Author: bimak73555

China abandons key parts of zero-Covid strategy after protests

Posted on by bimak73555

China is lifting its most severe Covid policies – including forcing people into quarantine camps – just a week after landmark protests against the strict controls.

People with Covid can now isolate at home rather than in state facilities if they have mild or no symptoms.

They also no longer need to show tests for most venues, and can travel more freely inside the country.

Citizens have expressed relief but also concern about the sudden changes.

“Finally! I will no longer worry about getting infected or being taken away as a close contact,” one person wrote on Chinese social media.

Another said: “Can anyone explain to me what’s happening? Why is the change all of a sudden and so major?”

The sweeping changes indicate China is finally moving away from its zero-Covid policy and looking to “live with the virus” like the rest of the world.

This country is grappling with its biggest wave of infections – over 30,000 each day.

Some users online have questioned the accelerated opening-up – “The medical system will be overwhelmed and many elderly would be infected. It [a major wave of infections] begins now,” one user wrote.

But many others rejoiced at the loosening of a policy that had controlled their lives for nearly three years.

Until now, China had forced people with Covid and anyone who was a close contact to go to quarantine camps.

This policy had been deeply unpopular because it separated families and removed people from their homes. Some of the centres were also reported to have poor living conditions and inadequate staff.

Videos all year have shown guards dragging people out of their homes after they refused to go. Viral footage from Hangzhou last week showed a man fighting off officials.

China’s National Health Commissioned announced a swathe of other new freedoms on Wednesday. They said:

  • Lateral flow tests would replace PCR tests in most scenarios where a result is needed, although PCRs are still needed for schools, hospitals and nursing homes
  • Lockdowns would continue but should only apply to more targeted areas – for example, certain buildings, units or floors as opposed to whole neighbourhoods or cities being shut down
  • Areas identified as “high-risk” should come out of lockdown in five days if no new cases are found. Several cities in China have endured months-long lockdowns. even with only a handful of cases
  • Schools can remain open with student attendance if there’s no wider campus outbreak

The new guidelines also included a strict ban on blocking fire exits and doors. That follows reports of people being locked into their homes during an earthquake, and buildings being sealed under lockdown measures.

The recent protests were triggered by a deadly fire in the western Xinjiang region – critics said the victims had been unable to escape the building because of lockdown measures, but Beijing denies this.

Urumqi fire: Victim’s daughter blames government’s Covid laws for disaster

There have also been repeated reports of delays to emergency medical care for people in locked down areas.

On Wednesday, authorities also stressed the need to accelerate the vaccination of elderly people.

“All localities should adhere to…. focus on improving the vaccination rate of people aged 60-79, accelerating the vaccination rate of people aged 80 and above, and making special arrangements,” the National Health Commission said.

Since the protests on 24-26 November, Chinese authorities began to release some cities from lockdown. Officials had also begun to tone down language around the dangers of Covid.

The country’s vice-premier, Sun Chunlan, flagged last week that China was entering “a new situation” in the pandemic and said the virus’s ability to cause disease was weakening.

Experts have warned any easing of zero-Covid in China would have to be done slowly – as the country of 1.4 billion people could see a huge jump in cases that could overwhelm its healthcare system.

Speeding up vaccination of its elderly population is key, health experts say.

“The main way for China to exit Covid with the least damage is via vaccination and three doses of vaccination is a must,” Prof Ivan Hung at Hong Kong University told the BBC earlier this week.

“Hopefully before Chinese New Year [in January 2023] as there will be a large movement of the population travelling and returning home,” he added.

China’s international borders also remain closed to most foreigners, however some analysts say this rapid change shows the country could re-open next year.

More diagnostic hubs to tackle NHS waiting lists in England

Posted on by bimak73555

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to leave no stone unturned in the government’s attempts to tackle mounting problems in the NHS.

With the backlog in hospital treatment rising and delays in A&E and ambulance response times worsening, Mr Sunak said he would get on top of the challenges.

It comes as a taskforce has been set up to make more use of the private sector and reduce waiting lists.

Mr Sunak told BBC News: “What people want is action.”

He said: “What people want from their politicians is action to make a difference to their lives – and I am here to tell you we are going to make that difference.”

Mr Sunak highlighted the extra money being made available – a £500m winter fund is being distributed to hospitals – to increase bed capacity and provide more support in the community.

This would help reduce the problems in emergency care, including waiting times for ambulances, he said.

And tackling the backlog in routine treatment – more than seven million people are currently waiting for treatment in England – was a key priority.

The government is setting up 19 more diagnostic centres in communities across England to help tackle the Covid backlog.

Ninety one are already open and have delivered more than 2.4 million tests, checks and scans since last summer, ministers say.

It is hoped the centres will speed up access to services for patients, thereby reducing waiting times.

Although the number of people waiting longer than two years for routine operations in England has fallen dramatically since January, health experts say there is still a mountain to climb to reduce the numbers waiting more than a year.

Winter is likely to bring more delays and pressure, particularly with strikes by NHS nurses and ambulance workers also planned in December.

