Jump to content
  • articles
    6,918
  • comments
    73
  • views
    5,051,600

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

 

UK health watchdog may investigate coronavirus deaths

The deaths of more than 50 hospital and care home workers have been reported to Britain’s health and safety regulator, which is considering launching criminal investigations, the Guardian has learned.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which investigates the breaking of safety at work laws, has received 54 formal reports of deaths in health and care settings “where the source of infection is recorded as COVID-19”. These are via the official reporting process, called Riddor: Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences.

Separately, senior lawyers say any failures to provide proper personal protective equipment (PPE) may be so severe they amount to corporate manslaughter, with police forces drawing up plans to handle any criminal complaints.

Despite weeks of pleading, frontline medical staff complain that PPE is still failing to reach them as hospitals battle the highly contagious virus. Senior barristers say criminal investigations should be launched, and that there are grounds to suspect high-level failures.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 10 May 2020

Read more

UK health trusts suspend home birth services as midwives shortage deepens

A severe shortage of midwives has led to home birth services being closed or reduced by a number of hospital trusts across the UK, with pregnant women frequently left in limbo as to where they will be able to give birth.

The Observer has found more than 20 trusts that have had disrupted home birth services in the past three months. Eight confirmed their services remain suspended due to staff shortages. They include East Kent Hospitals, Swansea Bay University Health Board and NHS Dumfries and Galloway – all of which report that the situation is under constant review.

Home birth services at some trusts, such as Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, have been closed since August. Others have reopened after short suspensions or have written to expectant parents to say they cannot guarantee sending a midwife when there is high demand or staff shortages.

The findings come a week after midwives across Britain staged protests to call on the government to address the “crisis” in maternity care, with staff suffering from chronic burnout and stress.

Midwives are being driven out of the NHS by understaffing and fears they cannot deliver safe care, according to a recent survey published by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).

Maria Booker, programmes director at the charity Birthrights, said: “Staffing pressures in maternity services are very real right now. But for many women the option to give birth at home is not a luxury but the only option that feels safe to them."

“Some know they will labour better at home while some do not want to visit hospital during a pandemic. Others have a had a previous traumatic hospital birth. We cannot just accept that home birth and other choices go out the window every time a maternity service is squeezed.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 28 November 2021

Read more

UK health spending ‘to grow less than in austerity era’, analysis reveals

Health spending over the next two years will grow less than during the austerity era of the last decade, according to a new analysis of the autumn statement.

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, a former health secretary who previously campaigned for greater resources from the backbenches, announced last week that the NHS would receive an extra £3.3bn in each of the next two years. With severe pressures growing on the service, he said it would be one of his “key priorities”.

However, research by the Health Foundation charity has found that when the whole health budget is included – covering the NHS, training, public health services and capital investment – it will only increase by 1.2% in real terms over the next two years. That is below the 2% average seen in the decade preceding the pandemic, as well as the historical average of about 3.8%.

The research comes as NHS trusts face almost impossible decisions over staff wages, waiting lists and keeping buildings and equipment up to date. The Health Foundation analysis highlighted the continued “significant uncertainty” facing the delivery of health services over the remainder of this parliament. It said there were now “difficult trade-offs” on issues such as pay and the backlog.

Anita Charlesworth, director of the Real (Research and economic analysis for the long term) Centre at the Health Foundation, said that there had been “short-term relief” for the health service, especially when compared with the cuts made to non-protected departments.

However, she said it would be “treading water at best as inflation bites and it faces rising pressures from an ageing population, pay, addressing the backlog and continuing Covid costs”.

“If other parts of the system – especially social care and community care – are also struggling with cost pressures, this makes it harder to deliver healthcare and the 2% will buy less,” she said. “Efficiency can only take the NHS so far. Since 2010, if we had kept up with German health spending we’d have spent £73bn more each year, and £40bn more if we’d kept up with France.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 19 November 2022

Read more

UK has some of worst cancer survival rates in developed world

The UK has some of the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world, according to new research.

