More people attending accident and emergency in England with sore throats, nosebleeds and insomnia
The NHS in England is facing mounting pressure amid a surge in patients attending A&E departments with minor ailments, health bosses have said.
Emergency departments, which are designed for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies only, are seeing an increase in people attending with sore throats, insomnia, coughs and earache.
Continue reading...Dramatic findings point to Conservatives losing every red wall seat that they secured at the last election
Labour is currently on course to win a landslide victory on the scale of 1997, according to dramatic new modelling that points to the Conservatives losing every red wall seat secured at the last election.
The Tories could also lose more than 20 constituencies in its southern blue wall strongholds and achieve a record-low number of seats, according to a constituency-by-constituency model seen by the Observer. Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden, defence secretary Grant Shapps and leadership contender Penny Mordaunt are among those facing defeat. Some 12 cabinet ministers face being unseated unless Rishi Sunak can close Labour’s poll lead.
Continue reading...Labour leader’s pledge for English primaries as part of a wider dental plan labelled ‘window dressing’ by union chief
School leaders have accused Labour of “window dressing” after Keir Starmer pledged to introduce supervised toothbrushing for young children in England’s primary schools.
While the policy has long been supported by the dentistry profession as a way of curbing decay, headteachers said it was not appropriate for their staff to check whether pupils had cleaned their teeth.
Continue reading...Rob Behrens writes to head of Norfolk and Suffolk trust over claim to committee that questioned him about patient deaths report
The NHS ombudsman has told a health trust chief to withdraw “not accurate” remarks about him amid an alleged attempt to play down up to 1,000 avoidable patient deaths.
Rob Behrens wrote to Stuart Richardson, the head of the Norfolk and Suffolk mental health NHS trust, over remarks he made about him to Norfolk county council’s health scrutiny committee.
Continue reading...Female, black, Asian or less well-off patients are less likely to receive the life-saving procedure in England
Patients who are female, black, Asian or less well-off are significantly less likely to be offered heart valve surgery on the NHS in England, according to a report that experts say is “deeply concerning”.
People develop aortic stenosis when their aortic valve narrows as a result of calcium buildup, impeding normal blood flow. This causes shortness of breath, light headedness and chest pain.
Continue reading...Research by NHS trust found simple blood test could help people avoid complications from type 2 diabetes
Thousands of people unaware they have type 2 diabetes could be diagnosed and avoid serious complications if screening was introduced in emergency departments, a study suggests.
The prevalence of the disease has risen dramatically in countries of all income levels in the last three decades, according to the World Health Organization. More than 400 million people have been diagnosed, but millions more are estimated to be in the dark about the fact they have the condition.
Continue reading...Leaders say hidden total may be double official tally, as junior doctors, consultants and radiographers prepare more strikes
As many as 2m outpatient appointments and operations have been cancelled as a result of NHS strikes – double the official total – hospital bosses believe.
The NHS Confederation said the true number of care sessions hospitals are not able to provide due to staff walkouts is far higher than the NHS’s 1m figure because so many hospitals now do not book any patients in on strike days, to save having to reschedule them.
Continue reading...Coalition of experts publish action points including tackling inequality, poor housing and child poverty
Ministers must tackle poverty, poor housing and air pollution to improve England’s worsening mental health, a coalition of charities, thinktanks and staff groups has urged ministers.
Their blueprint for better mental health also includes a crackdown on racism, reforms to the benefits system and action to end the stark inequality whereby people with severe psychiatric conditions die up to 20 years sooner than the general population.
A new Child Poverty Act to banish child poverty by 2030.
The creation of a minimum income guarantee and reforming sick pay.
Action against junk food, smoking, alcohol and gambling.
The end of “hostile environment” immigration policies.
Continue reading...Latest figures show 1,015,067 ‘episodes of care’ have been postponed since end of last year
More than 1m outpatient appointments and operations have been cancelled since strikes began in December across the NHS in England, figures reveal.
Last week’s four-day stoppage by consultants and junior doctors forced hospitals to reschedule 129,913 more “episodes of care”, taking the total to just over 1m, NHS England said.
Continue reading...Patients have been left confused and frustrated with no centralised system for obtaining medicines
Changes to the way Covid treatments are obtained by those most at risk from the disease could lead to a “postcode lottery” for access, experts have said, with charities warning patients have been left confused and frustrated by the new system.
