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Keep up to date with the latest news, research and activity in patient safety.

Woman died after one-year delay in cancer diagnosis

An NHS trust has been told it must take action after a woman's cancer diagnosis was delayed for about one year before she died.
Gloria Monte, 79, died of lung cancer at Nottingham City Hospital on 2 May 2025.
An inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court, which concluded in August, heard a nodule was discovered on her lung in February 2024, and although she was told it "could be" a primary lung tumour, it was never investigated. She was diagnosed with cancer the following year.
The inquest found there had been a delay in her diagnosis "due to individual and systemic omissions in her medical care" by Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, which has apologised to Monte's family.
Coroner Laurinda Bower issued a prevention of future deaths report - a notice by coroners to highlight areas where action is needed to stop similar deaths - to NUH over concerns raised during the inquest.
Read full article.
Source: BBC News, 27 October 2026
Mark Hughes

Government hits target to deliver faster clinical trials

New data released show that the government has hit its target to speed up clinical trials with delivery times cut by 35%.
The average set-up time for commercial trials in the UK dropped to 100 days in the three months to March this year, down from 153 in the same period last year.
All 24 commercial trials during those months were set up within 150 days, exceeding the goal of 95% of commercial trials set up within 150 days laid out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan, published in July 2025.
Read full article.
Source: Digital Health, 27 October 2026
Mark Hughes

Consultant doctors in England to strike next month

Consultant doctors in England are to stage a two-day strike next month in a dispute over pay and working conditions.
The walkout will begin on 25 November at 06:59 GMT, with consultants providing emergency cover only.
This is known as Christmas Day cover and is likely to have a major impact on most routine and elective services.
The announcement comes after talks had taken place with the government over the past month following the vote in favour of strike action by British Medical Association members in July.
Consultants – the most senior doctors in the NHS – were given a 3.5% pay increase this year.
But the BMA argues pay has fallen by a quarter over the past 17 years, once inflation is taken into account.
The union also wants a reduction in the standard working week from 40 to 35 hours and higher pay for out-of-hours work alongside changes to pensions.
In a joint statement, BMA consultants committee co-chairs Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, said they had tried to negotiate with the government in "good faith", but "time-and-time again ministers have kicked the can down the road".
"Unfortunately, that road has now run out, and we have been forced to announce strikes.
"Consultants take their responsibilities incredibly seriously, and striking does not come naturally, but we are hearing loud and clear from the profession that they have had enough."
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 26 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Hospital deemed 'dangerous' and 'dreadful' online claims to be among safest in the country

Senior staff at Wales' newest hospital insist it's safe - despite claims that it is dangerous and failing.
Since it opened early in the pandemic, Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, Torfaen, has been under fire over concerns about long delays, overcrowding, staff shortages and the quality of its care.
Criticism has been especially intense on social media, with some in the comments even urging people to stay away.
Bosses admit staff feel "devastated" that patient confidence could be dented but insist the hospital performs better than many others on patient safety, including survival rates.
They are urging those who are seriously unwell not to be afraid to seek help.
"We're currently over capacity," says Dr Zoe Morgan-Pittard, who is so busy that she's placed stickers on her arms to remind her who she's been assessing.
"We've had to move three patients already who probably aren't well enough.
"But the sickest patients have to take priority - we're having to make fluid decisions.
"We're putting patients in any extra space we can find... but there's a lot of block and very little flow.
"Everybody is working hard, but unfortunately the hospital isn't big enough."
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 25 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Ethnic minorities in England less likely to get breast cancer diagnosis from routine screening