Analysis of international data by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce found that five-year survival rates for lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers in the UK are worse than in most comparable countries. On average, just 16% of UK patients live for five years with these cancers.

Out of 33 countries of comparable wealth and income levels, the UK ranks as low as 28th for five-year survival of both stomach and lung cancer, 26th for pancreatic cancer, 25th for brain cancer and 21st and 16th for liver and oesophageal cancers respectively.

The six cancers account for nearly half of all common cancer deaths in the UK and more than 90,000 people are diagnosed with one of them in Britain every year.

The taskforce calculated that if people with these cancers in the UK had the same prognosis as patients living in countries with the highest five-year survival rates – Korea, Belgium, the US, Australia and China – then more than 8,000 lives could be saved a year.

Anna Jewell, the chair of the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce, said: “People diagnosed with a less survivable cancer are already fighting against the odds for survival. If we could bring the survivability of these cancers on level with the best-performing countries in the world then we could give valuable years to thousands of patients.

“If we’re going to see positive and meaningful change then all of the UK governments must commit to proactively investing in research and putting processes in place so we can speed up diagnosis and improve treatment options.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 11 January 2023

Read more

UK GPs have the highest stress levels, finds survey of 10 countries’ doctors

GPs in the UK have some of the highest stress levels and lowest job satisfaction among family doctors, a 10-country survey has found.

British GPs suffer from high levels of burnout, have a worse work/life balance and spend less time with patients during appointments than their peers in many other places.

Heavy workloads, seemingly endless paperwork and feelings of emotional distress are prompting many GPs to stop seeing patients regularly or even retire altogether, the research found.

Seven in 10 (71%) NHS family doctors find their job “extremely” or “very stressful”, the joint-highest number alongside GPs in Germany among the countries analysed.

The Health Foundation, which undertook the survey, said its “grim” findings showed that the “unsustainable” pressures on GPs and number of them quitting pose a threat to the NHS’s future.

Read more
 

UK government must recognise care workers are on the coronavirus frontline too

Social care has a vital part to play in the fight against Covid-19, but without proper support more lives will be put at risk, says Vic Rayner, Executive Director of the National Care Forum.

"We are working round the clock to keep the people we care for safe and happy and to protect our staff. We know the COVID-19 situation is moving fast – but the care sector can only effectively play its part with more direct support from the government."

Social care providers, like many across the country, are working hard to prepare for the escalation of COVID-19. This includes refresher training on infection control, robust measures to ensure any visitors to care services are safe to enter, planning for how to keep going in the face of significant workforce shortages, and ensuring the people they care for and their staff are kept safe and well.

However, it is clear that social care is in urgent need of help, more directly and more quickly, to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, or to ensure that their staff are adequately protected.

The issue of protection is never far from care providers’ minds, and the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) for care staff remains a pressing problem.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 20 March 2020 

Read more

UK flu jab rates prompt complacency warning

Complacency over the flu jab risks overwhelming the NHS, experts warn, as data reveals the scale of the challenge in expanding the vaccination programme.

Last month, the government announced plans to double the number of people who receive the influenza jab. But BBC analysis has found the take-up rate among people in vulnerable groups eligible for a free jab has declined.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said he did not want a flu outbreak "at the same time as dealing with coronavirus".

The government wants to increase the number of people vaccinated from 15 million to 30 million amid fears coronavirus cases will rise again in the autumn.

Local authorities in England saw an average 45% of people with serious health conditions under 65 take up the offer of a free vaccine last winter, data shows. That represents a drop from 50% in 2015.

The UK government has an ambition to vaccinate 55% of people in vulnerable groups, which includes people with multiple sclerosis (MS), diabetes or chronic asthma.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously said countries should vaccinate 75% of people in "vulnerable" categories.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 27 August 2020

 

Read more
 

UK failures over Covid-19 will increase death toll, says leading doctor

A “collective failure” to appreciate the enormity of the coronavirus pandemic and enact swift measures to protect the public will lead to unnecessary deaths, according to a leading doctor who says the UK ignored clear warning signs from China.

