CQC examination reveals South East hardest hit by care home coronavirus deaths
A woman who lost her father in the worst days of the covid pandemic has welcomed a new report by the Care Quality Commission into the deaths in residential homes. The CQC admitted that the virus has been ‘devastating’ for so many homes and said that lessons have been learned. Jean Adamson, whose father Aldrick […]
Staff from Banbury nursing home raise money for charity providing relief for people impacted by Covid in India
More than 20 people from a Banbury nursing home took part in a sponsored walk to help people impacted by Covid in India. Nearly two dozen staff and other volunteers from The Julie Richardson Nursing Home in Banbury took part in the sponsored walk on Friday July 9. Jayanthi Antony, the registered manager at the nursing home, […]
Queen awards George Cross to NHS to mark 70 years of public service
The Queen has awarded the George Cross, the UK’s highest award for gallantry and heroism, to the NHS to mark its public service over seven decades, Buckingham Palace has announced. The NHS marks its 73rd birthday on Monday following a year of unprecedented challenges. It is only the third time the award has been given to a […]
Call for action as Shropshire patients struggle to arrange GP appointments
Patients in Shropshire are struggling to arrange GP appointments while remote meetings threaten to ‘shut out’ the elderly and those lacking technical skills, a health watchdog has found. Healthwatch Shropshire has made a series of recommendations to health and social care services in the county after a survey on the impact of the pandemic revealed […]
Heartbreak as lockdown forces club to close
A popular club set up to bridge the gap between children with and without disabilities is closing due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Telford’s thriving My Friend and Me (MyFAM) project was set up three years ago to create a safe space for children of all abilities to socialise and have fun. It […]
Mastercard Announces $10 Million in Aid to Combat Covid Crisis in India
Mastercard has recently announced a $10 million (approximately 75 crore rupees) commitment to directly address critical Covid-related needs in India. Over the past few weeks, the country has seen a spike in both Covid diagnoses and deaths, with the healthcare system being stretched to its limits as more than 350,000 new cases are identified each day. […]
Doctors are thinking of leaving the NHS due to pandemic pressures, says BMA
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair, says it is a ‘deeply worrying’ situation involving experienced professionals who the NHS needs more than ever. Thousands of exhausted doctors in the UK are planning to leave the NHS in the next year as they battle stress and burnout due to the demands of the pandemic. Of 2,099 […]
Elderly couple used Morse Code to escape care home
An elderly couple with dementia managed to escape from a care home by using Morse code skills the husband learned in the military. The husband and wife duo went on the run from the Elmcroft assisted living facility in Lebanon, near Nashville, Tennessee, after the man used his armed forces training to crack the home’s […]
Low Pay, Bad Working Conditions, COVID Burnout Spark Likely Global Nursing Shortage
GENEVA – The International Council of Nurses warned Thursday that the world was facing a nursing crisis and could expect a significant shortage — perhaps a reduction by half — in the global nursing workforce of 27 million in the next few years. The council said its latest survey of 64 national nursing associations found […]
Birmingham care home staff are turning down Covid-19 jab due to ‘dangerous’ vaccine lies
Two thirds of care homes in a Birmingham suburb say staff are refusing to get a coronavirus vaccine. And in one care home, 23 out of 25 staff have turned down the vaccine – including the manager. These are the findings of a survey of homes housing elderly and vulnerable people in Erdngton, Birmingham Local […]
Teen with Covid symptoms coughed at children’s home staff, court told
A teenager coughed in the faces of staff and repeatedly spat on the floor of a Sunderland children’s home after experiencing Covid symptoms. Jude Carradice Lamond subjected staff to verbal and physical abuse while living at Forever Care Supported Living in Sunderland. The 19-year-old threatened to kill one worker and told another he wanted to […]
New autism strategy aims to radically improve support services in Northern Ireland
AUTISM services must be improved as a “priority” while society needs to do more by supporting individuals and families, Robin Swann has said. The health minister yesterday launched a new autism strategy for the next two years, in the wake of a dramatic downturn in vital services during the pandemic. During the first Covid wave, […]
Nursing staff are not ‘angels’: we are multi-skilled professionals deserving of fair pay
This International Women’s Day, it is time to dismantle gendered notions of nursing and care and properly value staff Monday 8 March 2021 is International Women’s Day. As chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), I represent more than 450,000 members from the largest healthcare workforce globally – and a […]
Sir Keir Starmer attacks government over 1% pay rise for NHS staff – adding ‘COVID heroes’ deserve more
The figure, covering 2021 and 2022, is contained in a Department of Health and Social Care document for the NHS Pay Review Body. Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the government over its plans to give NHS staff a 1% pay rise, which have already been branded “dangerously out of touch”. Sharing the Daily Mirror front […]
Children put under more pressure due to ‘catch-up’ narrative, psychologists warn
Children are being put under a “huge” pressure due to the narrative that pupils need to catch up with lost learning, educational psychologists have warned. Young people should be supported through socialisation and play if the Government decides to extend the amount of time that they spend in school, the British Psychological Society (BPS) has […]
Why does COVID-19 kill so many seniors in long-term care?