Previously, people eligible for Covid treatments in England were contacted by their local Covid Medicines Delivery Unit (CMDU) once they reported testing positive for the virus.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Concerns over patient safety after NHS figures show less-qualified staff attending urgent calls
One in three life-or-death 999 ambulance calls in some parts of England are not attended by a paramedic, NHS figures obtained by the Guardian reveal.
The disclosure has prompted fears that seriously unwell or badly injured patients may receive inadequate care from a less-qualified member of ambulance staff lacking a paramedic’s skills.
Continue reading...Sudiksha Thirumalesh, 19, and her family had opposed her being moved to palliative care
A 19-year-old woman who died after a legal battle with an NHS trust over her treatment for a rare mitochondrial disorder can be named, a judge has ruled.
Sudiksha Thirumalesh, an A-level student, and her family were embroiled in a dispute with an unnamed trust over whether she should be moved on to palliative care.
Continue reading...BMA also offers to take non-pay investments into account to reach agreement – but No 10 insists pay talks will not be reopened
Hospital consultants in England have offered to call off their strikes if they receive a pay rise of about 12% this year – double the increase that ministers insist is their final offer.
Their proposal, and the disclosure of recent “constructive” conversations with the government, appear to be a conciliatory move by the British Medical Association (BMA) to end their pay dispute.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak’s government seen as less competent that Boris Johnson’s administration
The UK economy is set to witness the highest inflation rate of the world’s G7 advanced economies this year, according to new forecasts, PA Media reports. PA says:
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also increased its predicted average UK inflation rate for 2023 compared with its previous estimate.
Economists at the globally recognised organisation also reduced their UK growth forecast slightly for next year amid pressure from higher interest rates.
Continue reading...Consultants and junior doctors will take joint action this week for the first time in escalating pay dispute
NHS officials have warned that doctors’ strikes this week are likely to cause disruption to patient care “unlike anything before”, as Wednesday will see consultants and junior doctors taking joint strike action for the first time in the escalating dispute over pay.
Junior doctors, who have already staged five days of industrial action this year, will now strike again from 20 to 22 September – the first day of which coincides with action by consultants.
Continue reading...First and only Nice-recommended medicine could ‘alleviate misery’ of condition in England and Wales
NHS health advisers have approved the first treatment for acute migraine in a decision that promises to bring relief to about 13,000 people.
The National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has recommended a drug called rimegepant, also known as Vydura, which is made by Pfizer.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Delay to work on five buildings in 2020 led to warnings of ‘catastrophic’ safety risk
Rishi Sunak blocked plans to rebuild five hospitals riddled with crumbling concrete three years ago, prompting warnings of a “catastrophic” risk to patient safety, the Guardian has learned.
Just two of the seven hospital rebuilding projects requested by the Department for Health were signed off by the Treasury at the 2020 spending review when Sunak was chancellor and Steve Barclay, now the health secretary, was his chief secretary.
Continue reading...New CQC report also finds growing number of patients think there are too few nurses to care for them
Two in five people admitted to hospital for planned care in England last year had their health worsen while they were on the NHS waiting list, a major survey reveals.
The finding emerged in a new report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that also found that growing numbers of patients think there are too few nurses on duty to care for them.
39% of patients would like to have been admitted sooner.
Almost one in five (18%) felt they waited “far too long” to get a bed once they had been admitted – a big rise on the 8% who said that in 2020.
Only 52% thought there were always enough nurses on duty.
Discharge was often unsatisfactory for patients, with only 48% given enough notice about when they would leave and only 45% told how their post-hospital care would happen.
Hospital care was less good than before Covid struck in 2020, patients said.
Continue reading...Figures from NHS England reveal people seeking heat-related health advice as temperatures surpass 32C
Hot weather has led to a 552% increase in people seeking heat exhaustion advice from the NHS website this week, figures show.
There were 32,130 visits to the health advice page on heat exhaustion and heatstroke from Sunday to Thursday this week, according to figures released by NHS England, which runs the NHS website.
Consume plenty of cold drinks, especially when exercising.
Take cool baths or showers.
Wear light-coloured, loose clothing.
Sprinkle water over skin or clothes.
Avoid the sun between 11am and 3pm.
Avoid excess alcohol.
Avoid extreme exercise.
Continue reading...Pirola variant has prompted concern among scientists because of high number of mutations it carries
Care home residents and people who are housebound will be offered Covid vaccines from Monday, with over-65s and other vulnerable groups to be called for their jabs from the week after.
The NHS will kick off its autumn programme of Covid vaccines from next week, having moved the date forward by a month in response to the spread of a new variant nicknamed Pirola.
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