Displaying items by tag: NHS

The Catholic Church has said that the Government should treat the effects coronavirus has on ethnic groups as a matter of urgency. New analysis suggests that black men and women are more than four times more likely to die a coronavirus-related death than white people. Black males are 4.2 times more likely, and black women 4.3 times more likely, to die after contracting the virus. People of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian, and mixed ethnicities also had an increased risk of death compared with those of white ethnicity. While public health leaders have said that they will review how different factors, such as ethnicity, obesity, and geographical location influence the effects of the virus, the church has said that more must be done.

Nurse academic Irene Tuffrey-Wijne says figures about deaths from coronavirus of people with learning disabilities are needed now to help prevent unnecessary deaths. Public Health England have stated that an expert group will analyse data on the deaths from coronavirus of those with learning disabilities and autism. However, the data will not be published until 2021. Ms Tuffrey-Wijne said, ‘It’s not good enough to look at this retrospectively in 2021; it will be too late then to prevent unnecessary deaths in 2020.’ The Care Quality Commission says there has been a 175% increase in deaths of people with learning disabilities living in adult social care organisations in England, compared with the same period last year. But while elderly people are entitled to be tested for coronavirus, people with a learning disability are not. See

A blood test to find out whether people have been infected with coronavirus in the past has been approved by Public Health England, a ‘very positive development’. The test looks for antibodies to see if a person has already had the virus and might now have some immunity. Until now, officials have said such tests are not reliable enough. The government previously spent £16m buying antibody tests which proved to be ineffective. This test is the first one to offer serious potential. Experts at Porton Down evaluated the test and found that if someone had been infected, it gave the correct result 100% of the time. And if someone had not caught coronavirus, then it gave the correct result in 99.8% of cases.

Anna-Maria Tudor, 32, had an abortion at 23 weeks that she now regrets after learning that her unborn child may have felt pain while being aborted. Medical researchers say there is now ‘good evidence’ that the brain and nervous system, which start developing at 12 weeks, are adequate for the baby to feel pain at 23 weeks. They argue that women considering an abortion at this stage of pregnancy should be told about the pain their unborn baby could experience while being terminated. Ms Tudor is launching a landmark abortion court case. She is seeking a declaration that current NICE guidelines, not requiring women to be informed that an unborn child could suffer pain during an abortion, are unlawful. Pain relief during an abortion is not required by law, but painkillers are given to unborn babies receiving surgery in the womb for spina bifida.

England's children's commissioner is highlighting pressures facing mothers caring for babies born in lockdown without the usual family and state support networks. An estimated 76,000 babies will have been born in England under lockdown so far. Although helplines for parents have been set up in most areas, the usual sources of physical support from family, friends and voluntary services are not at present available. Also births are not being registered, due to rules tied to the pandemic, so even basic information about new babies is not being gathered. Pray for the new mothers depending on phone support from health visitors and GPs, often not readily accessible. May God give strength and confidence to new mothers and fathers unsure of ‘baby routines’ and facing unexpected challenges. Many babies have missed the health checks that would have picked up urgent development needs in the first few weeks because parents have not wanted to attend and risk potential infection.

The National Cyber Security Centre reports that Chinese, Russians and Iranians are targeting healthcare bodies involved in coronavirus research. The first country to find a vaccine or cure will achieve diplomatic and geo-political influence. Healthcare and medical research staff were urged to improve their password security and implement two-factor authentication on accounts to reduce the possibility of threats. Matt Hancock has given the intelligence service access to the NHS IT network. Boris Johnson wisely stated, 'The race to discover the vaccine to defeat this virus is not a competition between countries but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes'. Pray for nations to share vital information and resources rather than competing with each other and potentially wasting time duplicating identical tests and research.

Britons may be unable to travel to some parts of Europe for their holidays once lockdown restrictions are eased, due to the government's decision to use a different contact tracing app from the one being used elsewhere. On 4 May the UK launched its app to trace coronavirus, which has been developed by NHSX, the digital arm of the NHS. They are testing the device on the Isle of Wight as they step up their preparations to ease the curfew. The NHSX smart app works on a different system from the Apple and Google one being used by many European countries, making the two systems incompatible. This leads to fears that if contact tracing becomes mandatory for international travel, UK citizens will be required to go into quarantine for fourteen days on arrival.

99-year-old Captain Tom Moore pledged to walk 100 laps of his garden just after hip surgery - and just before his 100th birthday (on 30 April) - to raise money for the NHS. He captured the hearts of the nation and raised over £28million for hospital sleep pods and ‘wobble rooms’ where staff can release emotions after a traumatic experience. Wellbeing packs for staff, described as ‘Hug Boxes’, provide mental health support for staff and volunteers involved in dealing with the pandemic. Electronic tablets will be available for patients in isolation, enabling contact with families. The money raised will go to NHS Charities Together. Later in the year Captain Tom will be awarded a Pride Of Britain Award at an awards ceremony.

Smartphones and social media have connected families who are separated in lockdown. They have also generated a blizzard of dangerous fake news. In Bradford online posts of non-white patients being left to die in hospitals are being shared thousands of times among black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities. One reason for the high number of deaths in this people group is that they often live in densely overcrowded housing. Many have diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease - all high risk factors. Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary said, ‘I know from my work in African epidemics that where there is fear and panic, and patients become isolated from their families, it doesn't take long for rumours and fake news stories to start circulating. We have noticed that some patients are scared to be admitted, and some want to self-discharge, because they think doctors are trying to kill them.’

At the time of writing, Boris Johnson is still in hospital, but out of intensive care and 'responding to treatment' after contracting coronavirus and not improving in isolation at home. The Archbishop of Canterbury urged Britain to pray for Boris and thanked the NHS in the country's fight against coronavirus. Boris is being closely monitored by a top lung doctor and his fever has eased while he remains clinically stable. He has been sitting up in bed and engaged positively with the clinical team, although not yet working. He can contact those he needs to as lockdown rules are discussed at this critical time. The NHS medical director warned, ‘Now is not the time to become complacent’. Downing Street hopes that Boris is over the worst of the infection. Pray for health and God’s healing to touch his body. Pray for God to impact his immune system.