Jump to content
  • articles
    9,848
  • comments
    83
  • views
    12,486,850

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

Some housebound people in UK are yet to be given Covid vaccine

Some of the country’s most clinically vulnerable people have yet to receive the coronavirus vaccination, Guardian analysis shows.

Ministers had said all clinically extremely vulnerable adults would be offered a vaccination by 15 February, but more than a month later some people who are housebound because of health problems have yet to be offered a jab they can actually access.

People whose disability or age means that they are unable to get to one of the mass vaccine centres around the country were meant to be visited by a “mobile health worker” at home, similar to that offered to care home residents. However, while government figures suggest that nearly nine in 10 people who are clinically extremely vulnerable have received a first dose, a number who are housebound are missing out, with some being expected to travel miles to a vaccine centre.

Kim Liddell, 49, from Cheshire, is housebound because of the nerve condition cauda equina syndrome, and is still waiting for a home visit. “I’ve spoken to my GP practice and all I have been told is they are in the process of setting up clinics,” she said. “The worst part of this is my father died from Covid three weeks ago. And I am at massive risk as my son, who lives with me, is a teacher, doesn’t drive [and has gone] back to face-to-face teaching. I’m absolutely petrified.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 21 March 2021

Read more

AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, find clot reviews

There is no evidence the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine causes blood clots, say UK and EU regulators after a "thorough and careful review".

The MHRA and the EMA say people can have confidence in the vaccine's benefits and should get immunised, despite some countries pausing use.

But anyone with a headache lasting more than four days after vaccination should seek medical advice, as a precaution. The same advice applies if someone develops unusual bruising. That is because the regulators have received a very small number of reports of an extremely rare form of blood clot occurring in the brain.

It is this type of clot that triggered some European countries to pause rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

In the UK, five cases of cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT), among 11 million people who have received the vaccine, occurred in men aged between 19 and 59. One of these was fatal. The EMA has received an additional 13 reports of CSVT.

CSVT can occur naturally and no link to the vaccine has been established. The patients also had low blood platelet counts - cells involved with clotting. Covid infection can make clots more likely.

Dr June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said regulators would continue to closely monitor the situation and people should have the vaccine when it is their turn: "The public can have every confidence in the thoroughness of our review."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 18 March 2021

Read more
 

Doctors suggest COVID-19 could cause diabetes

A cohort of scientists from across the world believe that there is a growing body of evidence that COVID-19 can cause diabetes in some patients.

Prof Francesco Rubino, from King’s College London, is leading the call for a full investigation into a possible link between the two diseases. Having seen a rise in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in people who have caught coronavirus, some doctors are even considering the possibility that the virus ‒ by disrupting sugar metabolism ‒ could be inducing an entirely new form of diabetes.

Rubino and others set up a registry to start pooling and analysing reports of cases. The principal investigators of the registry which has received reports from more than 350 individual clinicians who suspect they have encountered one or more cases of Covid-induced diabetes — have said the numbers were hard to ignore.

“Over the last few months, we’ve seen more cases of patients that had either developed diabetes during the Covid-19 experience, or shortly after that. We are now starting to think the link is probably true – there is an ability of the virus to cause a malfunctioning of sugar metabolism,” said Rubino.

If there was a biological link, it would be difficult to prove without a substantial database, he noted. “We said it’s worth embarking on an investigation because this – especially given the size of the pandemic – could be a significant problem.”

Read story

Source: The Guardian, 19 March 2021

Read more

Trust chiefs predict ‘massive problem’ if centre starts elective recovery next month

The NHS should start off the next financial year focusing on staff recovery and postpone ratcheting up elective recovery efforts and other long-term priorities until the second quarter, senior figures have warned.

One trust chief executive said if there is an expectation from the centre that “April is the start point [for elective recovery], that will cause a massive problem”.

It comes with the government and NHS England still apparently locked in negotiation over NHS funding for the financial year from 1 April, and deciding what the NHS will be asked to deliver.

The CEO said: “It’s hard to think that 1 April signals a new year for the NHS. [There needs to be] a gradual decompression of our staff over the next three months as the country opens up.

