It has been another busy week at LH, we reported on a new vaccine centre of excellence opening at Bristol university, and new funding has been made available for international nurses.
We also recently announced our Forward Healthcare Awards 2021, and the deadline to enter is under three weeks!
Largest vaccination centre opens in London
The largest of the UK’s 1600 vaccination centres opened on Monday, in Twickenham, London. The rugby stadium was open for one day only, providing the opportunity for anyone over the age of 18 to get their first dose, as the centre wanted to avoid wasting vaccines.
15,000 doses were given out as NHS North West London CCG tweeted late on Sunday night: “Apologies to those who we were not able to vaccinate today. We had a huge response. Please keep a look out for information about future COVID vaccination initiatives in NW London.”
New action plan for lung health
A new agenda to tackle lung health inequalities has been released by the CEO of Asthma UK, and the British Lung Foundation, Sarah Woolnough.
In a blog published on the British Lung Foundation website, 4 key actions were laid out as well as a call to action aimed at the government.
The 4 actions include; introduce a national lung screening programme, make England smoke-free by 2030, promote local pharmacies, and stop unfair prescription pricing.
Closing her blog, Sarah Woolnough said: “There has never been a more important time to address inequalities in lung disease. The pandemic has shown like never before how important it is that we all have healthy, resilient lungs, regardless of our background and where in the country we live. These solutions are evidence-based and effective. We need the government to put these policies in place to take all our lung health seriously now and save lives in the future.”
New roundtable to improve Northeast Wellbeing
A new roundtable has been launched by Newcastle University to focus on wellbeing in the region and how wellbeing can be improved considering the pandemic.
Professor Mark Shucksmith will lead the roundtable that is a partnership between the Carnegie Trust, and the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
Professor Shucksmith said: “A focus on wellbeing encompasses all aspects of our lives – social, economic, environmental, health, inequality, participation and voice – rather than using narrow indicators such as GDP. We want to begin by hearing what matters most to people and communities in the North of Tyne so that their priorities guide decision making across all policy areas.”
The roundtable has called for evidence from the public and the deadline to submit evidence is the 16th of July.
COVID volunteer surge can be catalyst
National Volunteer’s Week started today in England and is dedicated to those who give up their time to help others.
The NHS marked the start of the week by publishing a blog by Dr Neil Churchill, Director for Experience, Participation and Equalities at NHS England. In the post he highlights the role volunteers play in supporting the NHS and helping staff cope through the pandemic.
The NHS saw a remarkable surge in volunteers when the pandemic began, and the vaccine rollout has relied on many volunteer workers.
Dr Neil Churchill said: “The community spirit that helped us through the last 12 months can transform the way we sustain the health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable citizens in the years ahead.”
Global vaccine panel announced for G7
The G7 event will take place this week and a new ‘Global vaccine confidence summit’ from 2pm this Wednesday, with speakers from around the globe.
The speakers confirmed for the summit will include, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Officer to President Joe Biden, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO (World Health Organisation) Director-General, Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for the United Kingdom, Matt Hancock, MP, and Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications at the United Nations.
Representatives from the tech industry will also attend the event, including WhatsApp and Google.
New Midwifery team launched at Newcastle FT
A new team of 8 midwives to support women through pregnancy has been launched by Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, and will be based at the Newcastle Birthing Centre.
The Nova team will help women across Newcastle through the stages of their pregnancy, through birth to postnatal care. They will work in partnership with the Willow team that cares for women in the east of city.
The initiative is part of the wider continuity of carer programme introduced by The Maternity Transformation Programme, to provide personalised care.
Melissa Letouze, continuity of carer lead at Newcastle Hospital, said: “Evidence has shown that continuity of carer is associated with improved outcomes for mothers and babies, women have also reported greater satisfaction with their overall care. For the midwives in the team, it also means they can build strong relationships with the women they care for.”