COVID-19 has killed more people in long-term care homes than anywhere else in British Columbia. Now, a sweeping new study is setting out to answer the question: Why them? The study, which involves over a dozen of B.C.’s leading virologists, immunologists and lab researchers, hinges on how elderly immune systems respond to a coronavirus infection. From there, […]
Further £8.9m of support for freelancers in Wales’ creative sector
A further £8.9m of support for freelancers in Wales’ creative sector has been announced as of today, 10 February 2021. This new round of the Cultural Recovery Fund will see creative freelancers receive an additional £2,500 of support whilst they are inactive due to the current lockdown restrictions. It has provided £63m worth of support […]
Vatican seeks elder care rethink after COVID-19 ‘massacre’
The Vatican is calling for a new paradigm of care for the elderly after what it calls the “massacre” wrought by the coronavirus pandemic ROME — The Vatican is calling for a new paradigm of care for the elderly after what it calls the “massacre” wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately killed elderly people living […]
Covid vaccine: tens of thousands of UK nurses yet to receive first dose
Tens of thousands of nurses across the UK have not had their first coronavirus vaccine, sparking fears that they could contract Covid-19 or infect patients. A Royal College of Nursing (RCN) survey of 24,370 nurses found that 85% had had at least one dose, with the remaining 15% unvaccinated. The findings show that the government is in […]
Housebound elderly have been neglected in Covid vaccination rollout, says home care provider
A care provider is calling for housebound elderly to have more parity with care home residents, after revealing that only a third of the people it cares for in their own homes have been vaccinated against Covid, compared to 80 per cent in its care homes. CHD Care at Home is concerned that many people […]
Coronavirus: Care home bans on visits ‘breach’ human rights
New laws are needed to allow face to face visits in England’s care homes, according to a cross-party group of MPs and peers. The Joint Committee on Human Rights has written to the health secretary warning people are being “denied meaningful visits” contrary to their right to family life. Chair of the committee, Harriet Harman […]
Students will have access to extra £50m Government hardship fund due to Covid-19
It comes as the majority of undergraduates in England have been told to stay at home and not return to campus. University students facing financial pressures due to the pandemic will have access to an additional £50 million support fund from the Government. Universities will be able to use the extra funding to help students […]
Swedish Covid nurse to watch entire film festival alone in lighthouse
A Swedish nurse has won a competition to watch the entire 60-movie programme of the Goteborg Film Festival from a lighthouse on an isolated island off the coast of Sweden. Lisa Enroth beat 12,000 film fans from around the world who applied. The nurse, who has worked on Covid-19 wards during the pandemic, said she […]
Son’s concern for elderly father after his care home takes on ex-Covid patients
THE family member of a care home resident has expressed safety concerns as he claims ex-Covid patients have been brought in without enough consideration. The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, has said he is concerned for the welfare of his 93-year-old father who lives in Wyndham Manor care home, Cleator Moor. He is concerned […]
Only one per cent of elderly at home have had vaccine says home care firm
Thousands of elderly people reliant on care at home are either ‘unable or unwilling’ to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the chief executive of home care firm Cera has said. Fear or frailty means the vaccine is not reaching people reliant on home care. Credit: Shutterstock The home care provider has revealed only one per cent […]
Thinking about students with disabilities in the pandemic
Ayse sounded very happy on the phone. “Now my friends are getting online education like me! Now I’m also a class member…” Ayse had a genetic disorder called epidermolysis bullosa, a rare and serious skin disorder. Getting the right environment for her to do a two-year computer programming course was a challenge. The director of her […]
Doubts raised over NHS target for care home vaccinations
NHS England wrote to GP surgeries earlier this month saying it ‘expects’ care home residents and staff to be vaccinated by January 24. Care groups have expressed doubts that the NHS will meet a target set out in a letter to GPs to have elderly care home residents and staff given a coronavirus vaccine by […]
Covid-19: Nurses call for better masks to protect all staff
