Displaying items by tag: Health

At the end of September, 401,537 patients had waited over 52 weeks to start treatment. The total number of people waiting for routine hospital treatment is a record high 7.1 million. NHS England and the government have set a goal of eliminating all waits of more than a year by March 2025. Meanwhile nurses are about to strike nationally, for the first time ever, sending up distress flares about the state of their service. The majority of NHS members voted to strike for fair pay and safe staffing. Strikes will be at NHS trusts or health boards which meet relevant legal requirements. Many of the biggest hospitals in England will see strike action by RCN members, but others narrowly missed the legal turnout thresholds to qualify for action. Nurses worry they cannot care as they should.

NHS England says up to half of all hospital beds in England could be occupied by patients with respiratory infections. The warning came as NHS bosses set out details of its plans to help the health service cope this winter, like rapid response teams for people who fall at home and ‘data war rooms’ to monitor work pressures. The usual seasonal viruses plus Covid will place huge strains on hospitals. It is important to be prepared as winter comes hot on the heels of an extremely busy summer. With the combined impact of flu, Covid and record NHS staff vacancies, we are facing more than the threat of a 'twindemic' this year. Pray for wise decisions to be made by the NHS in their preparations for winter. Pray for doctors’ surgeries and rapid response teams to be able to keep patients out of hospitals.

Covid is on the rise again, so those feeling unwell should avoid vulnerable friends, colleagues and relatives as a precaution, say experts. 1.3 million (one in 50) have Covid, with a ‘marked increase’ in infections among over-70s. There are no new restrictions, but people are being reminded to take extra care. There are fears of a flu and Covid ‘twindemic’ this winter, and those who qualify for free jabs should get them. NHS are sending reminders out to over six million people in at risk groups. Pray for very high levels of vaccine uptake across the UK. Covid hospitalisation rates are at their highest level in months. The NHS is asking people with respiratory infection symptoms to wear a face covering.

The number of patients waiting for routine hospital treatment in England has reached seven million, and 387,257 have been on the list for over a year. One in every 18 has waited more than a year to begin treatment, and 2,646 people (down from 23,778 in January) have been waiting over two years. Ambulance waiting times are also high, and the number of people waiting longer than twelve hours in A&E for a bed after being seen by a doctor also reached a new high of 32,776. Of 255,055 urgent cancer referrals made by GPs in August, only 75.6% saw a specialist within the two-week target time, the second worst performance on record. Patients hospitalised with Covid have more than doubled since September to over 10,000.

Throughout the Bible we read of God's love and mercy toward those who suffer from the horrific disease of leprosy. Leprosy might seem like a tale from the ancient past, but in Asia the disease is alive and afflicting multitudes of new people every year. Each year in India 130,000 new cases (350 a day) are reported. The plight for lepers is extremely grim. Low-caste people in India are called ‘untouchables’. But even the untouchables consider lepers to be untouchable - lower than dogs on the social scale. As a result, they are forced out of society. Many commit suicide when they contract leprosy. It can strike anyone: accountants, housewives, rich, poor, young or old. They are despised and rejected by their fellow-men, their country, and their own families. Christian mission Asia Harvest is touching the lives of lepers with the love of Christ and the salvation he gives.

On 2 October health leaders advised vaccination and began calling for a return to mask-wearing, as hospitalisations for Covid rose by 37% in a week to 7,024. They said ministers needed to address staffing shortages urgently, even though the Office for National Statistics said it was too early to say if an autumn wave had begun. The Nuffield Trust revealed that record numbers of nurses were quitting the NHS, with one in nine leaving their jobs. The Royal College of Nursing has called for nurses to have access to the highest-quality PPE. Covid is killing over 300 people a week, and a new variant has been detected. A rise in cases is expected as winter approaches. Acting now to prevent further hospitalisations and deaths is crucial as new variants are causing a slight increase in infections. We can only detect Covid variants by PCR testing, and with no free tests plus economic pressures, people have become quite relaxed about coronavirus. See also

The NHS needs more black blood donors to help people with sickle cell disease. The daily demand for donations to treat the blood disorder in England is 250, but only half of all hospital requests are being met with matched blood. Sickle cell mostly affects people of black heritage, and ethnically-matched blood gives the best treatment. The disease causes red blood cells to become sticky, blocking vessels and restricting oxygen supply, triggering excruciating pain. Sadeh needs all her blood replaced every four weeks. She says, ‘Some days I struggle getting out of bed due to pain in my limbs, some days I wake up feeling great, some days I wake up in hospital, connected to machines and told that days have passed. Transfusions have saved my life many times over’. The NHS has launched a Black History Month campaign, highlighting to black communities that they have the power to treat sickle cell with life-changing blood donations.

Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the floods in Pakistan are living in the open, exposed to swarms of mosquitoes and other hazards. Despite the efforts of government and relief organisations, families need more food, shelter, medical assistance, medicines, and clean water. Stagnant floodwaters, covering hundreds of kilometres, may take up to six months to recede. There are widespread cases of skin and eye infections, diarrhoea, malaria, typhoid and dengue fever. On 24 September the Sindh provincial government said makeshift health facilities and mobile camps had treated over 78,000 patients in just 24 hours. Malaria spreads quickly around stagnant waters. The UN said malaria, typhoid and diarrhoea patients in large numbers were entering medical camps and hospitals; more medicine and test kits are needed. Families are forced to drink and cook with unsafe water. They need to drink to stay alive.

On 20 September, Uganda’s health authorities declared an Ebola outbreak after a Sudan strain was confirmed in central Uganda. Five days later 36 people had Ebola, 26 had died, 399 contact cases were identified, and 104 were in follow-up. Symptoms take two to 21 days to develop. Uganda's excellent road infrastructure allows infected people to travel in any direction for some time before becoming symptomatic, making tracing known contacts significantly more difficult. Pray for the national task force, meeting every day. Pray for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) as they set up an Ebola treatment centre. Pray for WHO as it deploys medical supplies and provides logistics and more staff, to help Ugandan authorities to halt Ebola’s spread. Pray for those setting up isolation units to have all the equipment and protective clothing they need. See also

Current guidance states that if a case of monkeypox is known to be imported from West Africa, a region where it has been endemic for decades, then the individual must be admitted to a High Consequence Infectious Disease (HCID) hospital unit for monitoring. Recently, an individual was admitted to the HCID ward at Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Preliminary analysis revealed the type of monkeypox virus they contracted is a different strain from the one widely currently circulating in the UK with 3,279 known cases (79 were identified in the last week). Dr Sophia Maki said, ‘We are working to contact the individuals who have had close contact with the person infected with the new variant prior to confirmation of their infection. We will assess them as necessary and provide advice.’ See