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Found 641 results
  1. Content Article
    This article in USA Today looks at how the Covid-19 pandemic has caused setbacks in hospitals' patient safety progress. It looks at data from a report by the US non-profit health care watchdog organisation, Leapfrog, which show increases in hospital-acquired infections, including urinary tract and drug-resistant staph infections, as well as infections in central lines. These infections spiked during the pandemic and remain at a five-year high. The article also looks at the case study of St Bernard Hospital in Chicago, which was rated poorly by Leapfrog on handwashing, medication safety, falls prevention and infection prevention, but then made huge progress in improving safety. It describes the different approaches and interventions taken by St Bernard.
  2. Content Article
    Central line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) account for many harms suffered in healthcare and are associated with increased costs and disease burden. Central line rounds, like medical rounds, are a multidisciplinary bedside assessment strategy for all active central lines on a unit. The project team designed a HIPAA-protected, text-based process for assessing central lines for risk factors contributing to infection. Staff initiated a consultation via a virtual platform with an interdisciplinary team composed of oncology and infectious disease experts. The virtual discussion included recommendations for a line-related plan of care.
  3. News Article
    Children aged between five and 11 in England will be offered a low-dose Covid vaccine, the government says. Official scientific advice concludes the move would help protect the "very small" number of children who become seriously ill with Covid. Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the rollout will be "non-urgent", with an emphasis on parental choice. Northern Ireland also said on Wednesday it will be following Wales and Scotland in offering young children the vaccine. Children are at a much lower risk of becoming severely ill from a Covid infection, so the health benefits of vaccinating them are smaller than in other age-groups. Also, many will have some protection from already having caught the virus. So the scientists on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises governments across the UK, have been weighing up the evidence for immunising five to 11-year-olds. It concluded vaccination should go ahead to prevent a "very small number of children from serious illness and hospitalisation" in a future wave of Covid. Prof Wei Shen Lim, from the JCVI, said: "We're offering this to five to 11-year-olds now in order to future-proof their defences against a future wave of infection." He suggested parents consider getting their children vaccinated during school holidays to minimise disruption to their education from any flu-like side effects of the jab. Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 February 2022
  4. News Article
    As surges of COVID-19 cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant recede, parts of the United States, Canada, and Europe are moving swiftly to lift constraints on a pandemic-fatigued public. Sweden, Denmark, and Norway have abolished nearly all ­COVID-19–related restrictions in recent weeks, and the United Kingdom announced it would do the same this month, dropping even the legal requirement that people quarantine after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. In the United States, despite persistently high numbers of COVID-19–related deaths and busy hospitals, 10 governors, many known for being cautious in their pandemic response, last week announced immediate or impending ends to their states’ indoor or school mask mandates. Some of those moves came with assertions that it’s time to “live with the disease” and treat the coronavirus as endemic—a stable, enduring figure in the panoply of human pathogens, alongside cold viruses and influenza. That suggestion troubles many scientists, who warn it is eroding governments’ commitment to tracking and responding to the pandemic—which could leave countries flying blind and unprepared for any new variant. “Endemic delusion is probably what captures it the best,” says Kristian Andersen, an infectious disease researcher at Scripps Research who has been especially critical of recent moves by his home country of Denmark, which include an announcement that as of this month COVID-19 would no longer be categorised as a “socially critical disease” even though related death and hospitalisation rates were still climbing there. In the United States, governors cited various metrics to justify recent decisions to lift or let expire indoor mask mandates. California Governor Gavin Newsom noted stable hospitalisation rates and a 65% reduction in cases since Omicron’s peak in announcing the state’s mandate would end this week. But leaders also face political and economic pressures. States’ moves may be driven largely by the public’s impatience with restrictions, says epidemiologist Dustin Duncan of Columbia University. “Even people who recognize the importance of masking, social distancing, all that stuff, may be more amenable to take more risk,” he says. “At the same time, to me, going maskless just seems egregious.” Read full story Source: Science, 15 February 2022
  5. News Article
