Train Travel Assistance for the Disabled

Most (all?) train operating companies (TOCs) provide information and help on Assisted Travel for the disabled. Here’s a link to the page from Chiltern Railways. Right at the bottom of the page there’s something I’ve not seen before: Communication Cards. Maybe I’ve missed them and some other TOCs provide them – although a quick random …
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Scarlet Fever

Concerns are being raised at the increasing prevalence of Scarlet Fever – which mostly affects under 16s. It is a Streptococcal infection, so the treatment is likely to be a course of antibiotics. As far as I’m aware there is no vaccine against Scarlet Fever. Although not that common these days, compared with 100+ years …
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On Flu Vaccines

There was an interesting (but long read) article in yesterday’s (19 March) Guardian about the work to identify which flu strains to put in this year’s vaccine – and some of the people who spend their lives trying to spot the emerging strains. It’s worth a read if only for background understanding. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/mar/19/the-flu-hunters-trying-to-stop-the-next-pandemic-in-its-tracks

The Changing GP Job

Dr Clare Gerada, a senior GP and former chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, looks at the way the GP’s job has changed over the last 30 years. No wonder the NHS is haemorrhaging GPs, because it is not a pretty tale. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/22/my-30-years-as-gp-profession-horribly-eroded-clare-gerada [LONG READ]

Advice on Masks

Never mind what the UK government says for political expediency, here’s some recent advice from expert academic researchers on masks. Essentially anything less than an FFP2/N95 mask is not going to provide decent protection. Time to upgrade from cloth and surgical masks to respirators?Your questions answered.

NHS Complexity & Covid

Interesting and useful background article in BMJ this week, from three well respected academics, on the complexity of the NHS and how it is affected by Covid. It’s worth a read, if only for the perspective. https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n3128

Local Hospital Performance

NHS Tracker: How is the NHS in your area coping? Find out how your local NHS hospitals are currently performing with this app from the BBC at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59592551. It doesn’t say, but one has to assume the information presented is taken from publicly available NHS performance data.