People from minority ethnic backgrounds in England are up to a third less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer via routine screening, and are more likely to be diagnosed in an emergency setting, analysis has found.
The research, carried out by academics at the University of Surrey and funded by the charity Breast Cancer Now, involved analysis of 86,564 adults diagnosed with the disease between 2009 and 2019, from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and the Cancer Registration Tumour and Treatment datasets.
The analysis found that people from Black, Asian and mixed backgrounds, alongside people from deprived backgrounds, were up to 33% less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer via screening, while these groups were also up to 31% more likely to be diagnosed via urgent suspected cancer referral, and up to 37% more likely to be diagnosed via emergency presentation.
Manveet Basra, the associate director of public health, inclusion and awareness at Breast Cancer Now, said the analysis revealed that people from marginalised groups “face inequalities at every stage of their breast cancer experience, and tragically this impacts their survival rates”.
Basra added: “This research helps us understand who is less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer via screening, [who] might wait longer to get diagnosed or experience delays in treatment, and knowing what barriers they face enables us to work towards eliminating them.
“Determined to improve breast cancer care and survival rates outcomes, we’re funding world-class research that actively identifies and addresses inequities, working with policymakers to improve equal access to screening, and ensuring our information, campaigns and life-changing support services reflect the diverse needs of everyone affected by this devastating disease.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 25 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Bed pressures now ‘relentless’, reports CQC

Mental health trusts are under “daily relentless pressure” on their inpatient beds, the Care Quality Commission has warned.
Most trusts the regulator spoke to said their beds were running “at, or near to” 100% occupancy, according to its annual State of Care report. The CQC interviewed mental health trust leaders after inspecting emergency departments over the winter.
NHS England data in the report shows the average number of available overnight mental health beds fell from 18,139 in 2022-23 to 17,870 in 2025-26. Occupancy has stayed above the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ recommended 85% throughout.
Demand is still rising. Monthly referrals to secondary mental health services rose 7% in 2025-26, to an average of 483,797. The number of people with severe mental illness in contact with community services rose 6%, to 681,149 per month.
The CQC said long waits in EDs were “often linked to difficulties securing appropriate mental health inpatient beds”. Inspectors in London and the South East found some people with mental health needs waiting several days, one of them for six days.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 23 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Adults with ADHD demand urgent action over a lack of funded services in Northern Ireland

Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are demanding urgent action over a lack of funded services in Northern Ireland, with some revealing they pay thousands of pounds a year for private treatment.
Northern Ireland doesn't have a formally commissioned, publicly funded adult ADHD pathway like in other parts of the UK.
One woman has described the situation as "wildly unfair and inhumane", saying she and her husband spend about £4,000 a year on private treatment and care.
The Department of Health acknowledges increasing demand but said decisions must be taken in the context of overall affordability.
Read full article.
Source: BBC News, 23 October 2026
Mark Hughes

ICB expects one in 10 beds to close

England’s largest integrated care board (ICB) expects to need almost a tenth fewer hospital beds within a decade as it tries to close a projected financial gap that could reach £4bn.
West and North London ICB’s strategy, presented to its board this week, said its modelling suggests the system will need to move to around 5,700 beds by 2035-36 – 9.2 per cent below its current bed base of 6,279.
Read full article (paywalled).
Source: Health Service Journal, 23 October 2026
Mark Hughes

AI tools could spot prostate cancer more accurately, says NICE

New AI tools could help doctors spot prostate cancer more accurately on MRI scans, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has said.
It is recommending that five AI technologies can be used in the NHS to highlight areas on a prostate MRI scan where cancer might be present, making it easier to spot and report.
AI-Rad Companion Prostate MR, DeepHealth Prostate, ProstatID, Prostate Intelligence (Pi), and QP-Prostate were recommended in the draft guidance for NHS use during a two-year evidence-generation period.
The independent NICE committee concluded that the technologies have the potential to improve the accuracy and consistency of prostate MRI interpretation, particularly in settings without specialist expertise. However, further evidence is needed to understand how they perform in routine NHS practice.
Read full article.
Source: Digital Health, 23 October 2026
Mark Hughes

World first personalised cancer vaccine stops disease returning in major trial

A new personalised cancer vaccine given alongside a widely used immunotherapy drug has cut the risk of patients dying or their skin cancer returning by 42% in a major clinical trial.
The researchers involved say the results could mark a turning point in cancer treatment, bringing personalised medicine a step closer.
The trial also found that the new drug combination reduced the risk of melanoma, a type of skin cancer, spreading by 38% over two years compared to immunotherapy alone.
The drug manufacturers MSD and Moderna say the same approach is already being tested against other tumours, including kidney, bladder and lung cancer.
Independent cancer experts described the results as impressive but said longer-term studies were still needed to establish whether the treatment really helps most patients live longer, on average.
Read full article.
Source: BBC News, 23 October 2026
Mark Hughes