    A patient who died from Lassa fever last week was a newborn baby, according to reports. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed on Friday that an individual with the Ebola-like disease had died in Bedfordshire, and that two other people were infected. All three cases were linked to recent travel in West Africa. The BBC said the fatality had been an infant at Luton and Dunstable Hospital, quoting an email sent to staff by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. Hundreds of frontline workers at the hospital, as well as at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, were reportedly told to isolate after being identified as potential contacts. Lassa fever is an acute viral infection endemic in parts of Africa, and the UKHSA has assured the public that the risk of further infections in the UK remains “very low”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 February 2022
  6. News Article
    A lack of beds in Welsh hospitals meant it was "inevitable" Covid patients would come into contact with others, a doctor has said. "Seeing patients in bed at the time of admission is becoming a rarity," Dr Nicky Leopold said. Some patients, including those with Covid, have had to spend nights on chairs in A&E due to a lack of beds. The Welsh government said it aimed to deliver 12,000 more staff by 2024-25. Health Minister Eluned Morgan and the chief executive of the Welsh NHS are due to give evidence to the Senedd's health committee on winter pressures.. Dr Leopold, a consultant geriatrician, who is a member of the BMA union in Wales, said there had been recent improvements since the number of NHS staff testing positive for Covid fell, but the flow of patients through hospital was still a problem. She said: "So many patients are stranded in hospital and that's very difficult and frustrating. There just aren't the staff in the community to support the increased level of need." Outpatient appointments had also been affected by shortages, she added. A lot of patients were in "dire need" and staff were "desperately" trying to keep clinics running. Read full story Source: BBC News, 10 February 2022
  7. News Article
    The government plans to end all remaining covid restrictions in England—including the legal obligation to self-isolate—ahead of schedule later this month, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, has said. The current restrictions, including the requirement that anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 must self-isolate for at least five days, are due to expire on 24 March. But Johnson, addressing MPs during prime minister’s questions on 9 February, said that the remaining rules could end early if recent trends in the data continued. In response to the prime minister’s statement healthcare leaders said that they understood the importance of wanting to return to normal but called for a cautious approach. Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said, “It is important to remember that Covid-19 has not gone away. Though cases have fallen significantly in recent weeks and the NHS’s very successful booster campaign has made a massive difference to the numbers of seriously ill patients, the number of people testing positive for Covid-19 remains high by previous standards." “Any steps to de-escalate our precautionary approach—including ending requirements for self-isolation for positive tests—must be proportionate to the risks.” Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said, “Around 40% of NHS staff absences are due to covid currently, and so removing the self-isolation requirements could bolster capacity significantly at a time when the service is committed to tackling its waiting lists—but we have to be mindful that it could also lead to higher rates of transmission, which could then lead to more admissions into hospital alongside more ill health in the community." “The government must take a cautious approach as we move onto the endemic stage of covid, be guided by the evidence, engage the NHS appropriately, and be prepared to review its decision if new threats emerge.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 9 February 2022
  8. News Article
    The self-isolation period for positive cases is being cut and the limit on visitors lifted from next week. Residents who test positive will have to self-isolate for up to 10 days, with a minimum isolation period of five full days followed by two sequential negative lateral flow tests – as is already the case for the rest of the population. Isolation periods for those having care after an emergency hospital visit will also be reduced to a maximum of 10 days, while a requirement for residents to test or self-isolate after normal visits out will be removed. Care homes will have to follow outbreak management rules for 14 rather than 28 days, and by 16 February care workers will need to use lateral flow tests before work rather than taking a weekly PCR test. The limit on visitors to care homes will be lifted. Visitors should still obtain a negative lateral flow test result earlier in the day of their visit, and guidance on the use by visitors of PPE such as face masks remains unchanged. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 January 2022
  9. News Article