“If the planning guidance gets announced in the next couple of weeks with an expectation that April is the start point, that will cause a massive problem. Staff have not recovered, the vaccine programme is still ongoing, [and] there are still covid patients in all of our beds.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 18 March 2021

Read more

Hospital operating theatres plagued by racist, sexist and homophobic abuse

Racism, sexism, and homophobia is widespread in hospital operating theatres across England, according to an independent report.

In a damning verdict on the atmosphere in some surgical teams, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC said the ‘old boys’ network of alpha male surgeons was preventing some doctors from rising to the top and had fuelled an oppressive environment for women, ethnic minorities and trainee surgeons.

The report was commissioned by the Royal College of Surgeons and lays bare the "discrimination and unacceptable behaviour" taking place in some surgical teams.

Baroness Kennedy told The Telegraph the field of surgery was "lagging behind" society, adding: "It is driven by an ethos which is very much alpha male, where white female surgeons are often assumed to be nurses and black women surgeons mistaken for the cleaner. And this is by the management.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 18 March 2021

Read more
 

'Gross failure in care' of baby starved of oxygen

There was a "gross failure in basic care" which led to a baby being starved of oxygen during birth, a coroner said.

Zak Ezra Carter died at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, two days after being born in July 2018 at Ystrad Fawr Hospital in Caerphilly county.

Gwent coroner Caroline Saunders said the monitoring of Zak and his mother Adele Thomas fell "well below the standards expected". She said she was reassured the health board had taken steps to improve care.

Ms Thomas told the Newport hearing she felt "scared" and staff "didn't care" when she arrived to give birth on 20 July 2018. In a statement to the inquest she described being turned away from the centre after going into labour on three occasions, before being admitted on the fourth.

Ms Thomas said she was initially offered paracetamol as pain relief at the midwife-led centre.

She described "a lot of arguing between nurses", one of whom was "bolshie and rude and rough handled me", adding the midwives "did not appear to be in any rush". 

When Zak was born, he was described as being "white and pale" and without a heartbeat. He did not cry and was taken away to a room for resuscitation. Zak was transferred to the Royal Gwent Hospital where he died two days later.

During the first stage of labour, Prof Sanders said "everything was progressing at a normal healthy rate and the fetal heart rate was recorded as completely normal". But she said it was "highly unusual" for the heart rate to not be documented contemporaneously, and the midwives had not been able to explain why they had not done so.

Recording a narrative conclusion, Ms Saunders said the monitoring of Ms Thomas and her baby had "fallen well below the standards expected", leading to a "gross failure in basic care" of them in the later stages of labour.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 18 March 2021

Read more
 

NHS chiefs fear collision course with ministers over Covid backlog

Hospital bosses are bracing themselves for a clash with ministers over how quickly they can clear the backlog of NHS care that built up during the pandemic.

They are warning that it will take “years” to treat all those whose care was cancelled because Covid disrupted so many hospital services, particularly surgery and diagnostic tests.

Staff shortages, exhaustion among frontline personnel after tackling the pandemic and their need to have a break mean that progress will be slower than the government expects, NHS trust chiefs say.

“We can’t say with certainty how long it will take to tackle the backlog of planned operations because we don’t really know how big that backlog will end up being,” said Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers.

“The NHS will obviously go as fast as it can, as we always do. But it’s already apparent that clearing the entire backlog will take years rather than months.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 18 March 2021

 

Read more

Blanket 'do not resuscitate' orders imposed on English care homes, finds CQC

Blanket orders not to resuscitate some care home residents at the start of the Covid pandemic have been identified in a report by England’s care regulator.

A report published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found disturbing variations in people’s experiences of do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions during the pandemic.

Best practice is for proper discussions to be held with the person involved and/or their relatives. While examples of good practice were identified, some people were not properly involved in decisions or were unaware that such an important decision about their care had been made. Poor record-keeping, and a lack of oversight and scrutiny of the decisions being made, was identified.

The report, 'Protect, respect, connect – decisions about living and dying well during Covid-19', calls for a ministerial oversight group – working with partners in health and social care, local government and the voluntary sector – to take responsibility for delivering improvements in this area.