Nurses are calling for all UK staff to be given a higher grade of face mask to protect them against new variants of coronavirus. The Royal College of Nursing warns that inadequate PPE may be putting the lives of nursing staff at risk. It has written to the workplace safety watchdog detailing its concerns, soon […]
Ramsgate covid vaccination programme completes all elderly care home residents and staff jabs
An update has been given on covid vaccination progress for people registered with Ramsgate GP surgeries. The five Ramsgate practices, Dashwood, East Cliff, The Grange, Newington and Summerhill, are working together to deliver the vaccine programme. Between the five practices they care for over 51,000 patients across Ramsgate. The Montefiore Medical Centre, which houses both East […]
The Coronavirus is Mutating: What We Know About the New Variants
The virus that causes COVID-19 has mutated, as expected. Two mutations of the virus called variants are worrying health experts. There’s currently no evidence the variants will affect the efficacy of the vaccines or cause a more severe illness. Drugmaker plans to ask U.S. health regulators to expand bamlanivimab’s use to protect nursing-home residents and […]
Covid vaccination: 24-hour vaccines ‘aren’t suitable for vulnerable, elderly people’ says union
Unison said: ‘When it’s the turn of younger people, 24/7 clinics may well be appropriate’ Launching a 24-hour vaccination programme may not be the best use of healthcare staff who are currently already overburdened during the coronavirus pandemic, the UK’s largest healthcare union has said. Unison, which represents NHS staff members including nurses, said round-the-clock vaccinating would be […]
The vaccine isn’t a silver bullet for longstanding pressures in elderly care
Jitesh Patel, Project Director at Kajima Partnerships, discusses why the vaccine is not a silver bullet for longstanding pressures in elderly care and how the sector must adapt post-pandemic The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted long-standing pressures on elderly living in the UK. Whilst the recent rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is a promising step in relieving the impacts […]
Almost 40% of care home residents in England have had coronavirus vaccine – PM
Almost 40% of care home residents in England have received a coronavirus vaccine, the Prime Minister has said. Boris Johnson said 45% of the over-80s and almost 40% of care home residents have received at least one dose. Mr Johnson paid particular tribute to vaccine teams in north-west Lincolnshire, Sunderland and Morecambe Bay, where more […]
Why are France’s elderly not queuing up to get the Covid vaccine?
France launched its Covid vaccination campaign with the aim of prioritising elderly people and staff in nursing homes: a total of close to a million people. The campaign has been slow to take off and, despite the vulnerablility of such elderly residents, many are not keen to get the jab. How come? France’s decision to […]
Thousands invited to new NHS vaccination centre at Stevenage
One of the country’s first seven centres for mass vaccination against Coronavirus will open in Stevenage this week. The centre at Robertson House will initially be used to inoculate people from part of our region who are aged 80 and over. Thousands of letters are currently being sent to those eligible at this stage and […]
All adults to be offered a Covid jab ‘by the autumn’
MATT HANCOCK REVEALS MORE THAN 2 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE BEEN VACCINATED IN THE UK AS OF SUNDAY, JANUARY 10 All adults are expected to be offered a Covid vaccine by the autumn, Matt Hancock has said. The Health Secretary said the UK had more than 350 million doses on order and vaccinations are being rolled […]
Record number of children need mental health care as doctors blame the crisis on school closures, cancelled exams and lockdowns
Royal College of Psychiatrists warned pandemic could create ‘lost’ generation 4,615 per 100,000 were referred to child and adolescent mental health services NHS research also shows that one in six children now have a mental health issue The number of children referred to the NHS with serious mental health problems is at an all-time high, say doctors. The […]
COVID-19: Updated guidance for Supported Living (Updated 6 January 2021)
Who this guidance is for This guidance is designed to update and build on the previous advice to supported living providers, which was withdrawn on 13 May 2020. It sets out: key messages to assist with planning and preparation in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic so that local procedures can be put in […]
NHS warned to brace for ‘rising tide’ of patients needing mental health support
The NHS should brace itself for a rising tide of patients in need of mental health support as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, health leaders have warned. But the NHS Confederation said there are “constraints” in what the service can deliver. It warned that people requiring support and treatment are at risk of not […]