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What's New in Social Care and Healthcare this Week? (20/11/23)
Welcome back to another weekly roundup of healthcare and social care news from the team here at Sanctuary Personnel.
We know how busy you are in your daily lives and that you don't have the time to trawl the internet for the latest essential news stories. That's why we do it for you, collating five of the most notable stories and putting them all together. So, without further ado...
1. Large Proportion of Council Funding Being Spent on Children's Social Care
Compared with just over a decade ago, in 2011/2012, more of councils' funding is going towards children's social care, with councils on average (of the 47 councils in question – urban local authorities that form the SIGOMA group) spending just under 30% on children's services.
This is almost double what it was a decade ago, and the poorest urban authorities have seen the most significant spending impact, with one authority (Blackpool) seeing a trebling in spend of Core Spending Power on children's social care services.
2. Rates of MMR Jab Lowest in Over a Decade
Doctors have been warned to be on high alert for measles, with second MMR jab rates for children aged five having dipped below 85%, a whole 10% below the 95% target, and the lowest rate since 2010-2011.
Overall childhood vaccination coverage also decreased between 2022 and 2023, with decreases in 12 of the 14 vaccine coverage measures.
3. Government Launching New Prostate Cancer Screening Trial
The government announced on International Men's Day, and in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK, the most extensive prostate cancer screening trial in years. Annually, 12,000 men die of prostate cancer, so the hope is that with the £42 million announced to carry out the trial, thousands of lives could be saved.
The trial will use MRI scanning, which is highly innovative in this area, to detect the cancer, and it's thought that hundreds of thousands of men nationwide will take part in the trial.
While this trial was announced, the government also announced that it would be recruiting for its first-ever "Men's Health Ambassador" to promote information about men's health and dispel shame, stigma, and misinformation.
4. First COVID Lockdown Came Too Late
Professor Sir Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, has told the ongoing COVID inquiry that the first lockdown arrived a "bit too late."
He also stated, however, that there weren't any good options at the time, with the government wanting to avoid the risk of locking down too early as well as too late.
Whilst other countries introduced lockdown measures much earlier than the UK, Sir Whitty said that, at the time, there was limited evidence of the measures' effectiveness in material terms relating to stopping the spread of the virus.
His example was the banning of mass gatherings and that, if you'd stopped people going to football matches, they'd congregate in pubs instead.
5. Report Sets Out Possibilities for Improved Patient Flow in Winter Months
A new report published by the County Councils Network has made significant findings about how hospital admissions can be minimised during this busy winter period.
It found that approximately 175,000 fewer older people could avoid being hospitalised by receiving community support and care over care in an acute setting. In terms of cost savings, this could save the NHS around £600 million annually. Check out the report for yourself here.
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So, there you have it, five of the most notable recent news stories from social care and healthcare. Another week, another roundup landing at your proverbial doorstep! We hope you've found it informative.
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