Practices providing care for care homes will be required to ensure staff are fully vaccinated against COVID, it has been announced. The government is considering requiring all NHS staff to be vaccinated against both COVID-19 and flu, it was announced yesterday. Medical leaders reacted cautiously to the latest proposal, which is to be subject to…

Now that COVID-19 case numbers are falling in the UK and lockdown restrictions are being eased, the health service might think that work pressures are beginning to slacken. No such luck. It seems that demand from patients is intensifying and problems that patients have put on hold and tolerated during the past few months are…

GP leaders are alarmed that the proposed “COVID passport” scheme could require practice involvement in certifying certificates. The government is currently consulting on proposals, suggesting that certificates could be used for major events. A certificate would confirm the holder had been vaccinated or had a test confirming positive antibodies or, potentially, a negative test for…

Official data shows a continued reduction in practice appointments, possibly linked to the drive to ensure COVID-19 vaccination. GP leaders say the latest data is misleading because of the amount of effort going into the vaccination programme. Practices recorded 23.5 million appointments in February compared with 23.8 million in January and 24 million in February…

Half the British population has now had their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine with daily vaccination rates reaching record levels, it has been announced. By last Friday 26.8 million people had been vaccinated – with another million receiving doses over the weekend. Health secretary Matt Hancock acknowledged that shortages would lead to a slowdown next…

Well, it’s been a while dear reader, but the rant is back, and I hate to say it’s all things COVID! But, there’s nothing else going on in the world after all! Earlier last week, I sat down with my nurses and worked out a plan of action to sort out second doses of our…

The scaremongering over the Oxford vaccine may start to have an impact on UK vaccination rates, some doctors have warned. GPs spoke of some patients being concerned about the suspension of the use of the vaccine in Europe. The European Medicines Agency is expected to release today the findings of its review of the vaccine.…