Health News

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is one of the common viruses that cause coughs and colds in winter and is the most common cause of bronchiolitis in children under two.

In the UK, the RSV season typically begins in the autumn – earlier than the adult flu season – and runs throughout the winter.

A different strategy is being used by health managers to persuade young people across Bedfordshire to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a meeting heard.
Currently only one in three in the 18- to 29-year-old age group is having the jab, BLMK Clinical Commissioning Group’s governing body was told.

A drop-in NHS COVID-19 vaccination centre will be at Cranfield University, this Friday (30 July 2021) between 11am-5pm for anyone who can attend including staff, students and the local community. There is no need to book an appointment.

With the school holidays, UK staycations and summer day trips in full swing as lockdown has eased in recent weeks, City to Sea, the environmental organisation campaigning to stop plastic pollution at source, said there has been a huge increase in littering across the UK on our streets, parks and beaches as the public head out to enjoy the sunshine with friends and family.

To reduce littering and waste, consumers are being encouraged to choose to reuse by opting to take reusable water bottles, coffee cups and lunchboxes with them to fill up on the go, rather than buying single-use plastic items.

The government is running a consultation on increasing the upper age exemption for NHS prescription charges to the State Pension age (SPA).

The consultation seeks views from the public, healthcare organisations and staff on options for implementing a change in the age at which people in England become eligible for free prescriptions from the current age of 60, to 66 years of age.

Multi-million pound plans are being drawn up by NHS leaders to improve cancer services across Bedfordshire and beyond.

Although the £230million price tag for moving Mount Vernon Cancer Centre to Watford Hospital has yet to be agreed, health service leaders told a meeting that it offers the opportunity to reorganise services more widely.

Are you struggling with motivation, stress or just everyday life? People in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) are being offered a series of free wellbeing webinars to help support their mental health.

A new outreach project that could improve the long-term health of vulnerable people living with a diagnosis of Severe Mental Illness (SMI) will soon be rolled out to people in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes following a pilot in Luton.

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Group (BLMK CCG) carried out the project, which aimed to ensure that everyone living with SMI had the opportunity to receive their annual physical health check.

New investment of around £37m is planned for mental health services across the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes integrated care system (ICS) by 2023/24 to meet rising demand.
The spending is part of its response to the NHS Long Term Plan, according to a report to Bedford Borough Council’s health overview and scrutiny committee.

A multi-million pound shake-up of mental health services in Bedfordshire is on track as a draft case for change is presented to the county’s scrutiny health committees.

Under the proposals, a £60m new premises is scheduled for Bedford Health Village, while around £10m would be spent improving the Luton Centre for Mental Health, next to the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.