    Over 30 trusts are now mandating FFP3 masks are used beyond settings stipulated in national rules, amid calls for system leaders to clarify the national position on the key staff and patient safety issue. Fresh Air NHS, a group of frontline staff who campaign for better protection against Covid-19, said it now knows of 32 trusts which have already introduced enhanced infection prevention control policies that mandate FFP3 use beyond national guidance. News that a growing number of trusts are mandating more stringent PPE use comes amid fresh confusion around the national guidance after small but potentially significant alterations were made last week. A new line has been added to guidance which says:: “FFP3 respirator or equivalent must be worn by staff when caring for patients with a suspected or confirmed infection spread by the airborne route.” David Tomlinson, consultant cardiologist and also a member of Fresh Air NHS, said NHS trusts were “in fear of going beyond the guidance and allowing non-ICU staff to wear FFP3 respirators”. “The guidance doesn’t mandate respirators for staff in highest risk of transmission areas, for example, medical wards housing symptomatic patients at a time in their disease when they are releasing greatest amounts of infectious aerosols,” Dr Tomlinson said. “Real world data has consistently shown far greater rates of SARS2 infection comparing non-ICU healthcare workers to those on ICU.” Alison Leary, chair of healthcare and workforce modelling at London Southbank University, said: “Trusts choosing to implement evidence based safety interventions is a positive move towards workforce safety.” Read full story Source: HSJ, 27 January 2022
  10. 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
  11. News Article
    Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to humanity, health leaders have warned, as a study reveals it has become a leading cause of death worldwide and is killing about 3,500 people every day. More than 1.2 million – and potentially millions more – died in 2019 as a direct result of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, according to the most comprehensive estimate to date of the global impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The stark analysis covering more than 200 countries and territories was published in the Lancet. It says AMR is killing more people than HIV/Aids or malaria. Many hundreds of thousands of deaths are occurring due to common, previously treatable infections, the study says, because bacteria that cause them have become resistant to treatment. “These new data reveal the true scale of antimicrobial resistance worldwide, and are a clear signal that we must act now to combat the threat,” said the report’s co-author Prof Chris Murray, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. “We need to leverage this data to course-correct action and drive innovation if we want to stay ahead in the race against antimicrobial resistance.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 January 2022
  12. News Article
    Hundreds of care homes in England are providing substandard care to dementia patients, analysis by the Guardian has found. One in five homes specialising in dementia are rated “inadequate” or “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), inspection reports show. Some pose such a serious risk to people with dementia – including filthy conditions, poor infection control and untrained staff – that inspectors have ordered them to be placed into special measures. Altogether, 1,636 care homes are failing patients in findings described by charities and campaigners as “appalling”. They said urgent action was needed to tackle the “unacceptable” state of dementia care across the country. Zoe Campbell, the director of operations at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It’s appalling to hear that one in five care homes specialising in dementia are delivering substandard care. Every person with dementia deserves to live in a safe, secure place and to be treated with compassion and respect.” Campbell said the revelations meant staff recruitment and dementia training must be prioritised in the government’s social care proposals. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 January 2022
  13. News Article
    The Covid-19 pandemic has entered its third year, with no end in sight, and the world is fed up to the gills. A new and even more highly transmissible variant, Omicron, has been scorching through holiday gatherings over the past couple of weeks. People who are thrice vaccinated are among the infected. STAT asks Mike Ryan, head of the health emergencies programme at the World Health Organization, if he expected the pandemic to last as long as it has, who should make the call on whether to update Covid vaccines, and what he thinks are the main mistakes the world has made. “What’s shocked me most in this pandemic has been that absence or loss of trust,” he said of people’s unwillingness to follow the advice of public health leaders and the containment policies set out by governments," says Ryan. Read full interview Source: STAT, 3 January 2022
  14. News Article
    The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against describing the Omicron variant as mild, saying it is killing people across the world. Recent studies suggest that Omicron is less likely to make people seriously ill than previous Covid variants. But the record number of people catching it has left health systems under severe pressure, said WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. On Monday, the US recorded more than one million Covid cases in 24 hours. The WHO - the UN's health agency - said the number of global cases has increased by 71% in the last week, and in the Americas by 100%. It said that among severe cases worldwide, 90% were unvaccinated. "While Omicron does appear to be less severe compared to Delta, especially in those vaccinated, it does not mean it should be categorised as mild," Dr Tedros told a press conference on Thursday. "Just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising people and it is killing people. "In fact, the tsunami of cases is so huge and quick, that it is overwhelming health systems around the world." Read full story Source: BBC News, 6 January 2022