Richard Horton, the Editor-in-Chief of the Lancet, rounded on politicians and their expert advisers for failing to act when Chinese researchers first warned about a devastating new virus that was killing people in Hubei eight weeks ago.

The team from Wuhan and Beijing reported in January that the number of deaths was rising quickly as the virus spread in China. They urged the global community to launch “careful surveillance” in view of the pathogen’s “pandemic potential”.

Horton said nothing in the science had changed since January. “The UK’s best scientists have known since that first report from China that Covid-19 was a lethal illness. Yet they did too little, too late,” he said.

While the UK was now taking the right actions to quell the outbreak, Horton said, in due course “there must be a reckoning” where difficult questions would have to be asked and answered. “We have lost valuable time. There will be deaths that were preventable. The system failed,” he said.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 18 March 2020

Read more

UK facing crisis point in abortion provision, experts say

The UK is facing a “crisis point” in abortion provision, experts say, with rising demand and restricted access to care in many areas putting unprecedented pressure on struggling NHS services.

Healthcare professionals described a “terrifying” state of affairs in which women are travelling hundreds of miles for appointments or waiting several weeks before they are seen.

Dr Jonathan Lord, the director of MSI Reproductive Choices UK, a major provider of abortion services, told the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast: “There is no doubt we are seeing absolutely unprecedented levels of demand at the moment. All providers are reporting they are busier than they have ever been.”

Lord, who is also an NHS consultant gynaecologist, said the rise was being driven by “the economic downturn, the cost of living crisis and the ability to access good quality contraception” via GPs and sexual health services, which have been affected by the wider NHS crisis.

Clare Murphy, the chief executive at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), previously said: “The pandemic, and the policies adopted by the government, have had a clear impact on women’s pregnancy choices.” Faced with “economic uncertainty and job insecurity”, women had been forced to make tough decisions, she said.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 26 January 2023

Read more

UK facing ‘brain drain’ of cancer researchers after failure to join EU scheme

Top young cancer researchers are leaving the UK in a “brain drain” fuelled by the continuing failure to reach an agreement over the EU’s study programme, scientists warn.

The two-and-a-half-year delay in joining the £85bn Horizon Europe scheme, the largest collaborative research programme in the world, has “damaged the UK’s reputation” and made it more difficult to attract and retain the brightest researchers into the nation’s labs.

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) surveyed 84 cancer specialists about Horizon Europe and found that three-quarters of respondents favoured association with the programme compared with only 11% who wanted the UK to go it alone with the government’s plan B, known as Pioneer.

Prof Julian Downward, head of the Oncogene Biology Lab at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said: “We need Horizon Europe very badly. The current situation is damaging UK science every day. We are losing top junior faculty regularly who decide to move to EU countries so they can take up European Research Council grants.”

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 25 August 2023

Read more
 

UK faces medicine shortages

Many feared that the UK leaving the EU would cause shortages and limitations to the medicine supply throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Now ten months on from Brexit are we finally seeing the short fallings?

Ninety percent of the UK's medicines are imported from abroad meaning disruptions caused by the outcomes of Brexit and a lack of HGV drivers has caused a significant problem in transporting drugs into the country.

Leaked Department of Health and Social Care documents revealed two hundred and nine medicines had supply “issues” in 2019, more than half of these remained in short supply for over three months. Drugs such as hepatitis vaccines and anti-epileptic drugs, faced “extended” problems.

A document published by the NHS Nottinghamshire Shared Medicines Management Team compiled a list of shortages and disruptions to supply due to COVID.

The following 5 products had long-term manufacturing issues:

  • AstraZeneca’s Zyban (bupropion, anti-smoking drug)
  • Par’s Questran (colestyramine, a bile acid sequestrant)
  • Diamorphine (a painkiller, used for cancer patients)
  • Metoprolol (used for high blood pressure)
  • Co-Careldopa (given to people with Parkinson’s disease)

A further thirty medicines had short-term manufacturing issues, including end of life medicines such as morphine and anti-vomiting drug, levomepromazine.

