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Found 2,342 results
  1. Content Article
    Missed checks, disrupted care and health inequalities have been revealed in a new report from Diabetes UK looking at the state of diabetes care in England. The report reveals that less than half (47%) of people living with diabetes in England received all eight of their required checks in 2021-22, meaning 1.9 million people did not receive the care they need.  It is calling for urgent action to address the routine diabetes care backlog and prevent avoidable deaths of people living with diabetes. 
  2. Content Article
    A group of patients and families with experience of end-of-life care worked with researchers from the Nuffield Trust to review findings from its research investigating the effect of the pandemic on people who were receiving end-of-life care at home. This web page summarises the research findings from the perspective of patients and family.
  3. Content Article
    Social care in England entered the pandemic in a fragile state. With much already written about the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the social care sector, this new report from the Nuffield Trust in collaboration with the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre analyses the structural and systemic factors that influenced that initial national response. Covid had far-reaching impacts on social care and exacerbated many longstanding issues. This work seeks to highlight progress and identify where action is needed to create a more resilient system.
  4. 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.
  5. Content Article
    During the first waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK shielding policy was introduced with the intention to protect people at the highest risk of harm from Covid-19 infection. This study in the journal Public Health aimed to describe intervention effects in Wales at one year. The authors retrospectively compared linked demographic and clinical data for cohorts of people identified for shielding from 23 March to 21 May 2020 with the rest of the population. The largest clinical categories in the shielded cohort were severe respiratory condition (35.5%), immunosuppressive therapy (25.9%) and cancer (18.6%). The study found that: Deaths and healthcare utilisation were higher amongst shielded people than the general population, as would be expected in the sicker population. Differences in testing rates, deprivation and pre-existing health are potential confounders, but lack of clear impact on infection rates raises questions about the success of shielding and indicates that further research is required to fully evaluate this national policy intervention.
  6. Content Article
    The Relatives and Residents Association (R&RA) is conducting a survey which aims to gather evidence on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on access to healthcare services for those living in care homes. R&RA is seeking responses from people who were living in care homes at any point during the pandemic, or from their relatives and friends. Our analysis of the responses will be shared with the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, including anonymised examples. The survey should take around 10-15 mins to complete.
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. News Article
    Two years of the pandemic have meant drops in essential screening and detection in Australia, while cancer patients undergo treatments alone and isolate to avoid Covid risks. When Claire Simpson turned 50 in early 2020, she received a letter telling her to get a mammogram. Then the pandemic hit, and Victoria went into lockdown. “Like many people, I put it off until we were coming out of that lockdown, but by then it was September and I couldn’t get an appointment until December,” she says. In February 2021 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. Tests showed she was positive for the aggressive HER2 receptor, so she began 12 weeks of chemotherapy as well as a treatment called Herceptin, which she received an IV infusion of every three weeks. Simpson says the delay in screening “really, really delayed diagnosis for me, by a good six months”. “I can’t help but feel that [an earlier screening] could have probably saved me from having to have chemotherapy and this Herceptin infusion therapy that I’m having,” she says. Her last Herceptin treatment was last Wednesday. She has been living in self-imposed lockdown, terrified as the Omicron wave built that she would have to isolate due to Covid and disrupt her treatment. That self-imposed isolation will continue until her final surgery, an elective operation scheduled for mid-year. Cancer screening dropped by 10% in Victoria alone in the first year of the pandemic. In 2021, referrals to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, a leading treatment and research facility in Melbourne, were down 40%. “That is certainly going to bounce back at some point,” says Prof Sherene Loi, an oncologist and researcher at Peter MacCallum. “It is potentially going to be a real problem in a few years’ time. At the moment we have a lot of very young cancer diagnoses, a lot of breast cancer … we are just flat chat.” Read full Source: The Guardian, 13 February 2022
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. News Article