The report surveyed a range of individuals and organisations, including care providers and members of the public, and identified:

  • Serious concerns about breaches of some individuals’ human rights.
  • Significant increase in DNACPRs put in place in care homes at the beginning of the pandemic, from 16,876 to 26,555.
  • 119 adult social care providers felt they had been subjected to blanket DNACPR decisions since the start of the pandemic.
  • A GP sent DNACPR letters to care homes asking them to put blanket DNACPRs in place.
  • In one care home a blanket DNACPR was applied to everyone over 80 with dementia.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian. 18 March 2021

Read more
 

Coronavirus shielding advice to end on 1 April

More than 3.7 million vulnerable people in England will no longer have to shield from the coronavirus from 1 April.

It comes as the numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions have declined for the past couple of weeks.

Letters will be sent out to this group in the next two weeks. In them, people will still be advised to keep social contacts at low levels, work from home where possible and stay at a distance from other people.

Since 5 January, they have been asked to stay at home as much as possible to reduce their risk of being exposed to the virus. But at a Downing Street press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed shielding guidance, which had been extended to 31 March for all those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, would end on 1 April.

England's deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries recommended the change based on the latest scientific evidence and advice.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 17 March 2021

Read more
 

Nurses should look out for ‘COVID toe’ in patients

A website is helping healthcare professionals and the public recognise whether a rash could be a sign of COVID-19.

The covidskinsigns site carries more than 400 images of rashes collected via the COVID Symptom Study app, which was set up during the first wave of the pandemic to gather information from the public about the signs and symptoms of virus.

According to the British Association of Dermatologists, which developed the website, the most common skin rashes are urticaria (a hive-like rash), a ‘prickly heat’ or chickenpox-type rash, and redness that looks like chilblains on the fingers or toes.

Rash was added as a sign to the app, which has been downloaded by 4 million people in the UK – reports emerged last spring of rashes in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.

In August 2020, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust vascular nurse consultant Leanne Atkin warned discoloured toes could be a sign of COVID-19. She spoke out following a rise in the number of patients presenting to vascular clinics with signs that could be attributable to arterial disease. However, Dr Atkin said these patients often go on to test positive for COVID-19.

Dubbed ‘COVID toe’, the condition can have a similar appearance to chilblains, which commonly cause swelling and redness at the ends of toes and fingers, and was first identified as a sign of COVID-19 by podiatrists in Spain in April 2020.

Read full story

Source: Nursing Standard, 29 January 2021

Read more

Bereaved families call for judge-led public inquiry into UK Covid response

The COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group has told Downing Street it wants a statutory public inquiry led by a senior judge to “determine a definitive, official, evidence-based narrative of what did and did not happen, independent of political influence” during the pandemic. The group considers it potentially cathartic and wants the families’ grief heard.

Frontline health workers also want a wide-ranging inquiry to provide a platform for their experiences, while minority ethnic leaders believe an inquiry can only determine what went wrong if wider societal inequalities relating to work, health and housing are investigated.

But while there is no dissent about the need for an inquiry, others fear this remit might be too broad – and fear lessons have to be learned now so the UK can properly protect itself from any future health emergency.

Sir John Bell, the regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, and Lord O’Donnell, head of the civil service under Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, want a different model more narrowly focused on determining future actions.

Ultimately the decision will be for Boris Johnson, who has significant latitude to set the terms and scope of any inquiry, including selection of its chair.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 16 March 2021

Read more
 

Mental Health Matters: What the staff survey said about quality and safety

With the annual NHS Staff Survey recently published, expectation was that this year might look a little different, all things considered.

For the mental health sector, the dial didn’t move massively on key questions. The sector still came out bottom for staff who agreed they’d be happy with the standard of care if a friend or family member needed it - otherwise called the “family and friends test”.

Although the survey was not that revelatory this year, it is still a helpful barometer for trusts’ safety and quality culture.

Sheffield Health and Social Care Foundation Trust comes out lowest on all of the main quality and safety-related questions. 

On the crucial family and friends question, just 47% of the trust’s staff agreed that would be happy with the standard of care. The trust has been one of the worst performers on the survey for a number of years but appears to have deteriorated further.

Sheffield Health and Social Care FT also came out worst on the following key safety culture related questions:

  • When errors, near misses or incidents are reported, my organisation takes action to ensure that they do not happen again
  • I would feel secure raising concerns about unsafe clinical practice
  • My organisation acts on concerns raised by patients/service users.

The last two questions are a vital indicator of a trust’s approach to safety and quality. If staff do not feel secure to raise concerns, or if a trust does not act on patient concerns can it really address problems before they escalate?

