Speaking on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, Sir Simon Stevens says the NHS has never been in a more precarious position. With 3.5m doses of the Covid vaccines being delivered by 16 January, Stevens said that meant the NHS was vaccinating four times faster than people were newly catching coronavirus
Continue reading...Category Archives: NHS
Two-thirds of NHS trusts in England treated more Covid patients last week than at peak of first wave
Exclusive: number of Covid patients could be twice that of April 2020 peak within weeks
- NHS crisis in charts: how Covid has increased strain on health service
- See all our coronavirus coverage
Two-thirds of all NHS trusts across England were treating more coronavirus patients last week than they did at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic, a Guardian analysis reveals.
Figures show that in 18 trusts the number of people suffering from coronavirus outnumbered all other patients.
Continue reading...GPs in England say inconsistent supply of Covid vaccine causing roll-out issues
Short notice is making it difficult to book advance appointments, as PM admits regional disparities
Inconsistent vaccine supply is making it difficult for GPs in England to book patient appointments more than a few days in advance, experts have warned, as the prime minister admitted there were significant disparities in local immunisation rates.
Doctors, NHS specialists and MPs told the Guardian that batches of the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine frequently arrived with only a couple of days’ notice, requiring last-minute planning and creating uncertainty for patients.
Continue reading...‘Cummings effect’: why are people bending lockdown rules?
Analysis: experts say erosion of trust in government contributes to liberal interpretation of guidance
Photographs of crowded beaches, parks and queues at food stalls outside popular walking spots, all at a time when the UK is on highest alert under tough coronavirus restrictions.
Despite Matt Hancock describing these as examples of “flexing the rules”, and Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, warning that stopping to chat in the street is a potential threat, many continue to interpret the government’s strict “stay at home” message as liberally as they can.
Continue reading...Tom Templeton: ‘I suspect doctors have realised how therapeutic it can be to write books’
The former Observer writer and now GP talks about his new book, 34 Patients, and the challenges he has faced during the pandemic
How has life changed for you at the surgery during the pandemic?
The biggest change has been having to talk to patients on the phone rather than seeing them in person. We only see around three per day now in person.
Do you miss seeing people face to face?
Totally. It’s quite right that we do it the way we do but I love being with the patients and having that connection.
ICU medics in London plead with public to follow Covid rules
Morale plummets as NHS sees ‘grave consequences’ of relaxed rules over Christmas
Intensive care medics in London have made a fresh appeal to the public to comply fully with England’s coronavirus restrictions, as they struggle to deal with more patients than at any time over the last four winters.
Morale among ICU staff is tumbling and concerns have been expressed about a “mass exodus” as the second wave of Covid infections escalates rapidly in London and elsewhere in England. Some doctors and nurses have already quit.
Continue reading...Chris Whitty urges people to stay home in new Covid campaign – video
'Once more, we should all stay home.' That is the message from England's chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, in a new coronavirus information campaign that warns the new variant is placing huge pressure on the NHS. Whitty is fronting adverts on radio, TV and social media from Friday which urge the public to ‘act like you’ve got it' to stop the spread of the virus
Continue reading...‘We’re bursting’: a day inside a Covid intensive care unit
The Guardian spends a day with Covid patients and staff at Milton Keynes University hospital
In a private room by the locked entrance of the intensive care unit, Dilip Sharan is sitting up in bed, a plate of stew in front of him. He navigates his spoon around the breathing tube keeping him alive, every mouthful soundtracked by a discordant symphony of beeps and bongs from multiple monitors keeping tabs on his vital organs.
It is his fifth day in the last chance saloon of Covid care. He gasps for air, barely able to speak.
Continue reading...Covid in the UK: why is it so bad now and when will cases decline? | Nicola Davis and Linda Geddes
With a major incident declared in London and positive test results surging, experts answer key questions
The UK is seeing record numbers of people testing positive for coronavirus, with more than 60,000 positive tests reported on three days this week.
Continue reading...Covid-19 is ‘out of control’ in London, says Sadiq Khan – video
'I'm afraid this virus is out of control,' the mayor of London has said after declaring a major incident as the capital's hospitals struggle to cope with coronavirus patients. 'The NHS in London is at risk of being overwhelmed ... we could run out of beds,' Sadiq Khan said. The mayor told BBC News that as many as one in 20 people had the virus in some parts of the city. 'The best way you can help the NHS is by staying at home,' he said
Continue reading...UK coronavirus live: ‘major incident’ declared in London as cases surge; Moderna Covid vaccine approved
Latest updates: Sadiq Khan declares major incident in capital with ‘spread of virus out of control’; seven million doses of Moderna vaccine ordered
- Sadiq Khan declares Covid emergency in London
- Moderna Covid vaccine approved for use by UK medicines regulator
- Pfizer vaccine protects against new Covid variants, study suggests
- Which countries have reported the new UK Covid variant?
- Coronavirus – latest updates
Making the announcement in London, Sadiq Khan said: “We are declaring a major incident because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point.
“If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die.
BREAKING: I have declared a major incident in London because the threat this virus poses to our city is at crisis point.
