Welcome again: Care homes can receive unlimited visitors from Monday January 27, 2022 Care home residents can receive unlimited visitors from Monday as restrictions to tackle the Omicron variant of coronavirus are eased, the Department of Health said. Self-isolation periods will also be reduced from 14 days to 10 for those who test positive, with further reductions if they test negative on days five and six. And there [...]
‘Firefighting every day’ in sector in crisis: Social care providers reject new clients as staff shortages spiral out of control January 13, 2022 New client requests are rejected while existing care packages are handed back as social care providers are overwhelmed by staffing shortages, according to a new survey shared with Morning Wire this morning. Two thirds of home care providers are turning away new requests for care while a fifth are handing back care packages, according to [...]
NHS jumps in bed with private sector as Omicron wave forces hospitals to find extra capacity January 10, 2022 Hospitals will be able to use spare capacity in the private sector under a new deal struck with the NHS, while hospitals have been told to find extra beds. The three-month agreement will see private healthcare staff and facilities put on standby to support the NHS should hospital admissions or staff absences due to Covid [...]
Prepare to help us: NHS leans on private sector to ride the Omicron storm January 10, 2022 The NHS have announced this morning that it has struck a deal with private health companies to expand capacity should Omicron overwhelm the public service.
Rejected: Promising prostate cancer drug that AstraZeneca claims can extend men’s lives as it is ‘not good use of NHS funds’ January 5, 2022 A promising, much-talked about drug that has the potential to extend the lives of some men with prostate cancer has been rejected for use on the NHS. In draft guidance, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said the evidence around olaparib (also called Lynparza) was uncertain and approving it would not be [...]
NHS to open eight ‘Nightingale’ hospitals as Omicron cases surge December 30, 2021 Eight temporary "Nightingale" units are being built this week as Omicron surges across the UK.
NHS sends out 650,000 text messages and 50,000 letters in fresh drive to get Covid booster jabs into Brits’ arms December 29, 2021 The NHS will be sending around 650,000 text messages and 50,000 letters to people who have not yet received their top-up dose, encouraging them to roll up their sleeve and have a “jabby new year”. The efforts are part of a fresh drive to get Covid booster jabs into arms to protect against the fast-spreading [...]
London Omicron wave could push NHS absences to 40 per cent of workforce December 28, 2021 The latest Covid-19 wave in the capital could see as much as 40 per cent of its NHS workforce off sick, a London University professor has warned. It would be a “worst case scenario”, chair of healthcare and workforce modelling at London Southbank University, Professor Alison Leary told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme [...]
Government may have left it ‘too late’ to protect the NHS against Omicron wave, says nursing chief December 24, 2021 The head of the Royal College of Nursing warned this morning that the government may have left it “too late” to protect the NHS against the Omicron wave unless it heeds the advice of scientific experts on tighter restrictions. Pat Cullen told BBC Breakfast that ministers would find it easier to make decisions on how [...]
Ex-TSB chief Richard Meddings frontrunner: City banker emerges as preferred candidate for NHS England chairman role December 24, 2021 In a bid to make NHS England more “accountable” for its funding, a City banker is set to become the body’s new chairman. The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed former TSB chairman Richard Meddings is the Government’s preferred candidate for the role on Thursday. The Telegraph reported that ministers wanted Mr Meddings to [...]