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Found 2,335 results
  1. News Article
    The monkeypox outbreak has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. According to the UK Health Security Agency, early symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes and chills, as well as other features such as exhaustion. Monkeypox does not spread easily between humans, and requires close contact. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is thought that human-to-human transmission primarily occurs through large respiratory droplets. Globally, there have so far been 16,016 monkeypox cases – 4,132 of which were in the past week, according to WHO data. It is now in 75 countries and territories and there have been five deaths. The European region has the highest number of total cases, at 11,865, and the highest increase in the past seven days, with 2,705. The west African strain of monkeypox is generally a mild infection for most people, but it is important those infected and their contacts are identified. The virus is more of a concern among vulnerable people such as those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 July 2022
  2. News Article
    Patients who contract Covid-19 are at increased risk of being diagnosed with cardiovascular disorders and diabetes in the three months following infection, although the risk then declines back to baseline levels, a large UK study has found. Researchers from King’s College London say patients recovering from Covid-19 should be advised to consider measures to reduce diabetes risk including adopting a healthy diet and taking exercise. The GP medical records from more than 428,650 Covid-19 patients were matched with the same number of controls and followed up to January 2022. All patients with pre-existing diabetes or cardiovascular disease were excluded from the study, published in the open access journal PLOS Medicine. According to the analysis, diabetes mellitus diagnoses were increased by 81% in acute covid-19 and remained elevated by 27% from 4 to 12 weeks after infection. Lead study author Emma Rezel-Potts said, “While it is in the first four weeks that covid-19 patients are most at risk of these outcomes, the risk of diabetes mellitus remains increased for at least 12 weeks. Clinical and public health interventions focusing on reducing diabetes risk among those recovering from covid-19 over the longer term may be beneficial.” The researchers said that people without pre-existing cardiovascular disease or diabetes who become infected with covid-19 do not appear to have a long term increase in incidence of these conditions. Read full story Source: BMJ, 22 July 2022
  3. News Article
    NHS leaders have sometimes been “shouting into the void” about their fears of the health service being overwhelmed by Covid because of the absence of a single national command centre for the pandemic response, a new report argues. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has published a report which recommends short and long term actions for dealing with Covid and future health emergencies. It says the government should have previously, and should now, set up “a national centre for response” to have overriding national responsibility for managing Covid and future crises. The government should also shift away from traditional methods of communication, to instead listen to “communities… beliefs and fears” about Covid, and adjust messages to respond to these. The report has been authored by the institute’s head of health Henry Dowlen, who was seconded to work on several pandemic projects such as a setting up a Nightingale Hospital and coordinating regional and national response work. He said that if government did not change course then the NHS, along with other services and parts of society, would remain in a “vicious cycle” of operational problems. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 July 2022
  4. News Article
    Monkeypox is continuing to spread in the UK, with current efforts insufficient to curb the outbreak, experts have warned as a whistleblower claimed there were serious flaws in the support given to those who think they have been exposed. According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there have been 1,552 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the UK related to the outbreak as of 7 July. “[There is] no evidence that current strategies are likely to bring this to an end anytime soon,” said Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, although he noted that while total case numbers were continuing to rise, the rate of new infections may have plateaued. The concerns came as a whistleblower working on a UKHSA monkeypox inquiries line said it had numerous issues, including offering little support for people who are not confirmed contacts of cases – i.e. somebody whose name has been provided to contact tracers by a person with monkeypox. The Guardian has seen scripts that show even if someone calls because they are worried they may have had a contact with a confirmed case, they are told their risk is very low if they have not been formally identified as a contact. The whistleblower said that made little sense when a caller has said a sexual partner has monkeypox symptoms. In addition, the whistleblower said call handlers were not allowed to suggest callers contact a sexual health clinic unless sexual health was brought up by the caller, They added that some clinics had turned off their phone lines. The UKHSA has rejected the claims, saying the phone line is an additional service to provide non-clinical advice to members of the public. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 July 2022
