle with long COVID has criticised the government's plan to "live with the virus". Dr Kelly Fearnley told Sky News she contemplated ending her own life due to the debilitating long-term effects of coronavirus, which she caught while working on a COVID ward in November 2020. The 35-year-old from Leeds, who was previously fit and healthy, initially had flu-like symptoms before she suffered shortness of breath and painful rashes over her body, as well as swelling around her eye. More than a year later, she is still unable to return to work due to the effects of long COVID, which have included violent shakes lasting up to 14 hours at a time, hallucinations, night terrors, severe pins and needles in her arms and legs, and a resting heart rate of 140 beats per minute. With Prime Minister Boris Johnson set to unveil his "living with COVID" plan on Monday, Dr Fearnley branded it a "strategy of denial, driven by the need to cut costs" and she felt "angry and let down". Read full story Source: Sky News, 20 February 2022
  6. News Article
    Diabetes is killing an increasing number of Americans and has accounted for more than 100 000 US deaths in each of the past two years. A national commission has called on the federal government to take a broad approach to the problem, similar to the fight against AIDS. Lisa Murdock of the American Diabetes Association told The BMJ that diabetes was the most common underlying condition in the US and that Covid-19 was an exacerbating factor. Some 40% of Americans who died from Covid-19 had diabetes, she said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that 37.3 million Americans—11.3% of the US population—have diabetes, including 8.3 million who have not had it diagnosed. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 3 February 2022
  7. Event
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    The session will focus on the patient experience of Long Covid and will talk about what people with the illness would like from healthcare. It will then look at what we know so far in terms of support plans. The workshop will be presented by Margaret O’Hara, a research professional in the NHS who has Long Covid and Dr Elaine Maxwell, a former Scientific Advisor to the National Institute for Health Research. Margaret runs a Facebook page to promote involvement, participation and engagement in Covid research and is a founding Trustee of the charity Long Covid Support, while Dr Maxwell has authored two dynamic reviews on Long Covid and is a Trustee of Long Covid Support. Register
  8. Event
    By joining this session, you will be able to take away information and guidelines on how to support the wellbeing of our NHS people who are affected by Long Covid. The session will be run by our fantastic speakers covering a range of key topics, including: An introduction to Long Covid. Guidelines for supporting our NHS people affected by Long Covid. Exploring Long Covid through wellbeing conversations. Register
  9. News Article
    Children with mental health problems are dying because of failings in NHS treatment, coroners across England have said in what psychiatrists and campaigners have called “deeply concerning” findings. In the last five years coroners have issued reports to prevent future deaths in at least 14 cases in which under-18s have died while being treated by children’s and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). The most common issues that arise are delays in treatment and a lack of support in helping patients transition to adult services when they turn 18. Coroners issue reports to prevent future deaths in extreme cases when it is decided that if changes are not made then another person could die. Dr Elaine Lockhart, the chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ faculty of child and adolescent psychiatry, said the findings were “deeply concerning” and every death was a tragedy. She said there were too often lengthy delays and services were under strain as demand rises and the NHS faces workforce shortages. “In child and adolescent mental health services in England, 15% of consultant psychiatrist posts are vacant,” Lockhart said, calling for more support, investment and planning to grow staff levels. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 February 2022
  10. News Article
    Several drug companies have been fined £35 million for colluding to raise the cost of an anti-nausea drug used by cancer patients, taking the total fines stemming from a Times investigation to £400 million. The price paid by the NHS for prochlorperazine 3mg dissolvable tablets rose by 700%, from £6.49 a packet to more than £51, between December 2013 and December 2017, costing the NHS an extra £5 million a year. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ruled that several companies broke the law by fixing the market and agreeing not to produce a rival version of the drug, which is used to treat nausea and dizziness and can be prescribed to patients having chemotherapy. Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: “The size of the fines reflects the seriousness of this breach. These firms conspired to stifle competition in the supply of this important medication, so that the NHS — the main buyer of the drugs — lost the opportunity for increased choice and lower prices.” He said the CMA would not “hesitate to take action like this against any businesses that collude at the expense of the NHS”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 3 February 2022
  11. News Article