    People with dementia, particularly care home residents early in the pandemic, were “disproportionately” vulnerable to fatal Covid infections, according to a new report. The analysis, commissioned by the Scottish Government, also found that excess deaths involving dementia during 2020 were “almost wholly” attributable to Covid. Of the 2,154 deaths where both dementia and Covid were listed on the death certificate, 95 per cent had Covid as the main underlying cause. This contradicts previous suggestions that a rise in dementia deaths early in the pandemic may have been linked indirectly to the virus as a result of “lockdown distress” or an increased use of potentially harmful sedation in elderly people confused by restrictions. The report also found that 73% (1,577) of those who died with both Covid and dementia mentioned on their death certificates had passed away in care homes. Henry Simmons, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Scotland, said their loved ones had been “torn apart by grief and loss” and that the report “raises many more questions as to why so many people with dementia living in care homes quickly became victims of Covid-19”. Read full story Source: The Herald, 10 February 2022
  13. News Article
    A formal complaint accuses the British Government of facilitating ‘the largest single health and safety disaster to befall the United Kingdom workforce since the introduction of asbestos products’. An expert letter to the UK Government’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) from one of its own advisors accuses the agency of failing to use its statutory authority to correct “seriously flawed” guidance on infection protection and control (IPC), imperilling “the health and safety of healthcare workers by failing to provide for suitable respiratory protection”. The continued failure to protect healthcare workers by ensuring they are wearing the appropriate form of PPE (personal protective equipment) to minimise the risk of infection from COVID-19 airborne transmission, the letter says, has led to thousands of avoidable deaths. The failures amount both to “gross negligence” and serious “criminal offences”, claims the letter seen by Byline Times. The letter addressed to HSE chief executive Sarah Albon is authored by 27-year chartered health and safety consultant David Osborn, who is a ‘consultee member’ of the HSE’s COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Essentials Working Group, where he has helped HSE to prepare guidance for employers and employees. Written in his own personal capacity, the letter is a formal complaint accusing the members of the Government’s “IPC Cell” – a group of experts behind official guidance on infection protection and control – along with other senior Government officials of committing a “criminal offence… ultimately punishable by fine and/or imprisonment” by breaching Section 36 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The letter argues that a police investigation is needed. The guidance, Osborn writes in his letter, has failed to ensure that healthcare workers understand that they should wear and have access to respiratory protection equipment (RPE) designed to protect from COVID-19 airborne transmission. “There is sufficient prima-facie evidence to suggest that the offence has led to the potentially avoidable deaths of hundreds of healthcare workers and the debilitating disease known as Long COVID in thousands of other healthcare workers,” the letter says. “I firmly believe that the primary source of infection was the inhalation of aerosols whilst caring for infected patients at close quarter,” says Osborn in his letter. Read full story Source: Byline Times, 10 February 2022
  14. News Article
    The government has promised to build more surgical and community diagnostic hubs in England and to give patients greater control over their healthcare provider as part of its long awaited recovery plan for elective care to reduce the NHS backlog and tackle waiting times. But the targets set out on 8 February will not be met without the staff to run the expanded services, health leaders have warned. Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said that the plan depended on the “recovery of urgent and emergency care, as the two are intimately entwined both with respect to workforce and estate.” He added, “We will also need to build on it with a full plan for recruiting enough new staff to meet patient demand and the steps we’ll take to retain existing staff, including flexible and remote working for those returning to practice." Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 8 February 2022
  15. News Article
    The waiting list for hospital treatment will not start falling for two years, ministers say, despite unveiling a plan to tackle England's backlog in care. Six million people are on a waiting list - one in nine of the population. But Health Secretary Sajid Javid said this number would probably increase, with demand expected to rise now Covid pressure was easing. He also set out plans to reduce waiting times for cancer treatment. These include a 28-day target for cancer diagnosis by March 2024, which should have been introduced last year but was delayed by the pandemic. The proportion of cancer patients starting treatment within 62 days would return to its pre-pandemic level by March 2023, Mr Javid said, although this would still leave it some way short of the 85% target.* Waiting times would be cut by a 30% rise in the NHS's capacity for treatment, he said. Crucial to this will be the establishment of a network of 160 community diagnostic centres along with surgical hubs focused on high-volume routine surgery away from major hospital sites - to increase efficiency and reduce the chance of emergency cases leading to cancellations. Extra investment of £8bn over the next three years, funded through a national-insurance rise, will pay for these new facilities. To free up staff time, follow-up appointments would be arranged on a case-by-case basis, rather than for all patients automatically, Mr Javid said. And a new online service, My Planned Care, will inform patients about waiting times and how to prepare for treatment. The plan would not just "reset" the NHS to where it had been before Covid, Mr Javid said, but build on what had been learned and make it "fit for the future". Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 February 2022 Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care