NHS Scotland and NHS Wales have published lists of drugs in low supply which are available to view on their NHS websites. NHS England consider this to be ‘sensitive information’ and have not published any shortfalls.

An amendment to The Human Medicines Regulations 2019 legislation has added a ‘Serious Shortage Protocol’ (SSP). This allows for pharmacists and contractors to supply patients with a ‘reasonable and appropriate substitute’ if their prescription has an active SSP.

Currently, shortages on Fluxoetine, (anti-depressive drug) and Estradot patches, (hormonal replacement therapy) have active SSP’s according to the NHS Business Service Authority.

Original source: National Health Executive

Read more
 

UK exam could be scrapped for foreign dentists

The government is considering plans to allow dentists from abroad to work without taking an exam to check their education and skills.

The proposal, which is subject to a three-month consultation, aims to address the severe shortage of NHS dentists.

It is hoped a quicker process would attract more dentists.

The British Dental Association has accused the government of avoiding the issues "forcing" dentists to quit.

The proposal forms part of the government's £200 million NHS Dental Recovery Plan for England, announced earlier this month.

Under the plan, dentists could also be paid more for NHS work, while so-called "dental vans" would be rolled out to areas with low coverage, alongside an advice programme for new parents.

There is also a proposal of £20,000 bonuses for dentists working in under-served communities, as part of an effort to increase appointment capacity by 2.5 million next year.

At present, overseas dentists are required to pass an exam before they can start work in the UK - the new idea would see the General Dental Council (GDC) granted powers to provisionally register them without a test.

Stefan Czerniawski, executive director of strategy at the GDC said: "We need to move at pace, but we need to take the time to get this right - and we will work with stakeholders across the dental sector and four nations to do so."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 17 February 2024

Read more
 

UK eating disorder charity says calls from people with Arfid have risen sevenfold

The number of people in the UK who have avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (Arfid), in which those afflicted avoid many foods, has risen sevenfold in five years, figures show.

The eating disorders charity Beat received 295 calls about Arfid in 2018 – comprising 2% of its 20,535 inquiries that year. However, it received 2,054 calls last year, which accounted for one in 10 of its 20,535 requests for help. Many were from children and young people or their parents.

Andrew Radford, Beat’s chief executive, said: “It’s extremely worrying that there has been such a dramatic increase in those seeking support for Arfid, particularly as specialist care isn’t always readily available.”

Patchy provision of NHS help meant many people were experiencing long delays before accessing support, he added.

Eight in 10 eating disorder service providers did not state on their website whether or not they offered Arfid care, research by Beat found.

“All too often we hear from people who have been unable to get treatment close to home or have faced waits of months or even years to get the help they need,” Radford said.

Arfid is much less well-known than anorexia or bulimia. It is “an eating disorder that rarely gets the attention it deserves”. The sharp increase in cases should prompt NHS chiefs to end the postcode lottery in care for Arfid and ensure that every region of England had a team of staff fully trained to treat it, he added.

“Unlike other eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, Arfid isn’t driven by feelings around [someone’s] weight or shape,” Radford said. “Instead, it might be due to having sensory issues around the texture or taste of certain foods, fear about eating due to distressing experiences with food, for example choking, or lack of interest in eating.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 26 February 2024

Read more

UK doctors with long Covid say they have been denied disability benefits

Doctors who worked on the frontline during the pandemic and have been left with long Covid say they have been denied financial support by the UK government, with some left with little option but to sell their house.

Months or even years after an initial Covid infection some people continue to have symptoms, from fatigue to brain fog. According to the Office for National Statistics, as of 1 May an estimated 2 million people in the UK reported having long Covid, as the condition is known.

Now healthcare staff in the UK have told the Guardian that despite being left with serious impairments as a result of long Covid, they have been turned down for personal independence payment (Pip), a non means-tested benefit helping people with the extra living costs of their chronic illness or disability.