  15. News Article
    More than one in four inpatients at one of England’s largest mental health trusts were reported as covid-positive this week, according to data seen by HSJ. Around 160 inpatients across South London and Maudsley (SLAM) Foundation Trust’s sites, or 28% of its total open beds, were reported as positive at the beginning of the week. Several other London mental health trusts have seen high rates of covid cases in recent weeks, as there has been enormous spread of the omicron variant in the capital, although rates have not been as high as at SLAM. SLAM told HSJ that infection rates rose and fell in a reflection of community transmission, with covid-positive people being admitted, and there being spread within inpatient units. While no wards have been closed and all of the trust’s services are open, visiting was suspended in mid-December due to what the organisation described on its website as a “high number of [covid] outbreaks”. Several sources in the sector told HSJ there had been widespread omicron outbreaks in mental health units across England. They said the nature of psychiatric wards and use of restraints meant adhering to stringent social distancing measures, in the face of a highly infectious variant, was more difficult than in other settings. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 6 January 2022
  16. News Article
    NHS staff absences due to covid have risen by a further 11,000 staff in a week in England, figures seen by HSJ reveal. At a national level, the number of absences for covid-related reasons - including isolation - rose to about 44,200 on 29 December, up from 32,800 on 22 December. The 29 December figure has pushed up overall absence for all reasons to 103,727 - 7.8% of the total reported workforce - the leaked data shows. Numerous senior NHS managers have said their main concern at present is about the level of staff absences, which in some cases is undermining services, with staff having to be redeployed to support others. There is concern about it rising further in the new year. One trust is looking at whether staff who test positive could opt to work on wards dedicated to covid patients. Louise Ashley, the chief executive of Dartford and Gravesham Trust in Kent, tweeted yesterday that some nurses had asked if they could come into work while positive but asymptomatic. Ms Ashley later confirmed to HSJ that the trust had assessed the request and “unfortunately” had to refuse it. The two main reasons for the decision were that staff may have the more dangerous Delta strain and that it be too difficult to keep them isolated from other staff. She added: ”I am amazed at their commitment to their patients and colleagues – very humbling after the two years they have been through. We are seeing high levels of staff absenteeism but we are hurrying through PCR tests to get staff back to work and are managing safe staffing levels currently.” There is also growing concern over NHS staff access to testing, which is required to enable contacts to come to work if they are negative. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 31 December 2021
  17. News Article
    The health secretary, Sajid Javid, has warned MPs he may need to “constrain” the Covid testing system over the next fortnight, as demand for lateral flow kits surges. Ministers have repeatedly encouraged members of the public to test themselves using a lateral flow device (LFD) before attending gatherings or meeting vulnerable relatives. However, test kits have repeatedly been unavailable online in recent days, and many pharmacies have complained of being unable to secure them. Labour has accused the government of presiding over a “shambles”, with many members of the public struggling to obtain tests despite ministers putting testing at the centre of efforts to control the spread of Omicron. Demand for the tests has also been boosted by a change in quarantine rules that allows people to emerge from self-isolation after seven days instead of 10, as long as they carry out two negative lateral flow tests. In a letter sent to MPs on Wednesday evening, Javid acknowledged the intense strain being put on the system as cases of the Omicron variant continue to increase, with 183,037 new infections recorded on Wednesday. “In light of the huge demand for LFDs seen over the last three weeks, we expect to need to constrain the system at certain points over the next two weeks to manage supply over the course of each day, with new tranches of supply released regularly throughout each day,” he wrote. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 November 2021
  18. News Article