  16. News Article
    The number of children experiencing mental health problems has risen sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic, but fewer have been able to access support because of disruptions to services, says a report by the Children’s Commissioner for England. Around one in nine children had a probable mental health disorder in 2017, the report says, but this jumped to one in six in 2021 with only around a third (32%) able to access treatment. While the number of children referred to mental health services by GPs and teachers has been growing in recent years, referral rates fell back in 2020-21 to 497 502 (equivalent to 4% of all children in England), compared with 539 000 (4.5% of children) the previous year. “It is likely that even though more children have mental health problems, fewer were being referred to services during lockdowns because of disruptions caused by the pandemic,” said children’s commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza. “Numbers referred into services are likely to increase again in the coming years. The health secretary will be publishing a review later this year to explore how we can tackle this increased level of need and adopt a more preventive approach.” Lynn Perry, interim co-chief executive of children’s charity Barnardo’s, said, “Covid-19 has taken a serious toll on children’s mental health and schools are the first place many of them seek help. Being able to reach this support early at school will reduce the number of children who need specialist help from mental health services. This is why Barnardo’s is calling on the government to speed up the rollout of mental health support teams to help pupils and teachers get the support they need, when they need it.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 7 February 2022
  17. News Article
    Scientists and politicians “probably killed hundreds of thousands of people” by damaging the reputation of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to an Oxford scientist who worked on the jab. Prof John Bell said: “They have damaged the reputation of the vaccine in a way that echoes around the rest of the world.” “I think bad behaviour from scientists and from politicians has probably killed hundreds of thousands of people – and that they cannot be proud of that,” he told a BBC Two documentary When the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab was rolled out in the UK government advisers recommended under-40s should be offered an alternative due to a link to very rare blood clots. Fears over the links to blood clots also led other countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Iceland and Thailand, to pause their use of the vaccine. The AstraZeneca vaccine has also not played a significant role in the booster programme. The BBC reported it accounted for only 48,000 of the more than 37m booster doses given in the UK. Read full story Source: Guardian, 7 February 2022
  18. News Article
    Improving cancer care will be a huge challenge, ministers are being warned as they promise a new 10-year strategy for England. Figures suggest there have been 34,000 fewer diagnoses since Covid hit - 50,000 if you include the whole UK. It risks an increasing number of late diagnoses which reduces the chances of survival, cancer charities said. It comes as the government is promising to invest in new technologies and equipment to spot cancer quicker. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the new "war on cancer" strategy will be published later this year. "It will take a far-reaching look at how we want cancer care to be in 2032. Looking at all stages from prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and vaccines," he said. Mr Javid pointed out the NHS was already taking steps, including evaluating new blood tests to spot cancers early and opening a network of testing centres. Lynda Thomas, of Macmillan Cancer Support, said given the impact of the pandemic people with cancer needed "support more than ever". "We have been sounding the alarm for a long time," she added. But she said while improving diagnosis and treatment was crucial, it was like "building sandcastles while the tide comes" without extra staff to tackle the backlogs and demand for care. Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 February 2022
  19. News Article
    ‘We’ve broken the social contract between the NHS and its people’. That was the blunt conclusion of one senior NHS figure surveying the aftermath of the government’s U-turn on the mandatory vaccination of staff. Most of the NHS’ leadership at national and local level were behind the policy of mandatory vaccination. They believed it was the right thing to do for patients, colleagues and the service. But they were also acutely aware of the reluctance of some staff to get the jab and that changing their minds would be tough – and in some cases unsuccessful. They were also prepared to deal with the consequences of the failure to convert the waverers. They put their credibility and reputations on the line to give the vaccination push as much chance of success as possible. They found time to have and facilitate difficult conversations, even though those discussions were bound to impact on morale at a time of huge pressure. …and then the government pulled the rug from under them. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 2 February 2022