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 12 March 2021

Read more
 

Covid death rate in prisons three times higher than outside

People in prisons are at an increased risk of COVID-19, with a death rate more than three times higher than that of the general population, and should be made a vaccine priority, according to public health experts.

There were 118 deaths related to COVID-19 among people in prisons in England and Wales between March 2020 and February 2021, representing a risk of dying more than three times higher than that of people of the same age and sex outside secure environments, the research team at University College London (UCL) found.

The higher rate of death comes despite extensive physical distancing measures, including prisons keeping many inmates in their cells for 23 hours a day.

The lead author of the study, Dr Isobel Braithwaite of UCL Institute of Health Informatics, said: “Our findings show that people in prisons are at a much higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than the general population, and we make the case that both they and prison staff should be given high priority in the rollout of vaccines."

“We believe the current methods of regime restriction are not enough to protect people adequately, and a systematic, ‘whole-prison’ approach to vaccination is key to preventing further outbreaks and reducing overall deaths in prisons.”

The Ministry of Justice challenged the authors’ work, however, arguing it failed to adjust for worse health among the prison population than the community and movements of prisoners in and out of prison.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 16 March 2021

Read more
 

'Urgent action' needed to protect A&E staff from violence

Accident and emergency staff at Bristol Royal Infirmary do not feel equipped to deal with the violence they face from the public, inspectors have found.

Health watchdog The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the department as "requires improvement" following an inspection in February. It said "urgent action" must be taken to protect staff and patients.

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust said it was working on improvements.

Amanda Williams, CQC's head of hospital inspections, said: "We were... particularly concerned to find high levels of violence and aggression against staff from patients in the department and to learn that staff did not feel adequately trained to deal with this."

"Staff need to be given the appropriate training and support to ensure they feel safe and to enable them to defuse tension and prevent violence from escalating."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 17 March 2021

Read more

Nanotechnology could enable test for early Alzheimer’s Disease

Nanotechnology could be used to test blood for evidence of Alzheimer’s disease years before symptoms appear, researchers have said.

Scientists used nanotechnology to extract previously unseen blood signals of neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

They say tests that capture early signs of neurodegeneration in blood offer enormous potential for those who suffer from the disease, as well as dementia patients, to receive effective treatment or manage their progressive condition before significant brain damage occurs.

Alzheimer’s disease can currently be diagnosed using brain scans only after someone has been showing behavioural symptoms, such as memory impairment. By the time symptoms emerge, it is often too late to treat patients effectively.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 17 March 2021

 

Read more

Pregnant women and new mothers ‘three times as likely’ to suffer poor mental health in pandemic

Pregnant women and new mothers are three times as likely to suffer from poor mental health in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study.

The report, carried out by a coalition of leading maternal mental health organisations, suggested before that the public health crisis up to 20% of women developed a mental illness during pregnancy or within the first year after having a baby.

But in lockdown, 6 in 10 mothers had substantial concerns around their mental health, according to researchers who polled more than 5,000 pregnant women and parents.

The study warned women were more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, loneliness and suicidal thoughts during the COVID-19 crisis.

The Maternal Mental Health Alliance is one of the organisations behind the research. Luciana Berger, a former Labour MP who is now chair of the group, said: “Today’s report should serve as an ear-splitting warning siren about the dangers to women’s maternal mental health and potential risks to the wellbeing of their babies."

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 16 March 2021

Read more

NHS blame culture sees nurses referred to regulator without investigations

Hospitals and care homes are failing to properly investigate incidents before referring nurses to their regulator, fuelling a blame culture and repeat failures, the head of the nursing watchdog has told The Independent.

In her first national interview, Andrea Sutcliffe, head of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said some employers were referring nurses without any investigation at all, while half of initial enquiries to the NMC were rejected or required further work.

She told The Independent this emphasis on blaming the individual meant underlying causes of safety errors were being missed and so they were likely to be repeated. Her ambition is to transform the nursing regulator, which oversees 725,000 nurses and midwives across the UK, into a more forceful watchdog that will flag systemic issues of concern with NHS trusts and care homes.