  5. News Article
    When Susan Sullivan died from Covid-19, her parents’ world fell quiet. But as John and Ida Sullivan battled the pain of losing their eldest, they were comforted by doctors’ assurance that they had done all they could. It was not until more than a year later, when they received her medical records, that the family made a crushing discovery. These suggested that, despite Susan being in good health and responding well to initial treatments, doctors at Barnet hospital had concluded she wouldn’t pull through. When Susan was first admitted on 27 March 2020, a doctor had written in her treatment plan: “ITU (Intensive therapy unit) review if not improving”, indicating he believed she might benefit from a higher level of care. But as her oxygen levels fell and her condition deteriorated, the 56-year-old was not admitted to the intensive unit. Instead she died in her bed on the ward without access to potentially life-saving treatment others received. In the hospital records, seen by the Observer, the reason Susan was excluded is spelled out: “ITU declined in view of Down’s syndrome and cardiac comorbidities.” A treatment plan stating she was not to be resuscitated also cites her disability. For John, 79, a retired builder, that realisation was “like Susan dying all over again”. “The reality is that doctors gave her a bed to die in because she had Down’s syndrome,” he said. “To me it couldn’t be clearer: they didn’t even try.” Susan is one of thousands of disabled people in Britain killed by Covid-19. Last year, a report by the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme found that almost half those who died from Covid-19 did not receive good enough treatment, including problems accessing care. Of those who died from Covid-19, 81% had a do-not-resuscitate decision, compared with 72% of those who died from other causes. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 July 2022
  6. News Article
    The UK must urgently procure stocks of a drug that can boost vulnerable people’s protection against Covid, experts have urged in a letter to The Times. Evusheld, made by AstraZeneca, was licensed by the UK regulator the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in March. Some people with immune system problems, such as blood cancer patients or organ transplant patients do not get sufficient protection from vaccinations and many are continuing to shield. Campaigners believe that offering Evusheld to those people could allow them to resume normal life. Evusheld is being used in countries including the United States and Israel but the UK government has yet to ask AstraZeneca for supplies. In a letter published in The Times, Gemma Peters, chief executive of Blood Cancer UK, and Lord Mendelsohn, co-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vulnerable Groups to Pandemics, say that this represents a failure of a promise made at the start of the pandemic that the government would “do everything in its power to protect the vulnerable”. They write: “People who are immunocompromised are still dying from Covid at much higher rates than the rest of the population. They cannot afford to wait. They deserve better.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 6 July 2022
  7. News Article
    It would be “sensible” for hospitals to reintroduce mandatory mask-wearing, the chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said, as several trusts in England and Wales announced the move. When NHS rules on wearing masks in England were dropped on 10 June, local health bodies were given the power to draft their own policies. Their guidance, however, is no longer legally enforceable. Figures from NHS England show there were about 10,658 patients hospitalised with coronavirus on Monday. Infections have doubled in a fortnight across England – with about 1,000 patients being admitted with the virus each day. Prof Andrew Pollard, who is also the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, which developed the AstraZeneca jab, said there were an “extraordinary” number of cases at the moment. “I certainly know more people now who have had Covid than at any time in the past,” he told the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “Because there’s so much in the community, anything we can do in our hospitals to reduce the potential outbreaks make sense and so the mandatory mask wearing in hospitals is very sensible policy,” he added. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 5 July 2022
  8. News Article
    NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) which supplies blood to hospitals is reporting severe supply shortages for the first time since 2018, HSJ has learned. Well-placed senior sources said it is close to issuing a formal “amber alert”, which would mean it could not guarantee blood supplies to hospitals, they said. NHSBT acknowledged to HSJ that it was “expecting a difficult few months”. NHS trusts would have to start cancelling elective operations if they cannot ensure that necessary bloods are available. NHSBT has already written to trusts asking them not to over-order supplies, and to ensure management plans are in place should the situation escalate. Supplies of the common O blood types are thought to be down to less than three days’ worth. If they were to drop to two days, this would trigger an amber alert. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 5 July 2022