  20. News Article
    Pfizer and BioNTech said Tuesday that they were seeking emergency-use authorisation for the first coronavirus vaccine for children younger than 5 in the US and have begun submitting data on the safety and efficacy of the first two doses of a planned three-dose regimen. The Food and Drug Administration asked the companies to apply for authorization of their vaccine, and in an email, FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said the omicron surge had generated new data “impacting the potential benefit-risk profile of a vaccine for the youngest children.” In December, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that the immune response generated by the vaccine in children between 2 and 4 years old was not sufficiently robust. But the companies said the vaccine had provoked a strong enough response in children 6 months to 2 years old. A third shot was added to the trial to increase the immune response. An earlier vaccine trial in children 5 to 11 years old was also focused on showing that those children had adequate immune responses after vaccination. In addition, there were enough cases of illness in that study population to determine that the vaccine was 91% effective in preventing symptomatic illness. The companies said Tuesday that the FDA requested they move forward with an application because of the “urgent public health need in this population,” noting that 1.6 million children under the age of 4 have tested positive for the coronavirus. “The need for a safe and effective vaccine for our youngest children is significant, particularly given the rapid spread of the omicron variant, the notable rise in the number of hospitalizations in young children with severe disease, and the possibility that future variants could cause severe disease in those who are unvaccinated,” Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. Read full story Source: The Washington Post, 1 February 2022
  21. News Article
    The Nightingale surge hubs cost more than £10.6 million to set up but have admitted roughly seven patients, it has emerged. Eight temporary sites were built at hospitals across the country during the height of the omicron wave, with the capacity to house about 100 patients each. However, it has now been revealed that the hubs cost £10,672,088 to build and only one has admitted a handful of patients. Announcing the hubs in December, NHS England said they would be used if “the record number of Covid-19 infections leads to a surge in admissions and outstrips existing capacity”. However, as of Jan 30, there were 1,285 daily admissions, an eight per cent decrease on the previous week. The chief executive of the William Harvey Hospital, in Ashford, Kent – the location of one of the eight omicron hubs – has expressed concerns that the structure “may adversely impact” other services and never be used. The cost of the hubs was revealed in response to a written question submitted by Damian Green, the Conservative MP Mr Green said that the temporary sites were an “insurance policy” and added “it looks like they won’t be needed”. He called on ministers to assess if they could be repurposed to help clear the backlog of patients waiting for treatment. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 2 February 2022
  22. News Article
    Thousands of children are falling through the cracks in youth addiction services owing to Covid, staff shortages and funding cuts, psychiatrists have said, as figures suggest the number able to get help has fallen to the lowest on record. Analysis of data from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) found that 11,013 under-18s were in treatment for drug and alcohol dependency in England in 2020-21, which was 3,278 fewer (23% less) than in 2019-20. It was the sharpest annual fall since records began, and means 13,481 fewer children were being treated than at a peak in 2008-09. The vast majority of children in treatment (89%, or 9,832) had a problem with cannabis and 41% (4,459) had a problem with alcohol. About 12% (1,333) were struggling with ecstasy use and 9% (976) reported a problem with powder cocaine. The Royal College of Psychiatrists, which analysed the data, said the pandemic, together with “drastic” historical funding cuts, was preventing young people from accessing the drug and alcohol treatment they need, potentially condemning them to a life of addiction. Dr Emily Finch, the vice-chair of the addictions faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Children and their families up and down the country are having their lives blighted by drug and alcohol use due to drastic cuts, workforce shortages and the impact of the pandemic. “Addiction is a treatable health condition. Intervening early will mean many kids won’t go on to have an addiction in their adulthood, keeping them out of the criminal justice system and helping them to live full lives. It’s now time for the government to act on their promise and deliver the multimillion-pound investment into drug services.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 3 February 2022
  23. News Article
