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Background: The 2022/23 influenza season in the United Kingdom saw the return of influenza to prepandemic levels following two seasons with low influenza activity. The early season was dominated by A(H3N2), with cocirculation of A(H1N1), reaching a peak late December 2022, while influenza B circulated at low levels during the latter part of the season. From September to March 2022/23, influenza vaccines were offered, free of charge, to all aged 2–13 (and 14–15 in Scotland and Wales), adults up to 49 years of age with clinical risk conditions and adults aged 50 and above across the mainland United Kingdom. Methods: End‐of‐season adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) estimates against sentinel primary‐care attendance for influenza‐like illness, where influenza infection was laboratory confirmed, were calculated using the test negative design, adjusting for potential confounders. Methods: Results In the mainland United Kingdom, end‐of‐season VE against all laboratory‐confirmed influenza for all those > 65 years of age, most of whom received adjuvanted quadrivalent vaccines, was 30% (95% CI: −6% to 54%). VE for those aged 18–64, who largely received cell‐based vaccines, was 47% (95% CI: 37%–56%). Overall VE for 2–17 year olds, predominantly receiving live attenuated vaccines, was 66% (95% CI: 53%–76%). Conclusion: The paper provides evidence of moderate influenza VE in 2022/23. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from a study of the costs and effectiveness of family support services offered to 40 families with a high level of need, in two neighbouring local authorities in North Wales. It describes the level and type of services offered by different agencies in each of the authorities, estimates the costs of these services, and assesses outcomes for the families receiving them after three months. Information is also provided about families’ experience of the support they received, and the kind of help they would have liked. Parents’ well-being and family functioning were found to improve over the intervention period in both authorities, although only to a limited extent. Improvements were greater among those who were living with partners, and less among families identified by social workers as having financial difficulties or problems with drug or alcohol abuse. Respondents who rated their problems as very severe showed less improvement. The pattern of service provision and the costs involved turned out to be similar in both authorities, so it was not possible to reach conclusions about the relationship between services and outcomes. However, a number of themes emerging from the data are discussed, including the role of day care services in supporting families with young children, the impact of poverty and deprivation on parents’ ability to provide good care for their children, and the importance of an interagency response to children's and parents’ needs. The article also includes a discussion of problems encountered in undertaking comparative outcomes-based research and cost-effectiveness analyses in the social welfare field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present service evaluation aimed to assess patients' experience of the musculoskeletal interface (MSKI) team, evaluate the outcomes of referrals to secondary care and determine if patients returned to secondary musculoskeletal (MSK) care following discharge from the MSKI team. Methods: Excel spreadsheets were designed for data capture. The survey was undertaken in June 2012. Patients were invited to complete and return the questionnaire. Data were collated and reported. Clinicians were given a list of patient identification numbers for those they had referred to secondary care. Using the patient electronic record system, they checked the outcome as recorded and entered data onto the spreadsheet. Patients who had been discharged between December 2011 and November 2012 were identified, their cases were reviewed and data were entered onto the spreadsheet The information was then collated and reported. Results: In June 2012, 415 patients attended clinics, of whom 231 (56%) responded to the patient experience survey. On average, 206 (89%) patients agreed that they were satisfied or highly satisfied with their clinic experience. A total of 2,362 (89%) discharges were reviewed; 1,565 patients (61%) were discharged to their general practitioner (GP) and not referred back to a secondary care surgical or medical service, of these 21% were referred to secondary care by the MSKI team. By 2014, a total of 286 patients had been referred to secondary care by their GP following discharge but only 54 (2%) of whom returned for secondary care assessment for the same condition. Between December 2011 and November 2012, 620 (26%) patients seen in clinic were referred to secondary care; 462 (75%) were referred to orthopaedic surgeons, 66 (11%) to the orthopaedic physician, 44 (8%) to the pain clinic and 48 (1%) to 'other', including neurology, rheumatology, etc. Conclusion: Physiotherapy-led multi-professional teams provide effective management of MSK conditions, and the majority of patients are satisfied with their care. A year to 18 months year following discharge, only 2% of patients returned for secondary care assessment for the same condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]