The General Election is on 4 July. Pre-election restrictions mean there are less government and public sector data and bulletins until after that. We’re doing our best to keep up to date with developments. English Junior Doctors talks with the government about their pay dispute have been postponed due to the Election. In frustration the Junior Doctors are striking and so Junior Doctors at major hospitals and GP practices in mid and south Essex are scheduled to strike for five days. They will walk out at 7am on Thursday 27 June until 7am on Tuesday 2 July. See article for more guidance.
Launch screenings of our film, ‘The Impact of Covid on Dying, Death & Bereavement’ have started. SWF’s was held on Friday 14 June, graced by the presence of Town Mayor, Cllr Alan Shearring. There’s no doubt there remains a very painful legacy from Covid for those who were bereaved in such awful, unusual circumstances. Our film aims to help unlock that and identify some ways of improving things for the next inevitable pandemic. Our film will be submitted to the Covid Public Inquiry and will be published for free use after the Chelmsford launch on 27 June.
The last available data says Covid cases are increasing again; A&E attendances have risen to the highest level since February and deaths are up to 139 in the last week. Only 56% of people over 75 have received their Spring booster vaccination; if you’re due one please book usingthe NHS national booking system . With COVID-19 circulating, it’s important those at highest risk who are eligible get their vaccine to top up immunity. This programme runs until 30 June. Flu and respiratory infections remain stable at low levels.
The outbreak across the country of E.coli is most likely linked to a nationally distributed food item. Tests are being undertaken to track down the source. It seems this may be linked to meal-deal type sandwich packs including salad. If you get severe symptoms of bloody diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever call 111 or contact your GP surgery. The total number of cases in England reported on 6 June was 81.
UKHSA says there are more increases in STIs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases). Gonorrhoea and Syphilis cases have doubled in the last decade. Adolescents, young adults and men who have sex with men are at most risk of STIs. Nearly half of STIs occur in people ages 15-24. But other age groups aren’t immune. The best way to avoid STIs is to use condoms “consistently and correctly” with new or casual sexual partners.
The independent health think tank The King’s Fund reports that in 2024/25 the main financial challenge facing NHS organisations, NHS leaders and their staff is how they balance their books while protecting patient safety, given many organisations are having to achieve significant efficiency savings. The survey of NHS leaders carried out by the NHS Confederation shows that many NHS organisations are having to meet high efficiency targets of 5% and beyond, with some as high as 11%. This is the tightest financial position NHS organisations have faced in years.
The Royal College of Nursing reports that more than 1 in 3 (37%) nursing staff working in typical hospital settings delivered care in inappropriate settings, such as corridors, on their last shift. The report shares the results of a survey of almost 11,000 frontline nursing staff across the UK. The report calls for mandatory national reporting of patients being cared for in corridors, to reveal the extent of hospital overcrowding, as part of a plan to eradicate the practice.
This week the NHS Chief Executive said:
- A lot has been achieved in the last year. But it’s been a tough one for staff and we don’t always get things right. We’re still recovering from Covid, and still not delivering the level of service we would want to for patients.
- There are big challenges on the horizon, with an ageing population, growing need for care, and a shrinking working age population to pay for it.
- These challenges require us to reimagine how we do things – such as how we strengthen primary and community care and keep people out of hospital wherever possible so that we can both give patients a better experience, and also achieve better outcomes with the funding available.
- There are key opportunities to do this now that we have never had before – most importantly the Long-Term Workforce Plan, the continued development of our technology and digital offer and systems like the Federated Data Platform, and the ever-maturing relationships at system and place level.
- There are also things we need to do to ensure we can take advantage of those opportunities, including strengthening management and leadership, giving staff the tools they need to create the fastest improving healthcare system in the world, and backing innovative new ways of doing things.
- But we should be clear we can’t do this alone. As well as requiring investment in estates, and action on public health and social care, there are wider issues we need to grasp as a society to avoid the NHS being an expensive safety net, such as how we address rising obesity and the mental health impacts of problem gambling.
This Wednesday is World Sickle Cell Day. Excellent work is being done at Manchester Royal Infirmary through their Hyper Acute Sickle Cell pathway pilots. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is the name of a group of inherited health conditions that affect red blood cells. The most serious type is called Sickle Cell Anaemia. SCD is particularly common in people with an African or Caribbean family background.
It’s also Learning Disability Week, with the theme – “Do you see me?” – challenging us to think about how we ensure people with a learning disability are being seen, heard and valued.
Saturday 22 June was Windrush Day – important to mark for lots of reasons, but in the NHS a reminder that the NHS has always not just welcomed talented and hard-working colleagues from around the world, but relied on them, and that is just as true today.
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SWF Health & Social Care Group 