    Pfizer and BioNTech said Tuesday that they were seeking emergency-use authorisation for the first coronavirus vaccine for children younger than 5 in the US and have begun submitting data on the safety and efficacy of the first two doses of a planned three-dose regimen. The Food and Drug Administration asked the companies to apply for authorization of their vaccine, and in an email, FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said the omicron surge had generated new data “impacting the potential benefit-risk profile of a vaccine for the youngest children.” In December, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that the immune response generated by the vaccine in children between 2 and 4 years old was not sufficiently robust. But the companies said the vaccine had provoked a strong enough response in children 6 months to 2 years old. A third shot was added to the trial to increase the immune response. An earlier vaccine trial in children 5 to 11 years old was also focused on showing that those children had adequate immune responses after vaccination. In addition, there were enough cases of illness in that study population to determine that the vaccine was 91% effective in preventing symptomatic illness. The companies said Tuesday that the FDA requested they move forward with an application because of the “urgent public health need in this population,” noting that 1.6 million children under the age of 4 have tested positive for the coronavirus. “The need for a safe and effective vaccine for our youngest children is significant, particularly given the rapid spread of the omicron variant, the notable rise in the number of hospitalizations in young children with severe disease, and the possibility that future variants could cause severe disease in those who are unvaccinated,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. Read full story Source: The Washington Post, 1 February 2022
  12. News Article
    An amputee's wife having to "carry him to the toilet" after her husband was sent home from hospital without a care plan was just one of many findings in a report into vascular services at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in north Wales. The critical report by the Royal College of Surgeons England makes five urgent recommendations "to address patient safety risks". Part one of the report, published last summer, made nine urgent recommendations and raised issues including too many patient transfers to the centralised hub, a lack of vascular beds and frequent delays in transfers. The final part of the report, published on 3 February, focussed on the clinical records of 44 patients dating from 2014 - five years before centralisation - to July 2021, two years after the Ysbyty Glan Clwyd hub opened. Assessors were "extremely concerned" about the case of a man where a decision was made to "amputate the foot rather than proceed to a below-the-knee amputation as the primary procedure". The report adds: "The review team also noted that the patient had been discharged without a care plan and that the patient's wife was having to 'carry him to the toilet'." It also highlights an "inappropriate" decision to offer a patient an "unnecessary and futile" amputation when "palliation and conservative therapy should have been considered instead". Referring to that case, the report added that the risk from "major amputation was extremely high". Read full story Source: BBC News, 3 February 2022
  13. News Article
    Research by Garmin finds 40% of young women say they have been accused of over-exaggerating symptoms of UTIs. While it’s clear that already strained services and a lack of funding contributed to the impact of the pandemic on the healthcare system, health inequality isn’t something that’s unique to Covid-19. Instead, it’s often the result of commonly misunderstood, misrepresented and mistreated conditions that disproportionately affect women, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis and urinary tract infections (UTIs). New research from fitness company Garmin, published by The Independent, found that 40% of young women say they have been accused of over-exaggerating symptoms of UTIs or being “overdramatic” about their wellbeing when seeing a doctor. 45% also said they’ve had their UTI symptoms written off as “part of being a woman”. According to the Chronic Urinary Tract Infection Campaign (CUTIC), 50% of all women will suffer at least one UTI episode in their lifetime, one third of these by the age of 24. “Statistics show that UTI is the most common infection seen by GPs,” says CUTIC. “In fact, doctors are so familiar with UTIs that they are frequently dismissed as merely a woman’s problem, rooted in the ‘flawed female anatomy’. “With little training in UTI management, GPs and urologists rely heavily on discredited laboratory tests which miss up to 60% of infections." “The medical training for UTI diagnosis is inadequate and most doctors are not aware of the complexity of this illness. They are trained to accept the test results and look no further,” CUTIC suggests. “It is clear from the recent government probe into menopause that women’s health has not been an area of priority. Conditions which primarily affect women are underfunded and under researched – this includes UTIs. Women are frequently patronised and not believed when they describe symptoms relating to UTIs, peri-menopause, menopause and vaginal atrophy. Medical training fails to include proper diagnosis and effective treatment for such conditions. Change is needed now.” Read full story Source: The Stylist, 2 February 2022 Have you attempted to access treatment for a urinary tract infection (UTI), or recurrent UTIs? We'd love you to share your experiences with us? Share your experience on the hub.
