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NHS London’s plans for virtual wards create unnecessary risk

NHS London’s plan for dealing with the omicron wave needs to take a more multidisciplinary approach and be more evidence-based if it is to not build unwarranted variation into services, write Elaine Maxwell and Alison Leary in HSJ.

A key tenet of high reliability organisations is to expect the unexpected. The start of the global COVID-19 pandemic was perhaps a little too unexpected to have good plans in place, but nearly two years on there really is no excuse and the NHS London plan for the omicron wave leaves a lot to be desired. Standing down Covid Virtual Wards across the summer with limited capacity to restart them (and no clear evaluation) was, in hindsight, a mistake - but standing up a different model without careful forethought is perhaps a bigger mistake.

We have talked for at least a decade about unwarranted variation and we seem to be building it into services now, because we don’t spend the time considering the research evidence and consulting the whole multidisciplinary team in order to set meaningful standards. In safety science terms, this is a nightmare. We should and could do better.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 23 December 2021

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NHS logging baby deaths as stillbirths ‘to avoid scrutiny’

NHS hospitals have claimed that babies born alive were stillborn, a Telegraph investigation has found, prompting accusations they were trying to avoid scrutiny.

Six children who died before they left hospital were wrongly described as stillborn. Several of the children lived for minutes and one lived for five days.

Coroners are not able to carry out inquests into stillbirths, leaving some families unable to get answers until the error was corrected. In one case, an obstetrician told a coroner in Stockport that he had been pressured by an NHS manager to say a baby he had delivered had definitely been stillborn, in order to be “loyal” to the trust. 

His comments are likely to raise fears that some NHS trusts in England have used the stillbirth label to avoid having coroners examine any errors that may have been made by staff. 

The revelations raise questions over transparency at some NHS trusts.

The babies identified by The Telegraph should have been recorded as neonatal deaths, but staff claimed they were stillbirths – babies that never had any signs of life outside the mother’s body, even for a single moment. 

All the NHS trusts that wrongly classified neonatal deaths as stillbirths have apologised to the babies’ parents, and say they have changed their practices. 

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Telegraph, 16 October 2022

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NHS leaving some patients with rare diseases to ‘fall through the cracks’, damning report finds

The NHS is “not working” for people in the UK with rare diseases as they are left to “fall through the cracks,” a damning new report has claimed.

Nearly three in ten (30%) people with certain uncommon conditions say they are waiting for five years between symptoms starting and being diagnosed with their condition.

Many are still facing “poor care co-ordination” after their diagnoses, the report by the Rare Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease Alliance (RAIRDA) finds, alongside difficulties accessing information and support.

Geographical factors also make too big a difference, the authors add, with where people live making a drastic difference to the level of care they can expect to receive.

The report claims that the UK health system has had an “increasing focus” on major and common conditions, but people with these rare conditions are being left to “fall through the cracks”.

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Source: The Independent, 29 April 2025

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NHS leaders warn that social care workforce crisis risks patient safety

NHS leaders across England say staffing gaps and a lack of capacity in social care are putting the care and safety of patients in the NHS at risk.

Almost 250 NHS leaders responding to an NHS Confederation survey say that patients are being delayed in hospital much longer than they should, with the knock-on impact resulting in higher demand on A&E departments and longer ambulance response times.

  • More than 9 in 10 NHS leaders warn of a social care workforce crisis in their area which they expect will get worse this winter.
  • Nearly all NHS leaders say the lack of capacity in social care is putting the care and safety of patients at risk.
  • More than four in five warn that the absence of care packages for people to be able to return home or be moved into a care home is the main reason why medically fit patients are stuck in hospital longer than they should be.
  • Almost all NHS leaders say that the most impactful solution would be better pay for social care staff and want the Government to increase investment in social care as a priority.

An acute trust executive director in the South West accused the Government of presiding over a “national scandal.”

“If the social care capacity shortfall was solved then we would not be holding ambulances at all, we would have almost no problems with elective recovery and our emergency departments would not be crowded and unsafe,” they said.

Another acute trust chair in the East of England added: “The result of using nearly 20 per cent of our beds for patients who are medically fit but need packages of care to return home is an overcrowded A&E, twelve-hour trolley waits and much delayed ambulance handover times. The connection is very clear to us…Until we find a solution to social care staffing and funding, the situation can only get worse.”

Commenting on the survey results Lord Victor Adebowale, chair of the NHS Confederation, said:

“Decades of delay and inertia have left social care services chronically underfunded and in desperate need of more support.

“NHS leaders stand alongside their sister services in social care in wanting a rescue package for the sector. They are sounding the alarm and sending a clear message to Government that the social care system has not been ‘fixed’."

