UK missed three chances to join EU scheme to bulk-buy PPE

Exclusive: Britain did not take part in €1.5bn order for kit to protect against Covid-19 despite shortages in NHS

Britain missed three opportunities to be part of an EU scheme to bulk-buy masks, gowns and gloves and has been absent from key talks about future purchases, the Guardian can reveal, as pressure grows on ministers to protect NHS medics and care workers on the coronavirus frontline.

European doctors and nurses are preparing to receive the first of €1.5bn (£1.3bn) worth of personal protective equipment (PPE) within days or a maximum of two weeks through a joint procurement scheme involving 25 countries and eight companies, according to internal EU documents.

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Five-year-old child among latest UK coronavirus deaths

Death toll increases by 708 in one day, largest amount since outbreak began

A five-year old child is among 708 people whose deaths with coronavirus were announced on Saturday in the UK, as Britain’s death toll rose to 4,313, the biggest increase since the outbreak began.

The latest figures show the recorded death toll from the virus in the UK has risen by 20%, and above 4,000 for the first time.

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NHS nurse applauded by family as she returns from work amid coronavirus crisis – video

An NHS nurse working during the coronavirus outbreak in the UK received a standing ovation from her family as she returned home from a shift.

Her son shared a video on Twitter and said: 'We as a family have been welcoming our mum home from work as a hero. She is a nurse in the NHS in Britain and is working so hard every day! We will continue to do this every time she returns home from work'

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Coronavirus: doctors and nurses in Belfast post message urging public to stay at home – video

Healthcare workers on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak in Northern Ireland have made an appeal to the public. In a video, doctors and nurses from the Belfast trust respiratory team urge people to stay at home in order to save lives

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Nurse in tears after coronavirus panic buying leaves shelves empty of food – video

Dawn Bilbrough, a critical care nurse, appeals to people to stop panic buying after she was unable to find basic food items in her supermarket following  a 48-hour shift. She urges people to remember that NHS staff like her are the ones looking after patients and need food to stay healthy

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I saw colleagues die of Ebola. Health workers must not become coronavirus martyrs

We will be the group most affected by this outbreak. Governments must bury austerity and ensure care is adequately staffed and well-resourced

Imagine working in an underfunded, understaffed hospital facing a devastating disease outbreak. Imagine being forced to make impossible choices about who to treat and who to let die. Imagine coming home to your family, knowing you might be putting them at risk.

These are the awful situations we health workers faced in dealing with the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Libera. For me the greatest tragedy is hearing similar stories emerge from colleagues around the world who are up against the coronavirus. It terrifies me to see that developed countries health systems are at breaking point – I hate to imagine what this virus might do to my region next.

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Inside an ICU: how long can we stay calm in the face of the coronavirus crisis?

Now, more than ever, the NHS must prioritise care - not just for frail, elderly and vulnerable people but for staff too

There’s a strange mood in the intensive care unit (ICU) where I work at the moment. It’s one of controlled planning, paperwork and people pulling together in ways that on a normal day perhaps wouldn’t happen.

ICUs are as prepared as they can be. Locally business as usual has made way for preparations for caring for high numbers of patients. We are finding every ventilator we may have and identifying every suitably qualified member of staff. We will work together to fill gaps as best we can.

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In New Zealand, we are starting to value women’s work fairly. It’s time for the world to follow

On International Women’s Day, let’s commit to properly compensating women for the unpaid and underpaid work they have always done

The world would stop running were it not for the unpaid and underpaid work undertaken by women. It is past time for our contribution to be recognised, and remunerated fairly. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, we are creating a new process to appropriately value the caring work traditionally undertaken by women.

It started in 2013, when a care and support worker named Kristine Bartlett, supported by her union (E Tū), filed a pay equity claim under the Equal Pay Act 1972. She made the case that the caring work she did was undervalued because it was mainly performed by women. This was compared to work that was male-dominated but required a similar level of skill, effort and responsibilities.

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Nurse in trousers told her London Marathon record would not count

Guinness World Records says Jessica Anderson needed to have had a dress on to qualify

An NHS nurse who ran the London Marathon was told her Guinness World Record attempt would not count because she was not wearing a dress.

Jessica Anderson, who has been working for the Royal London Hospital’s acute admission unit for seven years, was aiming to become the fastest female marathon runner dressed as a nurse but her scrubs and trousers did not match the uniform criteria.

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Stephen Hawking’s former nurse struck off for failings in his care

Patricia Dowdy deemed not fit to practise over multiple misconduct charges

One of Stephen Hawking’s former nurses has been struck off after the Nursing and Midwifery Council ruled she “failed to provide the standards of good, professional care that we expect and Professor Hawking deserved”.

The NMC said Patricia Dowdy, 61, had faced multiple misconduct charges in relation to the care she was providing to the eminent physicist, including financial misconduct, dishonesty, not providing appropriate care, failing to cooperate with the NMC and not having the correct qualifications.

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Republicans launch new attack ad on Phillips in House race

A new ad from Republican U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen accuses Democratic challenger Dean Phillips of doing nothing about a sexual harassment case brought by seven female nurses against Allina Health clinic in 2007, when Phillips served on the Allina board. The commercial , which debuted on Twin Cities television Wednesday evening, cites a February 2007 lawsuit by the nurses, who alleged they were sexually harassed by a doctor at an Allina clinic in Richfield.

Nurse staffing proposal trailing in new poll NEW

Opponents outnumber supporters of Question 1 in newly released UMass-Lowell poll results that also show Gov. Charlie Baker and Sen. Elizabeth Warren maintaining large leads over their opponents as they seek re-election on Nov. 6. The poll of 791 registered voters , taken the first week of October, showed 51 percent of likely voters opposed nurse ... (more)

New Scorecard Shows Only 12 House Democrats Have Fully Embraced Game-Changing Progressive Agenda

"To build an equal and just society in which every person can live a healthy life, Members of Congress must support bold progressive policies that address the public health and environmental crises that are ripping our country apart," say the groups behind a new congressional scorecard that details lawmakers' support for key pieces of legislation.

Veterans Affairs to the forefront

July 23 marked a rare event in the politically and ideologically lacerated chambers of Congress. President Donald Trump's nominee for veterans affairs secretary, Robert Wilkie, won Senate confirmation by a strikingly bipartisan vote of 86 to 9. The VA borrows its mission statement from the penultimate phrase of one of the American history's loftiest documents, Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address: "To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan."

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Dr. Fawzia Haque, a board-certified family medicine physician, has joined Tyrone Regional Health Network and the Tyrone Hospital medical staff. Haque provides primary care services at TRHN's Pinecroft Medical Center.

Louisiana Democrats Threaten To Evict Nursing Home Residents

Democratic Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards used the nuclear option Thursday morning when he directed the state Health Department to send out tens of thousands of "eviction notices" to elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients currently living in nursing and group homes. Edwards stated that unless new tax legislation can be passed before July 1, 2018, the existing state money used to take care of almost 37,000 Louisiana residents on Medicaid will dry up.