  14. News Article
    The Nightingale surge hubs cost more than £10.6 million to set up but have admitted roughly seven patients, it has emerged. Eight temporary sites were built at hospitals across the country during the height of the omicron wave, with the capacity to house about 100 patients each. However, it has now been revealed that the hubs cost £10,672,088 to build and only one has admitted a handful of patients. Announcing the hubs in December, NHS England said they would be used if “the record number of Covid-19 infections leads to a surge in admissions and outstrips existing capacity”. However, as of Jan 30, there were 1,285 daily admissions, an eight per cent decrease on the previous week. The chief executive of the William Harvey Hospital, in Ashford, Kent – the location of one of the eight omicron hubs – has expressed concerns that the structure “may adversely impact” other services and never be used. The cost of the hubs was revealed in response to a written question submitted by Damian Green, the Conservative MP Mr Green said that the temporary sites were an “insurance policy” and added “it looks like they won’t be needed”. He called on ministers to assess if they could be repurposed to help clear the backlog of patients waiting for treatment. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 2 February 2022
  15. News Article
    Thousands of children are falling through the cracks in youth addiction services owing to Covid, staff shortages and funding cuts, psychiatrists have said, as figures suggest the number able to get help has fallen to the lowest on record. Analysis of data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) found that 11,013 under-18s were in treatment for drug and alcohol dependency in England in 2020-21, which was 3,278 fewer (23% less) than in 2019-20. It was the sharpest annual fall since records began, and means 13,481 fewer children were being treated than at a peak in 2008-09. The vast majority of children in treatment (89%, or 9,832) had a problem with cannabis and 41% (4,459) had a problem with alcohol. About 12% (1,333) were struggling with ecstasy use and 9% (976) reported a problem with powder cocaine. The Royal College of Psychiatrists, which analysed the data, said the pandemic, together with “drastic” historical funding cuts, was preventing young people from accessing the drug and alcohol treatment they need, potentially condemning them to a life of addiction. Dr Emily Finch, the vice-chair of the addictions faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Children and their families up and down the country are having their lives blighted by drug and alcohol use due to drastic cuts, workforce shortages and the impact of the pandemic. “Addiction is a treatable health condition. Intervening early will mean many kids won’t go on to have an addiction in their adulthood, keeping them out of the criminal justice system and helping them to live full lives. It’s now time for the government to act on their promise and deliver the multimillion-pound investment into drug services.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 February 2022
  16. News Article
    The NHS is "riddled with racism", the chair of the British Medical Association's council has told the BBC. Dr Chaand Nagpaul has spoken out in response to a survey by the BMA, shared exclusively with BBC News. At least 75% of ethnic minority doctors experienced racism more than once in the last two years, while 17.4% said they regularly faced racism at work, the survey said. NHS England said it takes a "zero-tolerance approach" to racism. Racism affects patients as well as doctors' wellbeing, by stopping talented people from progressing fairly and affecting doctors' mental health, Dr Nagpaul warned. "This is about a moral right for anyone who works for the NHS to be treated fairly," he said. Around 40% of the NHS's 123,000 doctors are from minority backgrounds, compared to about 13.8% of the general population. But despite this diversity, doctors told the BBC that there was a toxic "us versus them" culture in NHS trusts across the UK. They said they had faced bogus or disproportionate complaints from colleagues, racist comments from superiors, and even physical assault in the workplace. Some said they had tried to lodge complaints which were then ignored or dismissed without investigation. One consultant, from a black African background, told the BMA that after reporting previous incidents "no action was taken... I feel uncomfortable and anxious of reprisals". Read full story Source: BBC News, 2 February 2022
  17. News Article
    Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) could be made available to buy over the counter. Health watchdogs are proposing a re-classification of the medication so women would be able to buy it in pharmacies without a prescription, it’s claimed. HRT is mainly used to treat menopause symptoms but it is not yet known which version of the medication will be a part of the proposal, the Daily Telegraph reports. Symptoms can include hot flushes, reduced sex drive and mood swings and usually pass after a few years. More than one million women a year are believed to suffer each year but treatment is currently only available after consultation with a GP or a specialist. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We understand that for some women menopause symptoms can have a significant impact on their quality of life, and we are committed to improving the care and support they receive. "That’s why we’re developing the first ever government-led Women’s Health Strategy, informed by women’s lived experience. Menopause, including improving access to Hormone Replacement Therapy, will be a priority under the Strategy." Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 February 2022
  18. News Article