A taskforce, made up of academics and health experts, has been set up to help reduce reduce waiting times by unlocking space in private hospitals. It met for the first time at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday.

GPs can refer patients to community diagnostic centres so that they can access life-saving checks and scans, and be diagnosed for a range of conditions, without travelling to hospital.

Some are located in football stadiums and shopping centres and can offer MRI and CT scans, as well as x-rays.

In September, according to the government, the hubs delivered 11% of all diagnostic activity – and its ambition is for 40% to be achieved by 2025.

The government wants to eliminate 18-month waits by April 2023, and waits of longer than one year by March 2025.

It has committed to investing an extra £8bn into health and social care in 2024-25.

NHS England’s national director of elective recovery, Sir James Mackey, said NHS staff were working “incredibly hard” to tackle the Covid backlog, adding that it was important to continue to use the independent sector to get waiting lists down.

Does the average nurse earn £34,000 a year?

Posted on by bimak73555

Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are to strike on 15 and 20 December as part of their dispute over pay.

They are members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which represents two thirds of UK nurses. It says they have been getting a “raw deal” on pay for years.

But Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told Sky News on 9 November: “I think the average when I last looked was £34,000 before these increases so it’s more than the average salary across the country.”

What is average pay for nurses?

The £34,000 figure is used in the report from the NHS Pay Review Body, which recommends what should happen to NHS pay in England.

In the category “nurses and health visitors” the average basic pay per full-time employee was given as £34,275, but that is a figure for March 2021.

The government says that figure increased to £35,600 by March 2022, and that nurses were then given a £1,400 increase, which should take the average up to £37,000.

Is that above average?

The education secretary also described that figure as being “more than the average salary across the country”.

That depends on which average you’re talking about.

The mean UK full-time salary, which is what you get if you add up the amount all full-time employees are paid and divide by the number of full-time employees, is £39,966, according to the figures for April 2022 from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

But from the same report, the median, which is the amount that half of full time employees will be earning more than, and half will be earning less than, is £33,000.

So the average figure for nurses is higher than the median salary but lower than the mean.

Chart showing nurse pay across different grades

The median is the figure often used for wages because it is not skewed by small numbers of very highly paid people.

The mean and median for nurses themselves tend to be very similar, because there are not many nurses who are very highly paid.

That same report from the ONS gives the full-time mean for the category “nursing professionals” as £37,799 while the median is £37,255. That figure is probably higher because it includes nurses in the private sector, not just NHS nurses.

How does it vary between grades?

The most common grade for NHS nurses is Band 5, which accounts for about 42% of nurses in England.

That’s the pay grade for newly qualified nurses – their salaries range between £27,055 and £32,934.

Band 6 is more senior nurses and specialists and their basic pay is between £33,706 and £40,588.

About 42% of nurses are in Band 5. NHS nurses in England by grade. .

Band 7 includes ward sisters and junior matrons, earning between £41,659 and £47,672.

Band 8 is divided into four sections, including senior matrons, heads of department and nurse consultants, who can earn between £48,526 and £91,787.

There are also 306 nurses in Band 9, who are chief nurses or deputy chief nurses and can earn between £95,135 and £109,475.

How does it vary across the UK?

RCN members voted for action in every service in Scotland and Northern Ireland and on all but one health board in Wales.

The RCN told us:

  • The starting salary of a nurse in NHS Scotland is £26,104. An experienced nurse at the top of Band 5 earns around £33,000.
  • In Wales, a band 5 nurse earns between £27,055 and £32,934.
  • In Northern Ireland, it’s last year’s pay scales as the award this year hasn’t been implemented due to the political situation. The top of band 5 earns around £31,534.

Nurses in Scotland who were threatening industrial action have been made a fresh pay offer averaging 7.5%, which is now being considered by unions, although the RCN said it “still does not meet our members’ expectations”.

Can nurses earn extra on top of that?

The standard full-time working week for NHS staff is 37.5 hours.

Staff in pay bands one to seven are eligible for overtime payments, which is 1.5 times the hourly rate or twice the hourly rate for working on bank holidays.

They can also get allowances for working in high cost areas (London and surrounding counties) and for being on call.

NHS staff across the UK have access to pension schemes, which have become less generous in recent years, but are still of a type that has historically been better than what is available in the private sector.

Has nurses’ pay kept up with inflation?

Nurses’ pay has not kept up with rising prices since 2010. They have had a real terms pay cut of more than 10%.

It has also failed to keep up with average earnings, either in the private sector or the public sector, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies has confirmed.

Dealing with a loss of appetite in older adults

Posted on by bimak73555

Several factors, such as physical and mental conditions, medications, and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, can influence appetite. However, making small changes, such as adjusting your diet and mealtimes, may have a significant impact.

If you or a loved one experiences difficulties with eating and experiencing unintentional weight loss, it’s advisable to consult a health professional who can guide you on improving your appetite and weight gain.

Poor appetite is common in older people living at home and in care homes. It can cause weight loss, nutritional deficiencies, and poor healthcare outcomes. Understanding the causes of reduced appetite and knowing when someone needs to eat more can help you find ways to promote a better appetite and ultimately improve eating routines.

Call Now