Most hospital patients and care home residents in England will now no longer be required to undertake regular asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 unless they develop symptoms. This is in accordance with updated guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (“DHSC”) published on 24 August 2022 (“The Guidance”). The Guidance takes effect from 31 …
NHS and care homes in England to pause routine COVID-19 testing Read More »
Three NHS sites are set to begin offering eligible patients smaller doses of monkeypox vaccine, amid global shortages of the jab. This is following expert advice from UK Health Security Agency (“UKHSA”) who have stated that reduced shots are just as effective and will mean more people are protected. As a result, the fractional dosing …
UK set to offer mini dose of monkeypox jab due to low stocks Read More »
Rising numbers of people in the UK will fall sick and see their health worsen unless the Government takes further action to limit energy price increases, according to NHS leaders. The NHS Confederation, on behalf of NHS leaders, wrote a letter to the chancellor on 19 August 2022 stating the UK was facing a “humanitarian …
Action needed on energy costs which pose a risk to people’s health! Read More »
In November 2021, a cost collection survey was sent out by the Department of Health and Social Care (“DHSC”) to gather evidence in relation to the cost to care homes of providing NHS-funded nursing care (“FNC”) in 2021 to 2022. The subsequent evidence was used to inform the retrospective payments to reflect additional costs associated …
Evidence On Costs Associated With NHS-Funded Nursing Care In 2021 To 2022 Read More »
Nearly half a million more adults in England are now taking antidepressants compared with the previous year, according to NHS data. It is now the sixth year in a row that there has been an increase in both patients and prescriptions for antidepressants. Alexa Knight, who is in charge of policy at the charity Rethink …
Nearly half a million more adults on antidepressants in England Read More »
NHS patients in England who have been waiting for more than two years for surgery are being offered hospital treatment in alternative parts of the country. Subsequently, more than 6,000 long term waiting list patients are being offered travel costs and accommodation costs in an attempt to tackle the NHS backlog. The aim of this …
NHS patients in England to be offered chance to travel for surgery Read More »
On 6 June 2022, the Royal College of Nursing (“RCN”) general secretary, Pat Cullen, spoke at the RCN’s annual conference in Glasgow. She discussed the current impact of the UK’s nurse shortages. This was expanded upon in depth in The Royal College of Nursing Report (“the Report”) published also on 6 June 2022 prior to …
NHS Nurse Shortages continuing to pose a threat to patient safety Read More »
On 15 May 2022 the Government announced that prescription charges in England are to be frozen for the first time in 12 years. This is following the Government’s recently conducted annual review on prescription charges. The Department of Health and Social Care has announced that the current freeze on prescription charges would remain until at …
NHS England prescription charges set to be frozen Read More »
High Street chemists in the UK are running out of some hay-fever medicine, as a UK industry-wide shortage has hit supplies. At the end of April, the Government also appointed a hormone-replacement therapy (“HRT”) tsar to tackle drug shortages affecting products used by women with menopause symptoms. This drug shortage is now also affecting stocks …
High Street Chemists suffer a hay-fever pill shortage Read More »
NHS bosses in England have asked hospitals to offer staff more overtime and have asked retired employees to return to work, with the purpose of tackling NHS waiting lists. A letter sent by NHS England dated 5 May 2022 to Hospitals, explains that the waiting list backlog had grown during the pandemic and would require …
NHS Hospitals to encourage retired staff to return to work to help tackle backlog Read More »
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