    Death has become “over medicalised” and the public should be encouraged to discuss dying and grief, experts have said. There's a call for shift in attitude towards palliative care, with more emphasis on compassion and less on giving medication that may prolong pain. According to a new Lancet commission, an overemphasis on aggressive treatments to prolong life, global inequities in palliative care access, and high end-of-life medical costs have led to millions of people suffering unnecessarily at the end of their life. The authors also note that the pandemic has made death and dying more prominent in daily life, while health systems have been “overwhelmed” when trying to care for those dying. People often died alone, with families unable to say goodbye to loved ones or grieve together, the commission said – the effects of which will “resonate for years to come”. The researchers argue that many people, mainly in low- and middle-income countries, have no access to end-of-life care, and particularly to opioids, while those in high-income countries may be overtreated. Attitudes towards death and dying should be “rebalanced”, the authors conclude, away from a medicalised approach towards a “compassionate community model”, where families work with health and social care services to care for those dying. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 31 January 2022
  19. News Article
    Trust were tonight told to cease plans for dismissing unvaccinated staff, as the government announced it would consult on dropping its mandatory covid vaccine policy. An email to local NHS leaders said: “Today the Secretary of State has announced that [the vaccination as a condition of deployment policy] is being reconsidered. The government’s decision is subject to Parliamentary process and will require further consultation and a vote to be passed into legislation. “We are aware that, based on the guidance already issued to the service, you will have begun to prepare for formal meetings with staff on their deployment if they remain unvaccinated. This change in government policy means we request that employers do not serve notice of termination to employees affected by the [vaccination as a condition of deployment] regulations.” Previous guidance had required that, after 3 February – the deadline to have a first vaccination in order to have two vaccines by the 1 April legal cut-off – trusts begin formal meetings and issue dismissal warnings to unvaccinated patient-facing staff. Huge efforts have been put into encouraging staff to be vaccinated and to preparing for the next steps in recent weeks. However, tens of thousands across England are still believed to have had no vaccine, or to have an “unknown” vaccine status. The brief NHSE letter gave no further guidance on whether trusts should continue to press staff to be vaccinated by that date, or continue to have discussions about redeployment. Sajid Javid, who introduced the legal requirements last year, told the Commons: “I am announcing that we will launch a consultation on ending [VCOD] in health and all social care settings. “Subject to the responses – and the will of this House – the Government will revoke the regulations. I have always been clear that our rules must remain proportionate and balanced – and of course, should we see another dramatic change in the virus, it would be responsible to review this policy again.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 February 2022
  20. News Article
    More than 1 in 10 school entry-age children in England are at risk of measles because they have not had their vaccine jabs, data reveals. Coverage for the two doses of MMR that helps protect five-year-olds against measles, mumps and rubella is currently at 85.5%. That is the lowest for a decade, and well below the 95% target recommended to stop a resurgence of measles. Measles is highly contagious, more than Covid, and can cause serious illness. Nine in every 10 people can catch it if they are unjabbed and exposed. As well as a distinctive rash, measles can lead to severe complications, such as pneumonia and brain inflammation, and sometimes can be fatal. Vaccination can remove almost all of these risks. Two doses of the MMR vaccine give 99% protection against measles and rubella and about 88% protection against mumps. When a high percentage of the population is protected through vaccination, it becomes harder for the disease to pass between people. But since the start of the Covid pandemic, there has been a concerning drop in the number of children receiving these vaccines on time. Experts say some parents may not have realised doctors were still offering appointments, or did not want to burden the NHS. Coverage of the first dose of the MMR vaccine in two-year-olds has now fallen below 90%. This means that more than one in 10 children under the age of five are not fully protected from measles and are at risk of catching it. Among all five-year-olds in England, 93.7% have had one dose and 85.5% have had the recommended two doses. Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 February 2022
  21. News Article
    Injured NHS patients have spoken out about the human cost of clinical negligence in a new report published as MPs examine how to cut the health service’s bill for causing harm. The House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee is gathering evidence for its inquiry on NHS litigation reform. “There is a fixation on the financial cost of clinical negligence, rather than on the human cost and the reasons why injured patients have to make a claim for compensation at all,” said Guy Forster of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) a not-for-profit group which campaigns on behalf of injured patients and their families. “There are a lot of voices and opinions in any debate which concerns the NHS and patient safety, but they are almost never the voices and opinions of the patients. This is why APIL has commissioned The Value of Compensation report,” said Mr Forster. Patients who took part in the research cite mounting debt; uncertainty about their future health; isolation; abandoned careers; relationship breakdowns; and loss of independence, as some of the many far-reaching side effects of injuries sustained through failures in care. “Patients are devastated to have trusted the NHS with their health and then have to live with the pain and suffering of an injury which should have been avoided,” said Mr Forster. “This report provides new insight on how compensation can help rebuild their lives.” “None of them relish having to make a claim for compensation. I cannot stress enough that the money is never, ever a ‘windfall’ for an injured patient,” he went on. “It is obvious that full and fair compensation is critical for injured patients. It should go without saying that the cost of compensation would be cut if the harm were not caused in the first place. But it is critical that when things go wrong, injured people are cared for properly and have the chance to get back on track.” Read press release Source: APIL, 12 January 2022