One respiratory consultant revealed they had been refused Pip despite reporting to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that they had urinary incontinence, were unable to be on their feet for more than five to 10 minutes without a rest, and had difficulties preparing food, eating, washing, dressing or engaging with people face to face, among other problems.

Speaking anonymously, as their application is under mandatory reconsideration, the consultant said they contracted Covid while working on a coronavirus ward in November 2020 and first applied for Pip in June 2021 after developing long Covid, which has left them unable to work.

“I thought that I had illustrated quite clearly what my disability was,” they said. “When I got the report back, I thought ‘is this about me?’”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 13 June 2022

Read more

UK doctors demand pay rise of up to 30% over five years

Doctors have thrown down the gauntlet to the government by calling for a pay rise of up to 30% over the next five years, in a move that increases the chances of strike action.

Delegates at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) annual conference voted to press ministers to agree to the increase to make up for real-terms cuts to their salaries over the last 14 years.

Frontline doctors said years of pay freezes and annual salary uplifts of 1% had caused the real value of their take-home pay to fall by almost a third since 2008. They now want “full pay restoration” to return the value of their pay to 2008 levels, and have instructed the BMA to pursue that goal with a government that has made clear it will not hand public sector workers sizeable salary increases in case it fuels already rampant inflation.

The motion noted “with horror that all doctors’ pay has fallen against RPI [the retail prices index] since 2008 to the tune of up to 30%”. It said the BMA’s leadership should “achieve pay restoration to 2008 for its members within the next five years” and report back annually on progress.

Proposing the motion, Dr Emma Runswick, a member of the BMA’s ruling council, said: “We should not wait for things to get worse. All of us deserve comfort and pleasure in our lives. Pay restoration is the right, just and moral thing to do. But it is a significant demand and it won’t be easy to win. Every part of the BMA needs to plan for how to achieve this.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 27 June 2022

Read more

UK doctors ‘less likely’ to resuscitate the most seriously ill patients since Covid

Doctors are less likely to resuscitate the most seriously ill patients in the wake of the pandemic, a survey suggests.

Covid-19 may have changed doctors’ decision-making regarding end of life, making them more willing not to resuscitate very sick or frail patients and raising the threshold for referral to intensive care, according to the results of the research published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

However, the pandemic has not changed their views on euthanasia and doctor-assisted dying, with about a third of respondents still strongly opposed to these policies, the survey responses reveal.

The Covid-19 pandemic transformed many aspects of clinical medicine, including end-of-life care, prompted by millions more patients than usual requiring it around the world, say the researchers.

In respect of DNACPR, the decision not to attempt to restart a patient’s heart when it or breathing stops, more than half the respondents were more willing to do this than they had been previously.

Asked about the contributory factors, the most frequently cited were: “likely futility of CPR” (88% pre-pandemic, 91% now); coexisting conditions (89% both pre-pandemic and now); and patient wishes (83.5% pre-pandemic, 80.5% now). Advance care plans and “quality of life” after resuscitation were also commonly cited.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 25 July 2022

Read more
 

UK doctor invents digital flashcards to help COVID-19 patients understand staff

A coronavirus patient’s terrifying hospital experience inspired an NHS doctor to create a flashcard system to improve communication with medical staff wearing face masks.

Anaesthetist Rachael Grimaldi founded CARDMEDIC while on maternity leave after reading about a COVID-19 patient who was unable to understand healthcare workers through their personal protective equipment (PPE).

Her system enables medical staff to ask critically ill or deaf coronavirus patients important questions and share vital information on digital flashcards displayed on a phone, tablet or computer.

The idea went from concept to launch on 1 April in just 72 hours and is now being used by NHS trusts and hospitals in 50 countries across the world.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 25 April 2020

Read the 'Story behind CARDMEDIC', written by Rachael for the hub

Read more

UK dentists should give antibiotics to patients at risk of heart infection

Dentists in the UK should be encouraged to give antibiotics to patients at high risk of life-threatening heart infection before invasive procedures, a study has found.

