Displaying items by tag: NHS

Thursday, 06 January 2022 21:11

Regular vaccines for all not needed, says expert

‘Vaccinating everyone on the planet against Covid-19 regularly every four to six months is not sustainable or affordable; the most at risk should be identified and prioritised instead’, says Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, who helped develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. He said the vaccine rollout had gone ‘extremely well’ in the UK, but other parts of the world were falling behind. ‘We haven't even managed to vaccinate everyone in Africa with one dose, so we're certainly not going to get to a point where providing fourth doses for everyone is manageable. There is not full certainty on whether another booster might be needed in the UK.’ He said the UK would be in a good position if variants continued to lead to milder disease, as has been the case with Omicron. Boris Johnson said the Government doesn't see any data to suggest that further restrictions would be the right approach in England, but the public should be in no doubt it will be a difficult time for the NHS.

Published in British Isles
Wednesday, 22 December 2021 21:41

Autistic man ‘loneliest in the hospital'

A BBC investigation found that 100 people with learning disabilities have been held in specialist hospitals for twenty years or more, including Tony Hickmott whose parents are fighting to get him rehoused in the community. A support worker at the hospital said he was the loneliest man there. He was sectioned under the Mental Health Act in 2001 and expected to be treated for nine months and then return home. He was declared fit for discharge by psychiatrists in 2013 but at the age of 44 Tony is still waiting for a home to be found with the level of care for his special needs. In 2015, the Government promised ‘homes not hospitals’ in its Transforming Care programme but repeatedly misses targets to close hospitals with excessive restraint, overuse of medication, lack of qualified, competent staff and violence on many wards. Pray for people to be moved close to home, back in their community with the right care and independence.

Published in British Isles

Every seven seconds a person was referred for NHS mental health support in September. That comes as no surprise to Pastor Mick, a drug-dealer-turned-lifesaver during Covid, who each day meets people struggling to survive. In his 20s, Mick was a drug dealer consumed by cocaine and violence. He has now found faith and feeds the poor. His church in Burnley is expanding quickly - it has its own food and clothes banks. Mick also liaises with the police, housing organisations, the local council and drug rehabilitation services. He is particularly concerned about the lack of access to mental health care for the most vulnerable - people who find it difficult to see their GPs, let alone get access to a bed in a support facility. Mick blames the Covid lockdowns and the many months of restrictions. He hears stories of people who have spiralled down, turning to drugs and alcohol.

Published in British Isles
Wednesday, 22 December 2021 21:28

Some who shielded need support now

Twenty charities are calling for more support for patients with severely weakened immune systems who risk severe Covid illness if they catch the virus. Many have had three jabs, but still need a fourth for better protection. For example, Hal Cohen had a kidney transplant two years ago and takes immunosuppressants to stop his body rejecting the organ. He had his third vaccine in July but was told despite this that his body is not making enough antibodies to fight off the virus. The charities said, ‘Those who are immunosuppressed due to a health condition or treatment are advised to have a fourth Covid jab three months after their third dose.’ They are calling a smooth rollout of booster jabs for these people, which should provide much needed extra protection.

Published in British Isles
Wednesday, 15 December 2021 21:27

Covid shadow over NHS and care homes

Many Covid patients admitted to hospital are unvaccinated and then ask for the vaccine on arrival, when it is too late. Hospitals are treating unprecedented numbers of sick people at the start of what could be the toughest winter in NHS history. One doctor said, ‘The recent volume of patients is higher than ever before. Everyone wants to give their best, but sometimes that is just not possible’. The treatment backlog caused by Covid has made things worse, and there are more mental health issues and alcohol abuse due to the current constraints. See There are currently no restrictions on the number of visitors allowed to care homes, but the government has confirmed it is considering restricting visits to homes to three named people over Christmas as a consequence of the uncertainty caused by the Omicron variant. Pray for the shadow of trauma, fear, and uncertainty caused by Covid to be lifted.

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 09 December 2021 21:13

England: plan B - new Covid rules

There are fears that the new Covid variant, Omicron, ‘could be’ more infectious and less responsive to vaccines. Therefore, from 10 December, face coverings are mandatory for most indoor venues including places of worship, theatres and cinemas - as well as on public transport and in shops and hairdressers. Masks won't be needed in pubs, restaurants, or gyms where it's ‘not practical to wear them’. From 13 December, people should work from home ‘if possible’. From 15 December (subject to parliamentary approval), people will need to show an NHS Covid vaccination status or a recent negative lateral flow test to enter nightclubs, indoor unseated venues with over 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with over 4,000 people and any venue with over 10,000 people. They must also do lateral flow tests (LFT) before entering high-risk settings like crowded places involving people you wouldn't normally come into contact with, or when visiting a vulnerable person.

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 09 December 2021 20:55

NHS electrician loses job for Christian beliefs

Christian Concern have been in court with NHS electrician Brian Walker, who has launched legal action against North Bristol NHS Trust after being forced out of his job for his beliefs on multi-culturalism, Islam and same-sex 'marriage'. Following many months of investigations, reports and hearings within the Trust, Brian was given a final written warning, and told he had to attend 'equality training'. However, lawyers for the NHS Trust have argued that Brian's Christian beliefs are ‘incompatible with human dignity’ and ‘not worthy of respect in a democratic society’, which means that his perfectly reasonable, orthodox Christian beliefs would be labelled as on a par with Nazism. Pray for the ruling, that Brian's beliefs would be protected and the case would not be struck out.

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 25 November 2021 21:18

Mental health deaths

The number of deaths of people treated under the Mental Health Act in England rose during the coronavirus pandemic. The Care Quality Commission's findings come amid concerns over staff shortages in psychiatric units. 490 people died while detained under the act in the year to March 2021, 324 of them for non-Covid reasons. The average overall figure between 2012 and 2019 was 273. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that shortages of doctors and nurses were now compromising patient safety ‘in every part of the NHS’. Mr Hunt, who now chairs the Commons health and social care committee, said ‘We still put far too many people into secure accommodation when they haven't committed any crime, just because it's the only option left.’

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 18 November 2021 21:10

Alarm over thousands of extra non-Covid deaths

Nearly 10,000 more people than usual have died in the past four months from non-Covid reasons. Fears are growing that NHS delays at the height of the pandemic left large numbers of people with previously treatable conditions suffering illnesses that have now become fatal. England and Wales registered 20,823 more deaths than the five-year average in the past 18 weeks. The director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine is calling for an urgent investigation. The excess deaths are happening in conditions like ischemic heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver and diabetes, all potentially reversible. There’s a need to find out if these deaths were fallout from the lack of preventable care during the pandemic, and what happens downstream of that.

Published in British Isles
Thursday, 21 October 2021 21:33

Covid: ‘bring back rules’ as cases rise

Health leaders have called for some Covid restrictions to be reintroduced immediately to avoid England stumbling into a winter crisis. They said a back-up strategy, a Plan B which includes mandatory face coverings in crowded and enclosed spaces, should be implemented. UK cases have been rising sharply. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said it was not yet time for a Plan B and urged a greater uptake of booster jabs. He did not want to jeopardise the ‘hard-won gains’ of reopening the economy even though for a week daily Covid cases have averaged above 40,000, the worst figures since March. Overall, he said, ‘the health service is right at the edge’. Meanwhile, the health secretary is telling the public to ‘play their part and get a booster jab’ in order to enjoy Christmas with loved ones. Cabinet Office officials are already discussing ‘Plan C’ proposals which would ban mixing between households. See

Published in British Isles