Staying mentally well this winter

This plan sets out the support that will be in place in the immediate term to help mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on people’s mental health and wellbeing this winter | Department of Health & Social Care

This year has seen an unprecedented change to our lives, as COVID-19 has disrupted our routines, our livelihoods, and our way of life. For some, the pandemic has led to positive changes which have improved their wellbeing, such as greater flexibility in work schedules, or a sense of strong community spirit.

However, we know this sense of optimism has not been shared by everyone, with many reporting feelings of worry, anxiety, frustration or loneliness. Darker winter months and the measures in place from 5 November to control the spread of the virus may put strain on people’s resilience, particularly the most vulnerable in our communities and neighbourhoods. These feelings are completely understandable when life unexpectedly alters in a way which is sudden, dramatic, and out of our control.

Full detail: Staying mentally well this winter

Coronavirus: Support for rough sleepers

This briefing paper outlines the measures taken in England to support rough sleepers, and those at risk of rough sleeping, during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. It discusses the impact of these measures and stakeholder comment | House of Commons Library

Rough sleepers are vulnerable to coronavirus (Covid-19); they are more likely to have underlying health conditions than the wider population and to face difficulties in following public health advice on self-isolation, social distancing and hygiene. They can also face barriers in accessing public health information and healthcare. Shared facilities used by rough sleepers – such as day centres, hostels and night shelters – increase the risk of transmission of the virus.

The Covid-19 outbreak in spring 2020 prompted an unprecedented public health response from the UK Government, local authorities and the voluntary sector to protect the rough sleeping population.

Full briefing: Coronavirus: Support for rough sleepers

Suggested steps for increased localisation of testing and tracing (20 November 2020)

Local Government Association | November 2020| Suggested steps for increased localisation of testing and tracing

Information in this resource draws on a wide range of feedback from councils, it identifies actions that could increase localisation of testing and tracing. Some of the benefits of increasing localisation are given below:

• Councils know their communities better and how best to engage with them, particularly in diverse communities. We estimate that local contact tracing systems have a 97.1 per cent success rate at finding close contacts and advising them to self-isolate, compared to 68.6 per cent of close contacts reached by national Test and Trace.
• Quicker access to local support, for example through community hubs.
• Talking to a local is more likely to generate compliance, as well as understand wider context of the family and the household to explain why self-isolation is crucial.
• Local tracing will generate much richer data and information. Local tracers know and understand the local area and community. Hence they can have a much more engaged conversation and are more likely to pick up of fragments of information that relate locally.

The full briefing is available from the Local Government Association

NHS Providers: Reducing Health Inequalities associated with COVID-19

NHS Providers | November 2020| Reducing Health Inequalities associated with COVID-19

Reducing health inequalities associated with COVID 19: a framework for healthcare describes the damaging impact of the pandemic, particularly among people from disadvantaged populations, with contributory factors including occupational exposure, overcrowded housing and insecure employment.

People from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities have been found to have a significantly higher risk of death from COVID-19 than those of white ethnicity, and the virus has disproportionately affected groups including men working in occupations such as taxi drivers, bus drivers, chefs and retail assistants, who were found in 2020 to have the highest rate of COVID-19 related morbidity.

NHS Providers presents a set of principles to help trusts and partner organisations understand and tackle health inequalities in relation to COVID-19.

Full press release from NHS Providers

NHS Providers Reducing Health Inequalities associated with COVID-19

Saving a lost decade. How a new deal for public health can help build a healthier nation

This report reveals the wider consequences of inaction on health improvement and prevention. It argues that the decision to remove health protection functions from Public Health England to a new National Institute for Health Protection presents an opportunity to reimagine and design a better public health system.

Full report: Saving a lost decade. How a new deal for public health can help build a healthier nation | Policy exchange

More rapid COVID-19 tests to be rolled out across England

Department of Health and Social Care and The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP|9 November 2020| More rapid COVID-19 tests to be rolled out across England

A new press release from the Department of Health and Social Care announces that public health teams will receive 10,000 lateral flow devices as part of a new pilot scheme to test priority groups.

• Next stage of partnership between NHS Test and Trace and local directors of public health will enable increased testing of priority and high-risk groups in local communities on a weekly basis
• Increase in asymptomatic testing will help pick up more cases, stop the spread of the virus and support communities and critical industries

Directors of public health will determine how to prioritise the allocation of these new tests, based on the specific needs of their communities, and will determine how people in the local area are tested. 600,000 lateral tests kits will be sent this week to 50 directors of public health services across England.

Full press release is available from the Department of Health and Social Care

Harms of public health interventions against covid-19 must not be ignored

BMJ | 2020; 371: m4074 | 2^nd November 2020

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge for governments. Questions regarding the most effective interventions to reduce the spread of the virus—for example, more testing, requirements to wear face masks, and stricter and longer lockdowns—become widely discussed in the popular and scientific press, informed largely by models that aimed to predict the health benefits of proposed interventions. Central to all these studies is recognition that inaction, or delayed action, will put millions of people unnecessarily at risk of serious illness or death.

However, interventions to limit the spread of the coronavirus also carry negative health effects, which have yet to be considered systematically. Despite increasing evidence on the unintended, adverse effects of public health interventions such as social distancing and lockdown measures, there are few signs that policy decisions are being informed by a serious assessment and weighing of their harms on health.

The harmful consequences of public health choices should be explicitly considered and transparently reported to limit their damage, says this BMJ analysis.

Full detail: Harms of public health interventions against covid-19 must not be ignored