Research suggests bacteria from the mouth entering the bloodstream during dental treatment could explain 30% to 40% of infective endocarditis cases. The rare but life-threatening condition occurs when the inner lining of the heart chambers and valves become infected.

Antibiotics could limit the number of cases and reduce the risk of heart failure, stroke and premature death in high-risk patients, the study says.

Current guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) advise against the routine use of antibiotics before invasive dental procedures for those at risk of infective endocarditis.

“Ours is the largest study to show a significant association between invasive dental procedures and infective endocarditis, particularly for extraction and surgical procedures,” said Prof Martin Thornhill from the University of Sheffield, who led the study.

Nice should review its guidelines advising against antibiotic prophylaxis, the researchers said.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 19 August 2022

Read more

UK dementia care agency’s half-hour home visits ‘lasted as little as three minutes’

A dementia home care agency spent as little as three and a half minutes on taxpayer-funded care visits and filed records claiming far more care was given, according to evidence seen by the Guardian.

The hasty care was exposed by Susan Beswick’s family, who called it “totally inadequate”. They say they had been told visits to 78-year-old Beswick, who has Alzheimer’s disease, were supposed to last 30 or 45 minutes.

Across nine visits this month, care workers formally logged close to six hours of care. But security cameras suggest they were in the house for under one hour 20 minutes – less than nine minutes a visit on average.

On one evening visit, footage showed two carers entering, asking if Beswick had eaten and checking her incontinence pad, before leaving three minutes and 15 seconds later. But they appeared to log on a care tracking app that they had been with her for one hour and 16 minutes.

Beswick, who for years was a care worker herself, “deserves so much better”, said her daughter-in-law Karen Beswick.

“It’s upsetting us the way mum is being cared for here,” she said. “They come in and check her [incontinence] pad and go. They are supposed to be encouraging her to drink. They don’t really talk to mum a lot. It’s not good at all. I will start crying. We are all trying to get the best for mum.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 30 January 2023

Read more

UK Covid modelling data to stop being published

Coronavirus modelling data will stop being published in early January, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says.

Statistics covering the growth rate of the virus are currently released fortnightly, but the agency says this is no longer necessary.

Chief data scientist Dr Nick Watkins said this is due to the UK living with Covid-19 because of vaccines and therapeutics.

At the height of the pandemic both the R rate and growth rate for England were published weekly. Since April this year it has been published fortnightly.

Dr Watkins said it served as a useful and simple indicator to inform public health action and government decisions.

"Vaccines and therapeutics have allowed us to move to a phase where we are living with Covid-19," Dr Watkins said.

"We continue to monitor Covid-19 activity in a similar way to how we monitor a number of other common illnesses and diseases.

"All data publications are kept under constant review and this modelling data can be reintroduced promptly if needed, for example, if a new variant of concern was to be identified."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 26 December 2022

Read more

UK Covid inquiry draft terms of reference set out

The draft terms of reference for the UK public inquiry into the government's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic have been published.

The inquiry, due to start in the spring, will play a key role in "learning lessons" from the pandemic and for the future, it said. 

The terms of reference were published after a consultation with inquiry chairwoman and former High Court judge Baroness Hallett, and with ministers in the devolved nations.

The Scottish government has already published the terms of reference for its own Covid-19 inquiry, to be led by Judge Lady Poole.

The UK-wide inquiry proposes examining a broad range of issues including:

  • the UK's preparedness for the pandemic
  • the use of lockdowns and other 'non-pharmaceutical' interventions such as social distancing and the use of face coverings
  • the management of the pandemic in hospitals and care homes
  • the procurement and provision of equipment like personal protective equipment and ventilators
  • support for businesses and jobs, including the furlough scheme, as well as benefits and sick pay.

The inquiry aims to produce "a factual, narrative account" covering decision-making at all levels of government and the response of the health and care sector as well as identifying the "lessons to be learned".