  9. News Article
    The government is to cut special sick pay for NHS staff off work with Covid from next week – even as cases soar – The Independent has learnt. The Department of Health and Social Care is set to announce an end to the enhanced pay arrangements provided during the pandemic, meaning that staff who go off sick with either Covid or Long Covid will be subject to normal sick-pay rules. In response to the pandemic, the government announced special arrangements for staff to be paid if they were isolating because of Covid, and to receive a full 12 months’ pay if they were suffering from Long Covid. Arrangements will now revert to the normal NHS sick-pay rules, which give workers six months’ full pay and six months’ half pay. A senior healthcare source said: “They have agreed to end the arrangement for new people from next week, and then have an implementation period where people who are currently off on this sort of scheme revert back to normal sick-pay entitlement from September.” The Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, Patricia Marquis, speaking about the cut in sick pay, said: “This decision is hugely disappointing, given that Covid-19 clearly hasn’t gone away, and nursing staff continue to be disproportionately affected by the virus as they face a higher risk of exposure." Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 July 2022
  10. News Article
    Hospitals are bringing back requirements for masks on wards just weeks after rules were relaxed as Covid rates spike, The Independent can reveal. Experts have warned of a surge in cases, believed to be the fifth wave, with one in 40 people in the UK testing positive for the virus. Meanwhile, latest NHS data shows more than 8,000 Covid-positive patients on wards following a warning of a “deleterious” impact on hospital waiting times. In response, three major hospital trusts have told staff they must wear masks, with warnings more must follow if the NHS is to handle another wave of Covid. Dr Tim Cooksley, president of the Society for Acute Medicine told The Independent: “Over the past 2 years Covid has highlighted and exacerbated what was an already growing crisis. “High staff absence levels, burn-out and low morale have dominated staff landscapes during this time and continue to do so. Future waves and potentially large numbers of upcoming flu cases will only serve to deepen these problems making the hopes of patients, clinicians and politicians alike of elective recovery seem somewhat fanciful." Read full story Source: The Independent, 29 June 2022
  11. News Article
    A possible link between blood clots and ongoing symptoms of Covid is under scrutiny by researchers in the UK. While Covid can cause a period of acute illness, it can also lead to longer-term problems. Research has suggested fewer than a third of patients who have ongoing Covid symptoms after being hospitalised with the disease feel fully recovered a year later. Now researchers are due to begin a number of trials to explore whether blood thinners may help those who have had the disease. Prof Ami Banerjee, of University College London, who is leading a study called Stimulate-ICP, said it was known that a Covid infection increases the risk of blood clots, and that people who have had the disease have a greater risk of related conditions including stroke, heart attacks and deep vein thrombosis. In addition, Banerjee said research from scientists in South Africa had suggested that people with long Covid have microclots in their blood, while studies in the UK suggested almost a third of long Covid patients have clotting abnormalities. But he said it was not clear if the findings were generalisable, and while there had been calls on social media for anticoagulants to be made available on the basis of such findings, further research was needed, not least as blood thinners can lead to an increased risk of bleeds. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 June 2022
  12. News Article
    Senior doctors have drawn up a major dossier refuting Sajid Javid’s claim that the pressures on the NHS were created by the Covid pandemic, amid continued warnings over patient safety, scarce beds and staff morale. The health secretary has repeatedly suggested that the problems around record waiting lists and ambulance waiting times have been prompted by the pandemic. Last week in parliament, he accused shadow health secretary Wes Streeting of having his “head under a rock for two years” for not seeing that the pressures stemmed from Covid. However, in a major review of evidence shared with the Observer, doctors pointed to issues around funding, bed capacity, staffing and recruitment that pre-dated the arrival of Covid. The dossier, drawn up by the British Medical Association as it gathers for its annual conference this week, finds that the UK’s health services were ill-prepared for the pandemic as a