    Patients are dying in hospital without their families because of pressure on NHS services, hospices have told The Independent. A major care provider has warned that it has seen a “huge shift” in the number of patients referred too late to its services. The warning comes as NHS England begins a new £32m contract with hospices to help hospitals discharge as many patients as possible this winter. NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the health service was preparing for an Omicron-driven Covid wave that could be as disruptive as, or even worse than, last winter’s crisis. Hospices are already dealing with a “huge volume of death and patients needing support”, according to the head of policy at Hospice UK, Dominic Carter. He told The Independent that hospices had seen a huge shift in the number of patients referred to their services too late, when they are in a “very serious” state of health. He added: “We don’t really know what kind of support is actually out there for those people, while hospitals have difficulties and deal with challenges around backlogs and Covid. There are lots of people that have been in the community, where hospices are trying to reach them but aren’t always able to identify who needs that care and support. “They’re really important, those five or six final days, for the individual and their families. Yet this is spent in crisis rather than being helped as much as possible in a comfortable environment by the hospice ... [instead] an ambulance is called, and they’re having to be cast into hospital.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 26 December 2021
  19. News Article
    Mass lateral flow testing cut the number of people needing hospital treatment for Covid by 32% and relieved significant pressure on the NHS when the measures were piloted last year, a study has shown. Liverpool conducted the first city-wide testing scheme using rapid antigen tests in November last year, amid debate about whether or not lateral flow tests (LFTs) were accurate enough to detect the virus in asymptomatic carriers. It expanded the project to cover the whole of the Liverpool region, offering people LFTs whether or not they had symptoms. Key workers did daily tests before going to work to show they were not infectious. Now an analysis has shown that it was more successful than Liverpool’s scientists and public health teams had anticipated, after they compared Covid cases and outcomes in the region with other parts of England. Professor Iain Buchan, dean of the Institute of Population Health, who led the evaluation, said: “This time last year, as the Alpha variant was surging, we found that Liverpool city region’s early rollout of community rapid testing was associated with a 32% fall in Covid-19 hospital admissions after careful matching to other parts of the country in a similar position to Liverpool but without rapid testing. “We also found that daily lateral flow testing as an alternative to quarantine for people who had been in close contact with a known infected person enabled emergency services to keep key teams such as fire crews in work, underpinning public safety.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 December 2021
  20. News Article
    The pandemic has disproportionately affected people living in care homes, who accounted for an estimated 30% of all deaths from covid-19 across 25 countries despite making up only 1% of the world’s population, a report has estimated. The analysis was carried out by Collateral Global, a research group that says it is dedicated to reporting on the effects of governments’ mandatory COVID-19 mitigation measures. The report said the pandemic had exacerbated long running problems in the care sector, such as chronic underfunding, poor structural organisation, staff undertraining, underskilling, and underequipping, and a “lack of humanity in dealing with the most vulnerable members of society.” “Neglect, thirst, and hunger were—and possibly still are—the biggest killers,” the group said. They also said that care home residents faced barriers in access to emergency treatments during the pandemic. The study authors suggested that undiagnosed COVID-19, poor testing, and inadequate staffing and infection control were the likely factors contributing to the excess deaths in care homes. Martin Green, chief executive officer of Care England, said, “Adult social care and the NHS are two sides of the same coin and need to be treated as such. The government shouldn’t have placed such a myopic focus on the NHS without due consideration for social care too.” He said that he was “phenomenally” proud of the care workforce and wanted to ensure that they were recognised as professionals with proper career pathways and commensurate funding. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The BMJ, 22 December 2021
  21. News Article
    Suspected Covid outbreaks in hospitals across the UK have doubled in a week, official figures reveal – though the number of people admitted to wards with the virus is falling across much of England. As parts of the NHS battle to cope with a surge in infected staff and patients, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data show there were 66 acute respiratory infection incidents in UK hospitals in the seven days to 16 December. Coronavirus was confirmed in most of these incidents, according to a UKHSA document reviewed, by the Guardian. It represents a doubling in outbreaks compared with the previous week (33) and is the highest total recorded since the third week of January 2020. Most of the outbreaks happened in London, with 28 recorded in the last week, almost half of all those in England (62). Nine were recorded in West Midlands hospitals, six in the east of England and five in the east Midlands. Hospitals are scrambling to try to stop the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreading between patients and staff, NHS leaders said, while trying to cope with more pressure than last year. Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “The safety of staff and patients is a key priority of trust leaders, and trusts are doing everything they can to keep nosocomial [hospital-acquired] infections to a minimum, including following stringent infection control measures and social distancing rules.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 December 2021