10 child deaths investigated at trust facing prosecution

An independent review into 10 child fatalities has identified fundamental governance and sepsis care failings at an embattled trust, HSJ has discovered.
The news comes just days after it was reported that Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust is facing prosecution, brought by the Care Quality Commission, over the deaths of two young children who had sepsis.
Documents obtained by HSJ under the Freedom of Information Act show an independent review examined the deaths of 10 children between November 2022 and February 2025 across Southend, Basildon, and Broomfield Hospitals.
HSJ understands that the two deaths the trust is facing prosecution over were among the 10 deaths investigated as part of the review. The trust declined to comment.
The documents include a summary of the findings of the independent thematic “deep dive” review, although it does not name the author of the review.
The summary said the review had identified care failures such as delayed recognition and escalation of deteriorating children, and delayed treatment of sepsis.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 21 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Burnham backs mandatory suicide prevention training for social workers after parent-carer Matilda Davis’s death

Andy Burnham has backed mandatory suicide prevention training for social workers after the “devastating” death of Matilda Davis, a parent-carer who killed herself minutes after meeting professionals.
The Guardian revealed in August how the “absolutely inspirational” 36-year-old had taken her life after feeling “completely exhausted” and failed by England’s social care system.
Davis, a former art teacher, had told multiple professionals she was struggling to cope with the significant care for her seven-year-old son and “paralysed with anxiety” about her looming divorce from her estranged husband.
She died on 3 October last year, minutes after an emotional meeting with social workers who had not received suicide prevention training.
Burnham was asked about Davis’s case at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday and said he supported the extension of this training to all local authorities in England.
Manuela Perteghella, the Liberal Democrat MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, highlighted University of Birmingham research showing that 41% of parent-carers have contemplated suicide, and asked Burnham to meet her and Matilda’s family to discuss “mandatory suicide prevention training for local authorities and other measures so that no more normal families suffer such a devastating loss”.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 21 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Proposals to transfer the Health Services Safety Investigations Body functions to the Care Quality Commission dropped

This week the UK Government has dropped its plans to abolish the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) and transfer its functions to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Background
Last summer the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published the findings of its review of patient safety across England, chaired by Dr Penny Dash.[1] This review proposed several changes which sought to coordinate and rationalise patient safety roles and responsibilities. One of those recommendations was that the functions of HSSIB should be transferred to the CQC.
HSSIB investigates patient safety concerns across the NHS in England and in independent healthcare settings where safety learning could help to improve NHS care. It is currently an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by DHSC.
The proposal to abolish HSSIB and transfer its functions to the CQC was included in the new Health Bill which is currently progressing through Parliament.
Concerns about the change
The Patient Safety Management Network (PSMN), hosted on the hub, held a discussion about this proposed change earlier this year. The PSMN is an innovative voluntary network for patient safety managers and everyone working in patient safety. They highlighted several concerns about this proposal, most notably:
Concerns about combining HSSIB’s investigative role with the CQC’s regulatory and inspection functions, including potential conflicts of interest and reduced staff confidence in sharing information openly.
Despite assurances that existing ‘safe space’ legal protections would be retained, members questioned whether these protections would remain secure in the long term and whether staff would continue to perceive them as trustworthy.
Similar concerns had also been highlighted by Professor Carl Macrae, Sir Bernard Jenkin MP and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Patient Safety.
New amendments in the House of Lords
The Health Bill is currently being scrutinised by the House of Lords. Yesterday, Health Service Journal reported that Baroness Merron, the DHSC minister in the Lords, had sent a letter stating that the government, after listening to concerns about this proposal, has decided not to proceed with this.
This has been confirmed in the latest running list of amendments to the Bill, which now includes the Minister’s intention to leave out Schedule 9 of the legislation, which transfers the Health Services Safety Investigations Body’s functions to the Care Quality Commission.
Patient Safety Learning's response
In our response to the Dash Review, Patient Safety Learning stated our belief that HSSIB has an important independent role in the health system which should be retained. We subsequently expressed our view that the provisions included in the Health Bill did not effectively address the concerns about this proposal raised by MPs, members of the Patient Safety Management Network and patient safety campaigners. We therefore welcome this decision to retain HSSIB's independent investigative function and to not proceed with plans to move this into the Care Quality Commission.
Mark Hughes

Burnham says he will work to 'get justice' for Primodos victims

Andy Burnham has pledged his support for compensation for those families affected by Primodos. Their tireless campaigning since 1978 was instrumental in securing the First Do No Harm Review led by Baroness Cumberlege.