result of “historical underfunding and under-resourcing in the decade preceding the virus”. Denise Langhor, an emergency medicine consultant in the north-west of England, said that the pandemic had “laid bare” the health service’s problems, but did not create them. “Those problems and those holes already existed,” she said. “It is entirely disingenuous of this government to claim the waiting lists and the difficulties people are experiencing with NHS care at the moment are due to Covid. They have been building for a decade. “Every day, I have patients that I wish I could have treated sooner. It’s an awful thing as a doctor to be trying to look after patients on a corridor, and knowing they are not getting the standard of care that you want to give them. “Frequently it feels like we’re operating by choosing the least worst option rather than the best option.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 June 2022
  13. News Article
    Covid vaccines cut the global death toll by 20 million in the first year after they were available, according to the first major analysis. The study, which modelled the spread of the disease in 185 countries and territories between December 2020 and December 2021, found that without Covid vaccines 31.4 million people would have died, and that 19.8 million of these deaths were avoided. The study is the first attempt to quantify the number of deaths prevented directly and indirectly as a result of Covid-19 vaccinations. “We knew it was going to be a large number, but I did not think it would be as high as 20 million deaths during just the first year,” said Oliver Watson, of Imperial College London, who is a co-first author on the study carried out by scientists at the university. Many more deaths could have been prevented if access to vaccines had been more equal worldwide. Nearly 600,000 additional deaths – one in five of the Covid deaths in low-income countries – could have been prevented if the World Health Organization’s global goal of vaccinating 40% of each country’s population by the end of 2021 had been met, the research found. “Our findings show that millions of lives have likely been saved by making vaccines available to people everywhere, regardless of their wealth,” said Watson. “However, more could have been done.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 24 June 2022
  14. News Article
    The number of patients in English hospitals who have tested positive for Covid has increased 28% in a week, the steepest rise since mid-March The third Covid wave of 2022 has now seen Covid occupation levels rise from 3,835 on 4 June to 6,401 yesterday. The sharpest rise in the number of Covid positive patients came in the North West region, where the total rose by 43% in a week. There are now over 1,000 Covid positive hospital patients in the North West, North East and Yorkshire, Midlands and London regions for the first time since 11 May. Some 38% of Covid hospital patients are being treated primarily for the condition. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 24 June 2022
  15. News Article
    The NHS is warning about widespread scam text messages telling recipients they have been in close contact with a Covid case. "We've seen reports of fake NHS text messages about ordering Omicron Covid-19 test kits," it tweeted. Close contacts of people who have tested positive are no longer advised to test. The aim of the messages appears to be harvesting financial and personal information. In its alert, the NHS says it will "never ask for bank details, so please be aware of suspicious messages". Most people are no longer advised to test for Covid and are ineligible for free tests - but some some pharmacies and shops sell them. Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 June 2022
  16. News Article
    Public health officials have declared a national incident after routine surveillance of wastewater in north and east London found evidence of community transmission of poliovirus for the first time. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said waste from the Beckton sewage treatment works in Newham tested positive for vaccine-derived poliovirus in February and that further positive samples had been detected since. No cases of the disease or related paralysis have been reported, and the risk to the general public is considered low, but public health officials urged people to make sure that they and their families were up to date with polio vaccinations to reduce the risk of harm. “Vaccine-derived poliovirus has the potential to spread, particularly in communities where vaccine uptake is lower,” said Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA. “On rare occasions it can cause paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated, so if you or your child are not up to date with your polio vaccinations it’s important you contact your GP to catch up or if unsure check your red book.” “Most of the UK population will be protected from vaccination in childhood, but in some communities with low vaccine coverage, individuals may remain at risk,” she added. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 June 2022
  17. News Article