In a wide-ranging interview, Ms Sutcliffe called on ministers to ensure that planned legislation to reform the way clinicians are regulated be made transparent and maintain the public’s confidence. She also stressed that the impact of coronavirus on nurses mental health meant rushing to restart routine operations in the NHS had to be carefully planned to avoid driving nurses out of the health service.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 16 March 2021

Read more

Long Covid more common in women and children and lasts for months, warns latest review

Lasting effects of infection from coronavirus are more common in women and children than expected, with at least 10% of people infected suffering persistent symptoms for months, a new review has found.

Experts at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) examined more than 300 separate scientific studies for the analysis. It found many patients reported struggling to access testing and help from the NHS to treat their symptoms, which varied between patients, suggesting long Covid is a group of four possible syndromes affecting patients differently.

The report said: “Long Covid appears to be more frequent in women and in young people (including children) than might have been expected,” adding other sufferers could be experiencing an active disease, impacting on their organs and causing debilitating symptoms that would need ongoing treatment. In some patients, the effects included neurological changes in their brains while others showed signs of blood clotting and inflammation. Other patients reported anxiety, fatigue and damage to their lungs and heart.

It also warned there was evidence some long Covid patients could actually be getting worse, underlining the need to invest in services that will be needed to cope with what could be a long term problem.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 16 March 2021

Read more
 

Charities warn cancer death rate could rise

A group of 47 cancer charities says that without urgent action, the UK's cancer death rate will rise for the first time in decades.

NHS figures suggest tens of thousands fewer people started cancer treatment since the first lockdown compared to normal times. One Cancer Voice says that the NHS needs more resources.

The government says cancer treatment remains a top priority and urges people to see their GP if they have symptoms.

Radio 1 Newsbeat has spoken exclusively to One Cancer Voice about the impact of coronavirus on cancer care. The group of charities wants to see more staff available to diagnose and treat cancer, with greater NHS access to private facilities in order to "clear the backlog".

"We are calling on the government to invest more money in ensuring the backlog of cancer cases is reduced and eliminated," says Michelle Mitchell, the boss of Cancer Research UK, which heads up One Cancer Voice.

"We could face, in this country today, the prospect of cancer survival reducing for the first time in decades. That's why urgent action is required by the government."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 16 March 2021

Read more

There's no proof the Oxford vaccine causes blood clots. So why are people worried?

Stories about people getting blood clots soon after taking the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine have become a source of anxiety among European leaders.

After a report on a death and three hospitalisations in Norway, which found serious blood clotting in adults who had received the vaccine, Ireland has temporarily suspended the jab. Some anxiety about a new vaccine is understandable, and any suspected reactions should be investigated. But in the current circumstances we need to think slow as well as fast, and resist drawing causal links between events where none may exist.

As Ireland’s deputy chief medical officer, Ronan Glynn, has stressed, there is no proof that this vaccine causes blood clots. It’s a common human tendency to attribute a causal effect between different events, even when there isn’t one present: we wash the car and the next day a bird relieves itself all over the bonnet. Typical. Or, more seriously, someone is diagnosed with autism after receiving the MMR vaccine, so people assume a causal connection – even when there isn’t one. And now, people get blood clots after having a vaccine, leading to concern over whether the vaccine is what caused the blood clots.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 15 March 2021

Read more

Has Covid changed hospitals for the better?

The pandemic has been a catalyst for innovation in the NHS and some changes will have a lasting effect, says Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary.

The Covid pandemic has transformed our hospitals. Car parks are empty, once-bustling corridors are quiet, and these days you won't see any staff making fashion statements - we're all in scrubs and masks.

Dr Wright says changes made to reduce spread of infection are here to stay and will help us live with future outbreaks of Covid and other infectious diseases. But there is also much to learn from how we have adapted to non-Covid care - with drive-through PCR swabs and blood tests, for example, or the use of oximeters to monitor oxygen levels in the blood of Covid patients in their homes, providing warning if they need to be admitted to hospital.

But the biggest change has been in the way hospital consultations are carried out. Before the pandemic nearly all appointments took place face-to-face. Last year probably 90% occurred via telephone or video call, and most of my colleagues at Bradford Royal Infirmary are still running remote clinics today.

This is much more convenient for patients. In the past a typical consultation might have involved a half-day of travel, the search for a parking place, and then sitting in a waiting room. However, remote consultations do have their drawbacks. Patients tend to underplay their symptoms on the phone and it is easier to avoid discussing challenging issues. Life-changing diagnoses require sensitive, face-to-face communication. Another problem is that some patients struggle with technology. 