Originally, former Prime Minister Theresa May wanted a public inquiry into Primodos. But in 2018 it was decided that an independent review would examine three major healthcare scandals affecting women: Primodos, pelvic mesh and sodium valproate.

In 2021, the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety review, led by Baroness Cumberlege, conducted a comprehensive review of historic documents and found that Hormone Pregnancy Tests had caused avoidable harm, that they should have been withdrawn by the regulator after the first warnings in 1967 and that this failure to act meant that women were exposed unnecessarily to a potential risk.
Sadly, although Baroness Cumberlege recommended compensation for all three patient groups, the Primodos families were omitted from the recommendations made by Henrietta Hughes in 2024.
Burnham paid tribute to campaigners, who have suffered harm from hormone pregnancy tests between the 1950s and 1970s.
Read full story
Source: Sky News, 21 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Covid vaccine compensation scheme set for overhaul after Inquiry criticism

The government has committed to reform of the scheme that provides financial support for those injured or bereaved by vaccines.
It was a key recommendation of the UK Covid Inquiry, and has been a focus for campaigners.
One campaign group has welcomed the recognition that vaccine injury and bereavement is real and that the current scheme is not fit for purpose.
But it says it wants a clear commitment to action by ministers, rather than simply saying they will look further at what needs to be done.
The benefits of vaccination are well documented. The AstraZeneca Covid jab is credited with saving millions of lives worldwide. But some people have experienced harm.
In her fourth report, the chair of the Covid Inquiry, Baroness Hallett, called for better support for those affected.
More than 24,000 people have made Covid-related claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), a form of financial support paid by the government, but just over 1% have resulted in one-off tax-free awards of £120,000.
The report called for "urgent" reform of the scheme, saying that it is "not sufficiently supportive".
One of the main campaign groups for those who were injured by the Covid vaccine is Vaccine Injured and Bereaved UK.
The group welcomed the government's acknowledgement that vaccine injury and bereavement were real and that the VDPS is not fit for purpose.
But in a statement it said that was not the same as committing to action.
"After more than five years of campaigning, and with the Covid-19 Inquiry explicitly calling for reform as soon as possible, we had hoped the Government would finally come forward with a clear commitment to action, not simply say it would look further at what needs to be done.
"We understand that work may be needed to develop the reforms, but there is a real difference between saying you will look at something and committing to deliver it.
"Today, we have no clear timetable, no certainty about what will change and no assurance about when families will finally see meaningful progress."
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 16 October 2026
Related reading on the hub:
UK Covid-19 Inquiry: Module 4 -Vaccines and therapeutics
Adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccination - are adverse reactions adequately understood and are patients affected provided for in your area?
Interview with Charlet Crichton, founder of UKCVFamily

Patient Safety Learning

Leaders ‘disconnected’ from front line at high-secure hospital

Bosses at a trust being investigated for corporate manslaughter have been criticised by a regulator, which found care and patient dignity failings, and a “disconnect” between senior leaders and frontline staff at its high-secure hospital.
Rampton High-Secure Hospital, run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust, was rated “requires improvement” again, following four inspections in April 2026 by the Care Quality Commission.
The news follows a criminal inquiry being launched this summer into the trust’s care and treatment of Valdo Calocane, who killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates in June 2023.
The CQC said that while inspectors found some improvements had been made, they uncovered a series of managerial and care failings in staffing, safe care and treatment, dignity and respect, person-centred care, and in premises and overall management at the hospital.
The report said: “We identified a disconnect between senior leaders and frontline staff regarding the rationale for some operational decisions and the day-to-day reality of staffing pressures.”
The CQC was “not assured that senior leaders had acted effectively on feedback from previous assessments, as many of the concerns remained”, and staff who spoke up “had not seen meaningful changes as a result”.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 21 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning
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