News in brief w/e 25 October 2024
Local Government Association (LGA) Improvement support programme 2023-2024: Annual report
The report highlights the activities and support offers delivered over the course of the 23/24 improvement programme, highlighting the councils or systems engaged with, the unique support offers developed and the outcomes and outputs LGA have achieved. Read here.
Guidance on protecting lone workers
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a leaflet 'Protecting lone workers: How to manage the risks of working alone' which is free to download, and aimed at anyone who employs lone workers, or engages them as contractors, including self-employed people or those who work alone. There are also HSE lone working guidance pages which includes advice aimed at lone workers themselves, and a lone workers video setting out the key advice.
Data Use and Access Bill
The government has introduced a new Data Use and Access Bill to Parliament, which it hopes will boost the economy through the effective use of data. Among the measures, the Bill hopes to free up 140,000 hours of worker time in the NHS per year by making the transfer of patients’ data easier, ensuring quicker decisions and better health outcomes for patients.
Side effects of type 2 diabetes/obesity medicines
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has asked healthcare professionals to make patients aware of the known side effects of medicines that treat type 2 diabetes or obesity. The use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have a common risk of gastrointestinal side effects. The majority of side effects are mild, but some could also be serious.