    Trust were tonight told to cease plans for dismissing unvaccinated staff, as the government announced it would consult on dropping its mandatory covid vaccine policy. An email to local NHS leaders said: “Today the Secretary of State has announced that [the vaccination as a condition of deployment policy] is being reconsidered. The government’s decision is subject to Parliamentary process and will require further consultation and a vote to be passed into legislation. “We are aware that, based on the guidance already issued to the service, you will have begun to prepare for formal meetings with staff on their deployment if they remain unvaccinated. This change in government policy means we request that employers do not serve notice of termination to employees affected by the [vaccination as a condition of deployment] regulations.” Previous guidance had required that, after 3 February – the deadline to have a first vaccination in order to have two vaccines by the 1 April legal cut-off – trusts begin formal meetings and issue dismissal warnings to unvaccinated patient-facing staff. Huge efforts have been put into encouraging staff to be vaccinated and to preparing for the next steps in recent weeks. However, tens of thousands across England are still believed to have had no vaccine, or to have an “unknown” vaccine status. The brief NHSE letter gave no further guidance on whether trusts should continue to press staff to be vaccinated by that date, or continue to have discussions about redeployment. Sajid Javid, who introduced the legal requirements last year, told the Commons: “I am announcing that we will launch a consultation on ending [VCOD] in health and all social care settings. “Subject to the responses – and the will of this House – the Government will revoke the regulations. I have always been clear that our rules must remain proportionate and balanced – and of course, should we see another dramatic change in the virus, it would be responsible to review this policy again.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 1 February 2022
  24. News Article
    More than 1 in 10 school entry-age children in England are at risk of measles because they have not had their vaccine jabs, data reveals. Coverage for the two doses of MMR that helps protect five-year-olds against measles, mumps and rubella is currently at 85.5%. That is the lowest for a decade, and well below the 95% target recommended to stop a resurgence of measles. Measles is highly contagious, more than Covid, and can cause serious illness. Nine in every 10 people can catch it if they are unjabbed and exposed. As well as a distinctive rash, measles can lead to severe complications, such as pneumonia and brain inflammation, and sometimes can be fatal. Vaccination can remove almost all of these risks. Two doses of the MMR vaccine give 99% protection against measles and rubella and about 88% protection against mumps. When a high percentage of the population is protected through vaccination, it becomes harder for the disease to pass between people. But since the start of the Covid pandemic, there has been a concerning drop in the number of children receiving these vaccines on time. Experts say some parents may not have realised doctors were still offering appointments, or did not want to burden the NHS. Coverage of the first dose of the MMR vaccine in two-year-olds has now fallen below 90%. This means that more than one in 10 children under the age of five are not fully protected from measles and are at risk of catching it. Among all five-year-olds in England, 93.7% have had one dose and 85.5% have had the recommended two doses. Read full story Source: BBC News, 1 February 2022
  25. News Article
    The question of whether to impose a policy requiring mandatory vaccination for NHS staff has raised countless ethical and practical considerations, but with many healthcare workers still unvaccinated and the Government set for a U-turn over mandatory Covid jabs for NHS staff in England, has enough thought been given to the perspective of patients? Various legal experts and health groups have argued that while doctors and nurses can reject the offer of vaccination, patients should also have the right to refuse treatment from a healthcare worker who is not jabbed, instead requesting that their care is placed in the hands of someone who is protected. With the February deadline pushed back, could patients start to grow weary of staff who have not been vaccinated? Will they feel as though the chance for refuseniks to get jabbed has come and gone, and that it is therefore justified that they are stripped of their right to deliver treatment? “Patients have a right to safe care, so it’s reasonable for patients to expect any health or social care professional caring for them to have had a Covid-19 vaccine,” says Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association. Most patients may not be overly concerned about the vaccination status of those caring for them, but in a world in which we’re expected to live alongside the threat posed by Covid, there are undoubtedly certain groups who will be more invested in these matters. “A person who is ‘vulnerable’ by way of disability or chronic illness (eg immunocompromised) may well have an argument under the Equality Act that the NHS failing to provide vaccinated staff to them constitutes disability-based discrimination,” says one barrister who specialises in mental health capacity law. After all, these individuals are most at risk from COVID-19 – and will be for years to come. Clinically vulnerable people who do find themselves in hospital for whatever reason will know that a Sars-CoV-2 infection could further exacerbate their condition, or endanger their lives. Read full story Source: The Independent, 30 January 2022
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