  22. News Article
    David Oliver, NHS consultant physician and a columnist for the BMJ makes a plea on behalf of his colleagues as they face a surge of admissions due to the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 this Christmas. "Pandemic health protection measures are not all about you and your own personal risk or appetite for it, your own ‘natural immunity’ or fitness, your own liberty or freedom. They are about protecting everyone else. It might be your own parent, grandparent or sibling that dies from COVID-19 or from lack of access to overwhelmed services. It might be your neighbour’s or someone in another town or from another social class or ethnic group, This isn’t a game and we need to take it seriously and stop posturing and point-scoring, before, once again, we have left it too late to act" Read full story Source: Byline Times, 21 December 2021
  23. News Article
    The NHS must apply Covid infection prevention and control measures more robustly if it is to avoid a steep rise in infections within healthcare settings, a senior doctor at NHS England has said. The warning came from NHS England national clinical director for antimicrobial resistance and infection prevention and control Mark Wilcox during a webinar for NHS leaders. He said that the effectiveness of the vaccination programme had led “understandably” to the NHS being more relaxed when it came to Covid IPC. However, he warned that “the effectiveness of the vaccines has diminished substantially with respect to two doses” because of the omicron variant, and that “if we carry on with the level of IPC that we have been lulled into then we will see very significant problems with nosocomial infection”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 December 2021
  24. News Article
    The government has been warned that changes to covid-related infection prevention and control guidance will not enable a ‘rapid’ increase in the NHS’ capacity to tackle the elective care backlog and could pose significant ‘risks’. Trust leaders have been told they no longer have to segregate patients into separate pathways according to “high”, “medium”, or “low” risk of covid-19 in updated IPC guidance issued by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and UK Health Security Agency. Following this guidance means the treatment of every patient without symptoms of a respiratory illness will be subject to the same precautions – such as one, rather than two, metre physical distancing. This, in theory, could create more capacity to treat larger numbers of patients. A subsequent letter from NHS England highlighting the changes said: ”This guidance supports efficient delivery of NHS services to meet wider patient needs, via the return to pre-COVID-19 social distancing and standard IPC measures for patients who do not have infectious respiratory diseases.” However, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson told HSJ that many trusts are currently losing between 10 and 20% of their capacity due to “essential” IPC measures, and would not be able to abandon this approach quickly. He said: “There is a conception in some people in central government’s minds that by having got this guidance changed, we are now going to see a rapid recovery of activity levels and we’ll be able to more successfully manage the infection risk. That’s what people need to be realistic about – there is a risk here." Read full story Source: HSJ, 29 November 2021
  25. News Article
    The UK government was not properly prepared for a pandemic like COVID-19, a new report has found. The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said the government lacked detailed plans on shielding, job support schemes and school disruption. The spending watchdog added that lessons needed to be learned. In response, the government said the unprecedented pandemic had challenged health systems around the world - not just the UK. The NAO said preparations for a flu pandemic or highly infectious diseases like Ebola were prioritised over diseases with similar characteristics to Covid. The watchdog said the UK government did not have specific plans to tackle a disease like COVID-19, which has a lower mortality rate than Ebola but has the ability to spread in communities with asymptomatic infected people. The report suggests the government had some mitigations in place for a pandemic, like a stockpile of personal protective equipment, but it lacked preparation for "wide-ranging impacts" coronavirus and other pandemic-inducing viruses can have on society and the economy. A government spokesperson said: "We have always said there are lessons to be learned from the pandemic and have committed to a full public inquiry in spring. "We prepare for a range of scenarios and while there were extensive arrangements in place, this is an unprecedented pandemic that has challenged health systems around the world." Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister Fleur Anderson, said the report showed "Conservative ministers failed to prepare and they failed the public". Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 November 2021
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