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Source: NHS Confederation, 28 July 2022

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NHS leaders warn patient lives will be put at risk by strikes as cancer services “hit hard”

NHS leaders fear patients will come to harm as cancer services are “hit hard” by upcoming nurses’ strikes.

The NHS’s four chief nurses wrote to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen warning patients’ lives are at risk due to life-saving services not being protected when nurses walk out on Thursday.

And a separate letter from Dame Cally Palmer, the national cancer director for NHS England, urged Ms Cullen to protect urgent cancer operations from strike action “to ensure a consistent and compassionate approach for patients across the country”.

The RCN has since agreed that staff will cover emergency cancer and mental health crisis services on strike days but has maintained only night-level staffing for inpatient services.

But trust executives told The Independent that they were concerned they won’t be able to fill any gaps with agency staff due to RCN rules, which will worsen existing shortages.

One senior NHS source claimed cancer services weren’t being prioritised by unions despite national agreements to protect chemotherapy treatments.

They said: “I fear that someone is going to get hurt as the system is so pressured and fragile right now, whether strike-related or not, public sympathy will shift considerably if this were to happen.”

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Source: The Independent, 14 December 2022

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NHS leaders warn of service cuts as hospital energy bills soar

Hospital trusts in England face “eye-watering” rises in energy bills of £2m a month each due to the fuel price surge, with NHS leaders saying patients may face longer waiting times or even see their care “cut back” as a result.

NHS trusts are concerned they will have to make critical choices on staff levels and the services they provide in order to keep operating, with energy costs predicted to be as much as three times higher than a year ago.

The BMJ surveyed NHS trusts in England for details of their recent and predicted future energy bills and how they expected to operate this coming winter when taking into account the additional energy charges on the way. Most said they expected their energy bills to double at least.

Rory Deighton, senior acute lead at the NHS Confederation, which represents the whole healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said: “This isn’t an abstract problem, as the gap in funding from rising inflation will either have to be made up by fewer staff being employed, longer waiting times for care, or other areas of patient care being cut back."

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Source: The Guardian, 1 September 2022

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NHS leaders raise concerns over pace of Covid vaccine rollout

NHS leaders have raised concerns about the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, with more than half of hospital trusts and two-thirds of GPs yet to receive supplies amid growing alarm over the new fast-spreading variant.

Dr Richard Vautrey, the chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, urged the government to speed up delivery of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in order to save lives. Experts also demanded greater transparency from ministers on how many doses are available.

Vautrey said: “We need millions of doses to be made available as soon as possible – urgently – because it’s the number one priority for GP practices, our patients and the nation, especially given the new mutant strain.

“GPs who haven’t got it yet are frustrated because they want to be getting on and vaccinating their patients as well. Their frustration is understandable. They want to protect their patients, especially their vulnerable patients, as quickly as possible.”

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Source: The Guardian, 22 December 2020

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NHS leaders accused of ‘bullying’ hospitals into silence over scale of Covid crisis

NHS leaders have been accused of downplaying the impact of the Covid crisis and putting hospitals under scrutiny for declaring critical incidents and postponing surgeries.

A leaked email urges hospitals to use the “correct terminology” and make NHS leaders aware when declaring their status.

Sources said the message was a “thinly veiled threat” and that there was “subtle pressure” amid rapid spread of Omicron.

At least 24 trusts have declared critical incidents this week, including one in Northamptonshire on Friday afternoon, while new figures show a 59% rise in staff absences in just seven days.

Trusts in London were told hospitals will be scrutinised for declaring a critical incident if there is “doubt” over the decision, according to an internal email sent from NHS England on Wednesday.

In light of media coverage, it would be “valuable” to “raise awareness of the key terminology and encourage you to ensure that you are clear ... when considering a declaration,” it said. “National scrutiny on the declaration on incidents has heightened ... and [senior managers] will need to make additional enquiries where there is doubt as to the status of an organisation’s incident.”

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “We know that the NHS is under enormous pressure and it is important that local trusts are able to be honest and open with parliament and the public about the challenges they’re facing. We are increasingly concerned that ministers are more interested in covering up problems than solving them.”

Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem Health spokesperson, said: “This is an insult to every health worker who has given their all, and every patient with cancelled appointments and delayed surgeries.

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Source: The Independent, 9 January 2022

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NHS launches steroid emergency card to be carried by patients at risk of adrenal crisis

Following four deaths and more than 300 incidents with steroid replacement therapy involving patients with adrenal insufficiency in the past two years, patients at risk of adrenal crisis will be issued with a steroid emergency card.

All adults with primary adrenal insufficiency (AI) will be issued an NHS steroid emergency card to support early recognition and treatment of adrenal crisis, a National Patient Safety Alert has said.