  22. News Article
    A vulnerable woman judged to be at medium risk of self harm was on a mental-health ward that catered for low-risk patients, an inquest heard. Zoe Wilson, 22, died on the Larch Ward at Bristol's Callington Road Hospital in June 2019 after being found unconscious in her room at 01.30 BST. She had previously told staff that voices were telling her to kill herself, her inquest heard. Healthcare assistant Sarah Sharma found her and immediately called for help. Addressing a jury inquest at Avon Coroners' Court, she said that "patients admitted to Larch should have all been low risk". This meant they would "preferably" have hourly observations by staff and be able to take their medication without any issues. Many were ready to be discharged and they were there because something was holding them up, normally housing, she said. The experienced healthcare assistant said if the patient's risk increased they should be placed under "one to one" monitoring with a member of staff until they were moved to a more suitable unit. The inquest heard earlier that Ms Wilson had been judged to be medium risk and was placed on 30-minute observations on 18 June. Her risk level was re-assessed when she handed a belt to staff and informed them voices were telling her to kill herself. Ms Sharma told the court that she was on her first overnight shift in two and a half weeks that night, and was informed in a handover that Ms Wilson was at risk of self-harming. Having never met Ms Wilson - who had schizophrenia - she queried what kind of self-harm the patient was at risk of but said the nurse performing the handover told her he "didn't know". Ms Sharma told the inquest she was unaware of the belt incident or that Ms Wilson had not been sleeping well and had requested medication to calm her down. Read full story Source: BBC News, 24 January 2022
  23. Content Article
    The single worst stressor on healthcare workers is the gap between what their patients need and what they can deliver. The covid-19 pandemic is making this divide wider than ever, writes Esther Choo in this BMJ article.
  24. News Article
    A “very tense” behind-the-scenes row over how quickly hospitals in England can be expected to reduce the massive backlog of surgery has broken out between NHS bosses and ministers. The dispute has delayed publication of the government’s “elective recovery plan”, which Downing Street had indicated would be part of Boris Johnson’s “Operation Red Meat” political fightback this week. No 10, the Treasury and Department of Health and Social Care are pressing NHS England to ensure that hospitals do as many operations as they can, as quickly as possible, in order to tackle the backlog, which now stands at a record 6 million patients. They want to impose “stretching and demanding” targets on hospitals, sources with knowledge of the discussions said. However, NHS trust bosses say the ongoing impact of treating patients sick with Covid, due to the current Omicron surge, longstanding gaps in their workforce, exhaustion at the frontline and record levels of staff sickness, mean they need time to get back to doing as much surgery as they did before the pandemic. The Treasury is said to be frustrated with NHS England and privately believes it is “foot-dragging” over the targets. NHS bosses for their part fear the plan is being driven by “political expediency”, given the growing concern at the sheer number of people facing long delays for care. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 January 2022
  25. News Article
    Leading charities have spoken out against the government’s scrapping of COVID-19 measures warning that clinically vulnerable people have been made “collateral damage for political considerations.” Those representing thousands of clinically vulnerable people have warned the government’s decisions to scrap COVID-19 restrictions leaves people “marginalised” and warned there was a risk to 5-11 year old vulnerable children who are yet to be vaccinated. The removal of COVID-19 restrictions next week will mean masks are no longer mandatory and the government will no longer ask people to work from home. Blood Cancer UK has called for the government to do more to support immunocompromised people such as giving them priority testing. Alzheimer's Society has said it is too early to drop basic measures, such as mask wearing, which help protect vulnerable members of society. Charlotte Augst, chief executive for the charity National Voices said clinically vulnerable people had now become “collateral damage in political considerations.” She said: “The pandemic has obviously been difficult for everyone, but it’s been the most difficult for people who are vulnerable to the virus, and some of these people have never really come out of 22 months of lockdowns. “There are obviously infection control measures that are harmful to society and lockdown is one of them - it causes harm. But there are some infection control measures which are not and which enable people to get on with their lives - wearing masks, improving ventilation. “Why would we not do this? When we understood that dirty water caused illness, we cleaned up the water. It cannot be a political statement to say we should clean up the air this is just fact-based decision making, but the situation] has now become all about politics. Read full story Source: The Independent. 21 January 2022
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