An update from SWF Health & Social Care Group

Posted on by swfhealthsocial

Sunday 20 August 2023: 

Important news despite the holidays:

  • NHS England (NHSE) says it can’t take any more. The Junior doctors fifth strike from 11-15 August put services at tipping point. The previous Junior Doctors’ strike disrupted 102,000 hospital appointments. NHSE estimates nine months of industrial action has impacted 778,000 hospital appointments with 458,000+ staff absences. We await news about the effect of this latest strike.
  • English Hospital waiting lists at end of June reached record 7.57million.
  • Consultant Doctors will strike from 24-26 August. Their previous strikes disrupted 65,500 appointments with 7-8,000 daily absences.
  • NHSE is planning for industrial action continuing during Winter 2023. It’s in constant discussions so lifesaving services continue. They say the public should:
    • Not put off seeking emergency care
    • Non-life-threatened patients are likely to suffer delays
    • Attend appointments unless contacted directly to reschedule
    • Use NHS 111 for advice for less urgent care
    • Currently Primary care is not affected so consult pharmacists and attend GP and dental appointments
    • Ensure you have enough prescription medications using your repeat prescription system (inc NHS App, GP website, paper form).
  • Unresolved strikes are greatly increasing the number of patients waiting, the waiting times and the unprecedented stress on NHS services and staff. The present Summer Stresses are indistinguishable from Winter Pressures. One side wants to negotiate and talk. Patients, carers, loved ones and society suffer. These disputes must be settled immediately. That will only happen if both sides talk. 
  • Encouraging news about living with Covid and future preparedness:
  • Latest Covid variant EG.5, ‘Eris’, is a low-risk Omicron off-shoot, with cases increasing steadily since February. UK hospitalisations have increased recently, particularly for 85+ year olds, but without more people severely ill needing intensive care. The latest Dashboard for England published on 16 August reports increases to 6,289 in people testing positive for Covid, 48 Deaths with Covid on death certificates and 2171 patients admitted to hospital with Covid.
  • Arrangements for the Autumn 2023/24 Flu & Covid seasonal vaccinationprogrammes were announced on 10 August. In the ‘living with Covid’ context, Covid is now being brought in line with Flu to maximise protection and uptake for everyone eligible. Starting with children in September and adults in October, vaccinations will be aligned and can be co-administered to:
    • Care home residents
    • Frontline health and social care workers
    • Adults 65+ year olds
    • People in Immunisation Green Book clinical risk groups aged 6months-64yrs
    • Green Book defined Household Carers aged 16-64
    • Anyone in the above cohorts not previously vaccinated should get a single dose of Covid vaccine during the campaign.
  • UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reports on 8 August how pandemic preparedness and scanning for diseases is being prioritised and improved How the team monitoring new and emerging infectious diseases could help prevent the next pandemic – UK Health Security Agency (blog.gov.uk)
  • On 7 August UKHSA set out its new Strategic Plan to prepare for future health security hazards, including pandemics The importance of global surveillance to identify pandemic threats – UK Health Security Agency (blog.gov.uk)
  • Also on 7 August UKHSA reported the establishment of its Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre to ensure the UK has the vaccines needed to protect our public from major infectious disease threats in the future The science behind life-saving vaccines – UK Health Security Agency (blog.gov.uk) .

The horrific Lucy Letby case raises systemic questions about the way the NHS is managed. In Essex we have our own now public inquiry into our mental health services. Despite the vast majority of healthcare workers faithfully doing their utmost to deliver top quality patient care, is there a damaging management culture in some places where corporate reputation and organisational pressures trump whistle blowers and evidence that identifies serious concerns needing open investigation?

The latest Norovirus UKHSA data at National norovirus and rotavirus report, week 32 report: data up to week 30 (30 July 2023) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) shows there are a lot more cases of Norovirus than usual for summer, with lab reports of 70% higher than average. Remember if you’re sick with norovirus avoid visiting hospitals and care homes, and don’t return to work or school until 48 hours after symptoms have stopped. Hand gels do not kill norovirus, so handwashing with soap and warm water is best. Using bleach-based products to clean surfaces will also help stop the virus from spreading. See the excellent blog Norovirus: What to do if you catch it and helping to stop the spread – UK Health Security Agency (blog.gov.uk) which talks through what to do if you catch Norovirus and how to stop the spread. 

There’s serious concern that a measles outbreak with tens of thousands of cases in the South East is likely unless MMR vaccination rates improve. Read the UKHSA story at London at risk of measles outbreaks with modelling estimating tens of thousands of cases – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . Public health news items are on our website and in weekly e-newsletters. SWF Library provides online services where staff help to access the internet. For welfare information and subscription to our newsletter contact uson swfhealthsocial@outlook.com , or leave a voicemail on 01245 322079