    Health trackers worn on the wrist could be used to spot Covid-19 days before any symptoms appear, according to researchers. Growing numbers of people worldwide use the devices to monitor changes in skin temperature, heart and breathing rates. Now a new study shows that this data could be combined with artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose Covid-19 even before the first tell-tale signs of the disease appear. “Wearable sensor technology can enable Covid-19 detection during the presymptomatic period,” the researchers concluded. The findings were published in the journal BMJ Open. The discovery could lead to health trackers being adapted with AI to detect Covid-19 early, simply by spotting basic physiological changes. This could help provide an early warning system to users that they may be infected, which may in turn help to prevent the spread of the disease more widely. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 June 2022
  18. News Article
    Severe restrictions imposed on care home residents in Scotland during the Covid pandemic caused "harm and distress" and may have contributed to some deaths, academics have said. A 143-page report has been produced by Edinburgh Napier University. It had been commissioned by the independent inquiry into the country's handling of the pandemic. The report says that the legal basis for confining residents to their rooms and banning visitors was "unclear". And it said care home residents were arguably discriminated against compared to other citizens. The report is 1 of 14 that have been published by the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, which is chaired by Lady Poole. It found that in the early months of the pandemic there was "little evidence" that the human rights of residents and their families had been considered. It said: "There is substantial evidence of the harm and distress caused to residents and their families by the restrictions imposed in care homes. "This includes concerns that, particularly for people with dementia, being unable to maintain contact with their family exacerbated cognitive and emotional decline, potentially hastening their death." Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 June 2022
  19. News Article
    Health boards are avoiding publicising their Long Covid services to avoid a rush of patients, an expert has claimed. Edward Duncan, a professor of applied health research, has been evaluating rehabilitation services in Scotland for the past eight months. The latest ONS figures showed 155,000 Scots had long lasting Covid symptoms. Prof Duncan said the current situation was contributing to a "trickle" of patients accessing treatment in some regions. He is working with Robert Gordon University, the University of Dundee and Long Covid sufferers to work out the best way to maximise recovery and quality of life for patients. It comes after patient groups accused the health service and government ministers of pretending the illness has disappeared. Prof Duncan said: "Staff in some health boards have said to us that they are purposely not publicising the pathway, because they fear that if they do, they will have so many referrals that they will not be able to meet demand." "There is a lack of proactive publicity, despite the fact that in late 2020 every health board said that these services were there for patients who need them." "We know from other research that patients are going to primary care and being told by their GP that they don't know where to send them." Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 June 2022
  20. News Article
    Patients who enter general practices in England no longer have to wear a face mask unless they have respiratory symptoms, NHS England and NHS Improvement says. But the updated guidance also underlines the importance of local risk assessments and says that increased measures can be used when deemed necessary. A letter sent to clinical commissioning groups and trusts set out the changes to infection prevention and control measures following updates from the UK Health Security Agency.1 It said that health and care staff should continue to wear face masks as part of personal protective equipment when working with patients with suspected or confirmed covid-19, including untriaged patients in primary care and emergency departments. It said that universal masking should be applied when there is a known or suspected cluster of SARS-CoV-2, for example during an outbreak or if new variants of concern emerge. Health and care staff working in non-clinical areas such as offices and social settings do not need to wear masks unless it is their personal preference or if there are specific problems raised by a risk assessment. Patients with respiratory symptoms who are required to attend for emergency treatment should wear a face mask, if tolerated, or be offered one on arrival. All other patients are “not required” to wear a face mask but can if they prefer. In settings where patients are at high risk of infection owing to immunosuppression, such as oncology or haematology, patients might be encouraged to wear a face mask after a local risk assessment. Read full story Source: BMJ, 13 June 2022
  21. News Article