One in 30 Londoners now has COVID-19. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die.https://t.co/OjV7SZ4BgQ
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared an effective emergency in the city, as it grapples with soaring coronavirus case numbers and hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of patients.
London has been the worst-hit area of the UK so far in the winter peak of Covid-19 cases.
Related: Sadiq Khan declares Covid emergency in London
Continue reading...How the Covid surge has left the NHS on the brink – podcast
Boris Johnson has announced a new national lockdown amid fears the NHS could be overwhelmed within weeks with Covid patients. Denis Campbell and Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden describe a service already at breaking point
Fears that the NHS could be overwhelmed within weeks have prompted new national lockdowns across the UK. There are now more than 30,000 people in NHS hospitals with coronavirus as staff levels have been hit too by the disease.
The Guardian’s health policy editor, Denis Campbell, tells Anushka Asthana that the rapidly rising number of Covid patients is forcing hospitals to cancel non-urgent operations and ration care. Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, who works in intensive care units, says staff are feeling exhausted as their workloads continue to expand. She welcomes the new lockdown but fears the toll on the NHS and staff is becoming unbearable.
Continue reading...One in 50 infected with Covid-19 in England, says Chris Whitty – video
More than 1.1 million people are estimated to have had coronavirus in the week ending 2 January, the government's chief medical officer said. The latest figure was up from an estimated 800,900 in the week ending 23 December, the previous period for which figures were collated. Whitty added that even with the arrival of the vaccine, restrictions could need to be brought back next Christmas if the virus resurges.
Continue reading...Analysis: is it wise for England to mix and match Covid vaccines?
US experts warn against plan to give different second jab if supplies run low
The UK is setting the pace around the world in the approval and use of Covid vaccines but, while other countries watch intently, not all are yet prepared to embrace what looks like public health pragmatism rather than strict adherence to evidence.
Britain is the first country in the world to approve and use the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, just as it was first with Pfizer/BioNTech’s. In a further trailblazing decision, it is giving everyone a first shot of either of those vaccines, with the second shot delayed to 12 weeks afterwards instead of the three- or four-week interval in the trials.
Continue reading...How is the Oxford Covid vaccine being deployed in England?
With jab to be administered to public for first time, we look at key questions about its rollout
The biggest vaccination programme in the UK’s history will receive a major boost on Monday, with the first use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Here we look at some key questions about how it will be deployed in England.
Continue reading...England health officials defend contingency plan to mix Covid vaccines
PHE says it is reasonable to mix the two approved vaccines in exceptional circumstances
Officials have defended England’s vaccine regimen after details of a contingency plan to mix the two approved jabs in a small number of cases emerged.
Public Health England’s Covid “green book” recommends that “it is reasonable to offer one dose of the locally available product to complete the schedule” if the same vaccine used for the first dose is not available. But it adds: “There is no evidence on the interchangeability of the Covid-19 vaccines although studies are under way.”
Continue reading...NHS staff face burnout as Covid hospital admissions continue to rise
Nurses plead with the public to follow official advice to help relieve pressure on frontline workers
England’s chief nurse has said that NHS and care staff are working incredibly hard to cope with record numbers of Covid-19 patients, amid concern that frontline staff are close to burnout.
Ruth May pleaded with the public to follow the coronavirus advice to help relieve the pressure on hospital staff, after two days of record hospital admissions.
Continue reading...Coronavirus live news: more countries report suspected cases of new Covid variant
Latest updates: South Africa imposes tighter restrictions amid sharp increase in cases; UK told it must vaccinate 2 million people per week to avoid new wave
- Covid vaccine uptake high despite concerns over hesitancy
- The lost year: could Covid lockdown have helped save the planet?
- South Africa bans alcohol sales; Spain sets up Covid vaccine register
- See all our coronavirus coverage
India has found six people who returned from the UK in recent weeks with the more infectious strain of the virus that has prompted border closures around the world, Reuters reports.
Nevertheless, the country’s daily increase in cases fell to a six-month low.
Hello and thank you for reading our live coverage. I’ll be with you for the next few hours. Here’s a brief summary of where we stand:
Continue reading...NHS leaders raise concerns over pace of Covid vaccine rollout
Exclusive: more than half of hospital trusts in England yet to receive supplies as variant spreads
NHS leaders have raised concerns about the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, with more than half of hospital trusts and two-thirds of GPs yet to receive supplies amid growing alarm over the new fast-spreading variant.
Dr Richard Vautrey, the chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, urged the government to speed up delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in order to save lives. Experts also demanded greater transparency from ministers on how many doses are available.
Continue reading...Firm with mystery investors wins £200m of PPE contracts via ‘high-priority lane’
Exclusive: It’s unclear how PPE Medpro’s bids were processed through channel for firms referred by MPs and senior officials
A company with mystery investors and links to the Isle of Man was awarded government contracts worth £200m to supply the UK with personal protective equipment (PPE) after it was placed in a “high-priority lane” for well-connected firms, the Guardian can reveal.
PPE Medpro has not revealed the identities of the financiers and businessmen behind the venture, and it remains unclear how its offer to supply PPE came to be processed through a channel created for companies referred by politicians and senior officials.
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