The cards will be issued by prescribers — including community pharmacists — from 18 August 2020.

AI is an endocrine disorder, such as Addison’s disease, which can lead to adrenal crisis and death if not identified and treated. Omission of steroids in patients with AI, particularly during physiological stress such as an additional illness or surgery, can also lead to an adrenal crisis.

The alert has requested that “all organisations that initiate steroid prescriptions should review their processes/policies and their digital systems/software and prompts to ensure that prescribers issue a steroid emergency card to all eligible patients” by 13 May 2021.

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Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal, 17 August 2020

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NHS launches 40 ‘long COVID’ clinics to tackle persistent symptoms

The NHS will launch a network of more than 40 ‘long COVID’ specialist clinics within weeks to help thousands of patients suffering debilitating effects of the virus months after being infected.

The clinics, due to start opening at the end of November, will bring together doctors, nurses, therapist and other NHS staff to physical and psychological assessments of those experiencing enduring symptoms.

NHS England has provided £10 million to fund the pioneering clinics, which will see patients who have been hospitalised, officially diagnosed after a test or reasonably believe they had COVID-19.

Ten sites have been earmarked for the Midlands, seven in the North East, six in the East of England, South West and South East respectively, five in London and three in the North West.

Patients will be able to access services through a GP referral or referral from other healthcare professional, allowing doctors an opportunity to rule out any other possible underlying causes for symptoms, such as suspected stroke, lung cancers or respiratory conditions.

The NHS has also launched a new taskforce, with patients, charities, researchers and clinicians, to help manage the NHS approach to ‘long COVID’ and produce information and support materials for patients and healthcare professionals to develop a wider understanding of the condition.

NHS Chief Executive Sir Simon Stevens said: “Long COVID is already having a very serious impact on many people’s lives and could well go on to affect hundreds of thousands.

“That is why, while treating rising numbers of patients who are sick with the virus and many more who do not have it, the NHS is taking action to address those suffering ongoing health issues."

“These pioneering ‘long COVID’ clinics will help address the very real problems being faced by patients today while the taskforce will help the NHS develop a greater understanding of the lasting effects of coronavirus.”

Read full press release

Source: NHS England, 15 November 2020

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NHS keeps patients away because they are an inconvenience, new boss admits ahead of shake-up

Patients are an “inconvenience” to the NHS, which has “built mechanisms to keep them away”, said the new boss of the health service.

Sir Jim Mackey, who was made chief executive of the NHS on 1 April, spoke of the 8am daily phone scramble for a GP appointment as one example of the difficulties patients face in seeking help.

“We’ve made it really hard, and we’ve probably all been on the end of it,” he told The Telegraph.

“You’ve got a relative in hospital, so you’re ringing a number on a ward that no one ever answers. The ward clerk only works nine to five, or they’re busy doing other stuff; the GP practice scramble every morning.

“It feels like we’ve built mechanisms to keep the public away because it’s an inconvenience,” he said.

And he warned that failing to listen to public frustrations could mean the end of a national health service.

Failings in maternity services, he said, were cultural and “thinking we know best when mothers know best, listening to them and families and building the service around them”.

He said: “The big worry is, if we don’t grab that, and we don’t deal with it with pace, we’ll lose the population. If we lose the population, we’ve lost the NHS. For me, it’s straightforward. The two things are completely dependent on each other.”

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Source: The Independent, 28 June 2025

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NHS junior doctors to be known as resident doctors after job title change

Junior doctors working across the NHS will now be called resident doctors instead - in a change intended to better reflect their expertise.

The doctors union, the British Medical Association (BMA), which called for the change, called the term junior "infantilising and demeaning".

"Resident doctor" will refer to more than 50,000 qualified doctors working in GP practices and hospitals - some recently out of medical school and others with a decade of experience.

Health ministers say they have accepted the new name as part of a drive to "reset the relationship" between NHS doctors and the government.

The BMA says many of its members said the term "junior" was confusing and wrongly implied doctors were unqualified.

BMA member Dr Lily Huang, who works in London and specialises in ear, nose and throat surgery, has been a qualified doctor working in NHS hospitals for seven years.

"When I say, 'junior doctor', my friends and family interpret that to mean I am still at medical school.

"It takes a lot of explaining to say I'm still in training to be a consultant but am not a student."

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Source: BBC News, 18 September 2024

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NHS joint ops disrupted amid bone cement supply problems

A shortage in medical cement is likely to lead to delays in some patients getting joint surgery, NHS bosses say.

It comes after Heraeus Medical, the main supplier of bone cement to the health service, has had to temporarily halt production at its main site for two months.