The main drawback, though, is that clinicians are unable to undertake physical examination remotely. Clinical histories are the yin of the consultation but physical examinations are the yang, and video consultations only provide half the picture.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 15 March 2021

Read more
 

NHSE director: It could take a year for cancer services to return to normal

NHS England’s cancer director has said it could take another year for the level of cancer treatments and diagnosis carried out to return to normal, after being impeded by COVID-19.

National cancer director Dame Cally Palmer told HSJ’s national cancer forum event last week that activity over the past 12 months had been 89% of the previous year, but the service was committed to getting “fully reset” to 2019 levels by March 2022.

She shared information showing that, by December 2020, the amount of treatment being carried out following an urgent referral, for most cancers, exceeded December 2019 levels, but that there are still significant treatment backlogs.

And, for lung cancer patients, the number of treatments carried out in December 2020 was only 73% of that a year earlier — a decrease from September and October 2020 levels — as covid pressures rose during the third wave. Lung cancer is one of the most amenable to treatment if picked up early.

Other areas of diagnostics and treatment have also been severely impeded because of requirements to change practice to reduce the risk of spreading covid, particularly to vulnerable patients.

Dame Cally, also chief executive of the Royal Marsden Foundation Trust, said the service was committed to returning to at least normal levels of activity across the board by March next year.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 12 March 2021

Read more

Long COVID: Meet the young family who have all suffered symptoms for an entire year

As the UK looks to mark the first anniversary of the first COVID-19 lockdown on 23 March, Sky News has spoken to one family who say they have lived constantly with the after effects of the virus for a year.

Charlie, 37, her husband Zed, 41, and their five children – Nico, 15, Beck, 12, Indiana, 10, Emmett, 8, and Mimi, 5 – fell ill with the virus in March last year.

All of them – particularly the children – have been suffering ever since.

Charlie said the list of symptoms is "extensive", including headaches, eye issues, nose bleeds, body rashes, horrific tummy pains, gastric issues, severe lethargy, allergic reactions, peeling hands, and feet and mouth ulcers.

"It's such a long list that at times you can't believe that they've all been related to this illness," Charlie said.

The family have been getting help from a support group, Long COVID Kids, which wants specialist clinics to be set up for children with the condition.

Charlie said the ordeal the family has been through "really made me question my sanity at times". She added: "Long COVID centres are being set up, but they're not for children, so there is nowhere for them to be referred to. I'm really worried about the long-term health issues."

Read full story

Source: Sky News, 13 March 2021

Read more
 

‘No doubt’ there will be further Covid waves in autumn, says UK’s chief statistician

Professor Sir Ian Diamond, head of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), has said there will “no doubt” be another wave of coronavirus infections in the autumn.

Speaking on Sunday, Sir Ian acknowledged the impact of the “wonderful” vaccine rollout though cautioned “we need to recognise that this is a virus that isn’t going to go away.”

"And I have no doubt that in the autumn there will be a further wave of infections," he told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One.

The UK’s national statistician pointed toward regional variations in terms of how many people have antibodies. “There is a lot of regional variation, so we find 30 per cent of London have antibodies whereas only 16 per cent in the South West, so we need to recognise that as well,” he told the programme.

This comes after Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said he would “strongly advise” against any rapid easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 14 March 2021

Read more

Survey of frontline health and social care workforce views and experiences of the COVID-19 vaccination programme

Public Health Scotland are evaluating the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme to understand if, how, and why different models of service delivery achieve different uptake rates for different population groups. An important part of this work is exploring the attitudes and experiences of people who have been offered a COVID-19 vaccine (even if they have not yet attended).

You are invited to take part in an anonymous survey looking at health and social care worker views, intentions and experiences of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. You are eligible to participate in this survey if you work in Scotland in a frontline health or social care worker role (i.e. a role where you have direct contact with patients, service users, or clients).

This survey will help to gather feedback on what was good and less good about your experience, to help inform improvements to this and future vaccination programmes, and remove barriers to attendance and reach more people. 

The survey should take around 10 minutes to complete and will be open until 19 March 2021.

Further information

Read more

© 2026 Patient Safety Learning. All rights reserved.

Patient Safety Learning is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission Registration number 1180689.

×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.