Andy Haldane to leave role as Bank of England chief economist and become chief executive of the Royal Society for Arts. Donna was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts in February 2021.
News Archive
Donna Ockenden has been appointed as honorary president of Baby Lifeline, charity founded almost 40 years ago by Judy Ledger after she lost three premature babies.
Covid vaccination: One dose in care homes gives ‘substantial’ protection
A single dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine was effective at stopping 62% of coronavirus infections in care homes, a study has found. A team at University College London (UCL) looked at data from 10,000 adults in England with an average age of 86. The research also suggested those who did catch the virus after vaccination may be less infectious. “Our data suggests that both vaccines are effective in frail, older adults,” said UCL’s Dr Maddie Shrotri. The study analysed coronavirus test-result data for 10,412 long-term residents, all aged over 65, at 310 care homes.
Staff wellbeing ‘must be at heart’ of pandemic recovery, says NHS England
Supporting the health and wellbeing of staff has been highlighted among the top priorities of NHS England as it sets out its Covid-19 recovery plan. Other issues at the top of the agenda include recruitment and retention, as well as delivering the Covid-19 vaccination programme and building on lessons learned throughout the pandemic so far. The priorities come as part of an £8.1bn plan to help the health service recover all patient services and provide support to staff following the intense ‘second wave’ of Covid-19. The NHS Operational Planning Guidance, published last Thursday, stressed that NHS staff “need to be at the heart of plans for recovery and transformations” and that any plans should “reflect the need for staff to get the support, rest and recuperation that they need”.
Nurse pay: PM asked to ‘urgently reconsider’ 1% proposal in wake of Scottish offer
Nurses in England will feel “increasingly bewildered” as they compare the pay offer in Scotland to that proposed by the prime minister, health unions have warned. The 14 unions fighting for a pay rise for NHS staff have once again written to Boris Johnson imploring him to “urgently” reconsider proposals for a 1% pay rise for those in England.They requested to meet with the PM and his officials as soon as possible to find “a new way forward”.
The Professional Standards Authority (PSA) publishes its performance review of the Nursing and Midwifery Council for the year 2019 – 2020
NMC had improved its performance compared to the previous year introducing new processes in registration, consulting on and launching the new Future Midwife standards of proficiency, further developing a person-centred approach in fitness to practise and agreeing a new strategy.
The CQC report on DNACPR concerns.
A new report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found worrying variation in people’s experiences of do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions during the pandemic.
RCOG publishes ‘EACH BABY COUNTS’ report
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has published last Each Baby Counts Progress Report. This final report from RCOG covers the investigation of stillbirths, neonatal deaths and brain injuries as a result of incidents occurring during term labour.
Covid-19: NHS Test and Trace ‘no clear impact’ despite £37bn budget
MPs warned the Public Accounts Committee that the impact of NHS Test and Trace is still unclear, despite the Government setting aside £37 billion for it over two years. It said the spending was “unimaginable” and warned the taxpayer could not be treated like an “ATM machine”. But the Government said the system was helping to reduce infection rates.
NHS pay rise: Public backs nurses’ strike over 1% salary increase
British public backs nurses’ threat to strike over the offer of a one percent pay rise, with a majority of voters saying NHS staff would be justified in walking out of their jobs. A poll found almost two thirds believe that increasing health workers’ salaries by one percent is too low, even as other public-sector employees face a pay freeze and unemployment in the private sector is forecast to continue rising. The survey of 2,000 British adults found 62 percent want a larger pay rise for NHS staff with just 11 percent saying the proposed increase is too generous.
NHS England CEO backs tougher regulation of senior managers
The CEO of the NHS in England has backed stronger regulation of senior health service managers to prevent failed bosses from re-appearing in new roles elsewhere. Sir Simon Stevens told MPs on the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee on Tuesday that he believed there should be a register for senior NHS leaders who will run services, to ensure they are fit and proper.
ONS says that more men dying with Covid-19 than women – despite gap closing during summer.
Analysis of figures by the ONS show more men than women are dying with Covid-19 despite the gap closing during last summer as deaths fell. The Office of National Statistics found that overall there has been an almost 18 percent difference in the total number of Covid-19-related deaths for men (63,700) and women (53,000) between March 2020 and January 2021. Meanwhile, Independent reports a study found the variant of Covid-19 first detected in Kent may be up to twice as deadly as previous strains.