Becky Kummer, spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said the publication was a "huge step forward" and the organisation looked forward to contributing to the consultation on the terms.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents hospital trusts, said there was much the NHS did well during the pandemic but: "It is right the inquiry looks at areas where there were major challenges - such as infection prevention and control, access to PPE, testing, and robust epidemiological modelling."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 11 March 2022

Read more
 

UK Covid deaths among worst of big European economies

The UK had one of the worst increases in death rates of major European economies during the Covid pandemic, BBC analysis has found.

Death rates in the UK were more than 5% higher on average each year of the pandemic than in the years just before it, largely driven by a huge death toll in the first year.

That was above the increase seen in France, Spain or Germany, but below Italy and significantly lower than the US.

It would take many inquiries to tease apart the effect of all the possible reasons behind every nation's pandemic outcomes: preparedness, population health, lockdown timing and severity, social support, vaccine rollout and health care provision and others.

But some argue that there are lessons for the UK that need to be learned even before we think about future pandemics.

The UK's heavy pandemic death toll "built on a decade of lacklustre performance on life expectancy" says Veena Raleigh, of the King's Fund, a health think tank. She argues that government action to improve population health and turn that around has "never been more urgent.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 22 June 2023

Read more

UK children’s doctors given advice on how to help families in poverty

Children’s doctors plan to help poor families cope with the cost of living crisis and its feared impact on health, amid concern that cold homes this winter will lead to serious ill health.

In an unusual move, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is issuing the UK’s paediatricians with detailed advice on how they can help households in poverty.

It has drawn up a series of resources, including advice for doctors treating children to use appointments to talk sensitively to their parents about issues that can have a big impact on their offspring’s health. These include diet, local pollution levels, socio-economic circumstances and difficulties at home or school, which are closely linked to children’s risk of being overweight, asthmatic or stressed.

“Don’t shy away from it,” the RCPCH’s 17-page manual says. “If we aren’t asking families about things which may impact on their children’s health, we are short-changing the children themselves.”

However, it adds that paediatricians should “pick your timing carefully [as] parents can feel alienated if we are perceived as jumping in with two feet to ask about smoking when they are stressed about an acutely unwell child with pneumonia.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 22 September 2022

Read more

UK children waiting 16 months on average for ADHD and autism screening

Children with suspected ADHD and autism are waiting as long as seven years for treatment on the NHS, as the health service struggles to manage a surge in demand during a crisis in child mental health.

Experts said “inhumane” waits are putting a generation of neurodiverse children at risk of mental illness as they are “pushed to the back of a very long queue” for children and adolescent mental health services (Camhs).

UK children with suspected neurodevelopmental conditions faced an average waiting time of one year and four months for an initial screening in 2022, more than three times longer than the average wait for all Camhs services, according to research carried out by the House magazine and shared with the Guardian.

Half of all trusts responding to a freedom of information request had an average wait of at least a year, and at one-sixth of trusts it was more than two years. The NICE guidance for autism and mental health services stipulates that no one should wait longer than 13 weeks between being referred and first being seen.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 17 July 2023

Related reading on the hub:

Read more

UK care homes still stopping family reunions months after Covid rules eased

Two and a half years after Boris Johnson announced the first UK lockdown, and seven months after the last domestic measures ended, some care homes in Britain are still denying people access to their elderly relatives due to Covid restrictions.

Grandchildren have been banned by some homes, which put age limits on visitors. Others exclude whole families except for one relative named as “essential caregiver”, something that was dropped from government guidance in April.

Support groups the Relatives & Residents Association (R&RA), and Rights for Residents also said there were homes not allowing people to see their parents, husbands or wives in their rooms, instead insisting that the visits take place in pods outside.

And some only allow limited timed-visiting slots. About 70% of older care home residents have dementia and often find it distressing to be moved, only settling by the end of the slot.

Campaigners have been calling for action to protect care home residents since the first lockdown, because relatives are often best able to help. Research from John’s Campaign shows that people who know someone with dementia are much better at interpreting their behaviour and giving comfort.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 25 September 2022

You may also be interested to read these two original blogs posted on the hub:

 

Read more
×
×
  • Create New...