■ Thousands of Covid-19 survivors ‘could get sepsis within year’
PEOPLE diagnosed with coronavirus are being encouraged to familiarise themselves with the signs of sepsis after a report found as many as 20,000 Covid-19 survivors could be diagnosed with it within a year.
One in five Covid-19 survivors who required hospital treatment is at risk of sepsis within a year of being discharged, according to the UK Sepsis Trust (UKST).
The charity has estimated 100,000 people are going to be discharged from hospital in the UK having had Covid-19.
This means about 20,000 people could be put at risk of life-threatening sepsis, the charity said, as it called for the government to invest in an awareness campaign.
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It happens when the body’s immune system overreacts to an infection, which can lead to organ failure and death.
Dr Ron Daniels (pictured top), founder of the UKST, said it is really important people who have survived Covid-19 — whether mildly at home or in hospital — should be aware of the symptoms.
He said there are six signs that spell out the word sepsis — S for slurred speech or confusion, E for extreme pain in muscles or joints, P for passing no urine in a day, S for severe breathlessness, I for ‘it feels like I’m going to die’ and S for skin that is mottled or discoloured.
The charity has a campaign that encourages people to ask, ‘Could it be sepsis?’ to make sure the condition is at the forefront of the mind of the medic treating them.
Working with the York Health Economics Consortium, the UKST has estimated that unless these additional sepsis cases are diagnosed early, many people could die and it could cost the NHS up to £1billion.
■ Selfridges to axe 450 jobs as sales hammered by pandemic
SELFRIDGES has told staff it plans to cut 450 jobs as it warned annual sales are expected to be ‘significantly less’ than last year due to the pandemic.
The upmarket retailer said it will reduce its total headcount by 14 per cent to cope with the impact of the virus and subsequent lockdown.
In a message to staff, group managing director Anne Pitcher warned the recovery will be ‘slow’, stressing 2020 will be ‘the toughest year we have experienced in our recent history’.
The boss said high streets were changing even before Covid-19 and the business has now been forced to make ‘fundamental changes’ after reviewing the business ‘from top to bottom’.
She said: ‘As a family business, the hardest decisions are the ones that affect our people, which is why it pains me to share news today of the toughest decision we have ever had to take that we will, very regrettably, need to make a 14 per cent net reduction in our overall headcount, approximately 450 roles.’
The retailer also promised staff who are on furlough that the fact they were not working now would have no effect on whether their role would be impacted.
Selfridges said it will start a period of collective consultation to discuss the proposals, engaging with elected team member representatives and trade union representatives.
The retailer closed the doors to its stores in March, after the Government-mandated lockdown, before reopening in June, with its restaurants and hair salons welcoming customers again at the start of this month.
■ Lovehandles the legacy of UK lockdown
HUNDREDS of thousands of people have piled on the pounds during lockdown, a new poll suggests.
Almost 450,000 people who have contributed to the Covid Symptom Study app have revealed that their weight has increased during lockdown.
It comes as people have been urged to lose five pounds to save the NHS money and help lower the risk of dying from coronavirus as part of the government’s new obesity crackdown.
A report published on Friday from Public Health England (PHE) found that being overweight or obese can dramatically increase the risk of hospitalisation and death from coronavirus.
According to latest findings from the Covid Symptom Study app, almost a third of those taking part (29 per cent) said they had gained weight since March 2020.
Lead researcher Professor Tim Spector said that the UK had a problem with obesity before the pandemic but ‘lockdown has made it worse’.
The average increase in body weight was found to be 0.78kg (1.6lbs).
Of 1.6million people who responded to a questionnaire about behavioural changes since the start of lockdown, 35 per cent said they had increased snacking and 34 per cent had decreased their levels of physical activity.
Meanwhile, almost one in five (19 per cent) were eating less healthily than before the introduction of severe social restrictions and 27 per cent were drinking more alcohol.
Professor Spector, of King’s College London, said: ‘In my view, banning junk food adverts isn’t going nearly far enough. We need tougher measures like extending sugar taxes to junk food and subsidising fresh fruit and vegetables. With these and much better public education we have the opportunity to have a real impact on health in the UK.’
Yesterday, the prime minister admitted that he struggles with his own weight as he urged people to take action to improve their health.
As part of the programme, NHS weight loss services are to be expanded, with a 12-week weight loss app set to be unveiled, following in the footsteps of the popular Couch to 5k running app.
GPs will be encouraged to prescribe bike rides, with patients in pilot areas to be given access to bikes.
■ Friday could be a scorcher after chilly July
FRIDAY may be the hottest day of the year so far despite following an unseasonably chilly July, the Met Office has said.
The UK average temperature for this July is currently on course to be just 14.1C — one degree less than the 1981-2010 long-term average of 15.2C, it said.
So far this month, the highest maximum temperature recorded was 28.5C on July 17 at Heathrow Airport.
The cool temperatures and wet weather are due to low pressure systems and weather fronts coming through, as well as ‘unseasonal’ winds — gusts of up to 50mph were recorded yesterday.
The UK has already surpassed 100 per cent of the average monthly rainfall and only experienced two thirds (66 per cent) of the expected sunshine for an average July — a total of 113.4 hours, Met Office figures show.
The Met Office said temperatures are expected to rise continually over the next few days, with some areas getting into the 30s by the weekend.
But the good weather is expected to be short-lived and will not bring up the UK’s average monthly temperature for July.
‘We’re expecting (Friday) temperatures to potentially get to 33, certainly isolated 33s, which may just get the warmest day of the year, though there was a 33.4 in June,’ a spokesman for the Met Office said.
The mercury is expected to rise highest in areas such as Reading, Northampton or Cambridge, though 30C temperatures may also feature as far north as the Scottish border.
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Need To Know: Thousands of Covid-19 survivors ‘could get sepsis within year’ - Metro Newspaper UK
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