    Admissions of people to hospital with Covid in England have begun to grow again, new data from the NHS shows, as fears were raised over a new wave. Analysis by John Roberts of the Covid Actuaries group, set up in response to the pandemic, showed hospital admissions had stopped falling after a period of decline. Figures on Tuesday showed weekly admissions increased by 4% across England as of 5 June and were up by 33% in the North East and Yorkshire. When asked if the UK was heading into another wave, Mr Roberts told The Independent: “Yes we could be but...how big that wave and how serious it will be in terms of admissions and deaths is very, very difficult to judge at this stage.” His comments come after experts in Europe warned there will be a new wave driven by the growth of the BA.5 and BA.4 Covid variants. The figures, which cover hospitals in England only, show the weekly average of admissions for patients in hospital with Covid stood at 531 as of 5 June. Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 June 2022
  22. News Article
    The United States is now in its fourth-biggest Covid surge, according to official case counts – but experts believe the actual current rate is much higher. America is averaging about 94,000 new cases every day, and hospitalizations have been ticking upward since April, though they remain much lower than previous peaks. But Covid cases could be undercounted by a factor of 30, an early survey of the surge in New York City indicates. “It would appear official case counts are under-estimating the true burden of infection by about 30-fold, which is a huge surprise,” said Denis Nash, an author of the study and a distinguished professor of epidemiology at the City University of New York School of Public Health. While the study focused on New York, these findings may be true throughout the rest of the country, Nash said. In fact, New Yorkers likely have better access to testing than most of the country, which means undercounting could be even worse elsewhere. “It’s very worrisome. To me, it means that our ability to really understand and get ahead of the virus is undermined,” Nash said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 2 June 2022
  23. News Article
    The Covid-19 Inquiry is a public inquiry to examine the UK’s response to the pandemic, as well as its wide-sweeping impact. In the UK, at least 216,726 people have had Covid-19 mentioned on their death certificate since the start of the pandemic. Multiple lockdowns, school closures and furloughs later, a public inquiry aims to gauge what lessons can be learned for the future. Two preliminary hearings have already taken place on 28 February and 1 March. The next one will be on 21 March and will cover Scotland, including strategic issues, political governance, lockdowns and restrictions. The inquiry is chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, a former Court of Appeal judge. The inquiry has been split into three modules: resilience and preparedness, core UK-decision making; political governance, and the impact of Covid-19 on healthcare systems across the UK. In Spring 2022, the inquiry held a public consultation on its draft terms of reference which allowed people to give their opinions on the topics the inquiry would cover. The public inquiry has come under heavy criticism after it was announced that structural racism will not be explicitly considered. Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 March 2023
  24. News Article
    Race should be made a central part of the UK's independent public inquiry into the pandemic, campaigners say. A letter seen by BBC News, sent to the chairwoman of the Covid-19 inquiry, calls for it to look at "racism as a key issue" at every stage. Ethnic minorities were significantly more likely to die with Covid-19, according to official figures. An inquiry spokesperson said the unequal impacts of the pandemic would be at the forefront of its work. People from ethnic minority backgrounds who lost loved-ones during the pandemic also told BBC News they felt "sidelined" by the process so far. The letter to Baroness Hallett, who is chairing the inquiry, has been co-ordinated by the group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice and race equality think tank Runnymede. It calls for ethnic minority communities to be "placed firmly at the centre" of the inquiry. Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 February 2023
  25. News Article
    British health officials are preparing plans to deploy lateral flow tests if signs emerge that avian flu has begun to spread from one person to another. The programme would provide rapid information about the dangers posed by the disease. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is also working on blood tests to detect antibodies against the virus and officials will analyse the disease’s genetic mutations to reveal data about the increased risk to human health from avian flu. The moves follow last week’s news that an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia has died from H5N1, the flu strain that is being spread around the globe by migrating birds and is infecting poultry farms. At present, evidence suggests the H5N1 virus does not pass easily to people although scientists have urged care and caution. “The risk to humans is still very low, but it’s important that we continue to monitor circulation of flu in both bird and mammal populations", said Prof Jonathan Ball, of Nottingham University. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 26 February 2023
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