The German firm supplies about three-quarters of the bone cement needed in the NHS. The product is used in about 1,000 operations a week, mostly in knee replacements, but also in some hip and shoulder replacements.

Hospitals are being told to prioritise emergency patients ahead of those on the waiting list. These are likely to be older patients who have suffered falls and those with broken hips.

Read full story.

Source: BBC News, 18 February 2026

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  • A formal update on this from NHS England, with actions for NHS organisations, can be found here.
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NHS issues vaccination warning for pregnant women over dangerous virus currently surging in Australia

Expectant mothers and people over 75 are being urged to get vaccinated against a potentially deadly virus following a record number of cases in Australia.

Health chiefs say the Australian winter often predicts how viruses will spread in the UK, and already this year cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have steadily risen in many areas.

The virus, which is a common cause of coughs and colds, may also cause a chest infection called bronchiolitis.

Some people have a high risk of becoming seriously ill with it, including babies and adults over 75.

According to NHS England, RSV is a leading cause of infant deaths worldwide and a main cause of children being taken into hospital.

NHS England is encouraging pregnant women to get a jab that protects against RSV so their babies are protected after birth.

Kate Brintworth, chief midwifery officer for NHS England, said: “While for most adults RSV only causes mild, cold-like symptoms, for older adults and young children it can lead to serious breathing problems that can end up in hospitalisation.

“Getting vaccinated while pregnant is the best way to protect your baby from the moment they are born, and now is the time for mums to act, to make sure their babies are protected ahead of their first few months this winter, when there tends to be more bugs circulating.”

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Source: The Independent, 5 August 2025

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NHS issues urgent plea after ‘perfect storm’ leaves blood supplies set to run out within hours

The NHS has issued an urgent plea for blood donors after warning national supplies are set to run out within hours.

Doctors urged people with O-type blood to donate, with national stocks of O-Negative projected to run out by Saturday. The health service said it has less than 5 days stock of all types of blood in what it described as an “unprecedented” shortage.

They called on people with the universal blood group O-negative, as well as O-positive donors, to urgently book into donor centres. 

Just 8 per cent of the population have type O-Negative but it makes up for around 16 per cent of hospital orders, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

The health service said it was facing a “perfect storm” after a cyber attack impacted London hospitals in June.

Dr Gail Miflin NHSBT’s chief medical officer said: “Three blood donations are needed every minute in hospitals to deal with emergencies, childbirth and routine treatments. Blood only has a shelf life of 35 days so the NHS needs blood all year round. There are just under 800,000 regular blood donors, 108,000 of whom are O Negative. Ultimately, we need more people to be regular blood donors and come to one of our 25 donor centres.”

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Source: Independent, 27 July 2024

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NHS is letting women down through ‘medical misogyny’, says Wes Streeting

“Medical misogyny” in the UK is letting women down, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, has admitted, as a survey showed half of female patients felt they had been dismissed or ignored because of their sex.

A report from Mumsnet, which examined data taken from the site over the past decade, warned of “structural and deeply embedded” sexism in UK healthcare. A survey of women using the site found that more than half believed the NHS was institutionally misogynistic.

The survey also found that:

  • 50% of women believe they have been dismissed, ignored or not believed by an NHS professional because of their sex.
  • 64% say they have been explicitly told their pain or symptoms were “normal” or “in their head”.
  • 68% think the NHS does not take women’s health concerns seriously.

Ahead of the publication of a women’s health strategy, which was announced in 2022 and is expected imminently, Streeting said the report showed that the NHS had let women down too often and for “far too long”. The health secretary said he was “driving change” through more funding, menopause support, moving health services into the community and the introduction of Martha’s rule, which gives patients a right to an urgent second opinion.

He added: “Medical misogyny has no place within our NHS. It was founded on the principles of equality, yet time and time again, women are ignored and not believed. I want women across the country to know we’re going to tackle this.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 8 March 2026

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NHS is failing to deal with antisemitism

The government has announced a “short, sharp review” of antisemitism in the NHS, with the prime minister saying some cases are ”simply not being dealt with”.

Sir Keir Starmer announced the review in a meeting with the Community Safety Trust, which protects Jewish communities in the UK, today. He said: “There are just too many examples, clear examples, of antisemitism that have not been dealt with adequately or effectively.

“So we need to do that review. We’ve already put in place management training in relation to the NHS, but I think we need a wider review, because in some cases, clear cases are simply not being dealt with, and so we need to get to the root of that.” HSJ has asked what management training he is referring to.

Baron John Mann, who is the government’s adviser on antisemitism, has been appointed to carry out the review.

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting today said there was “racism in our ranks” and he had been shocked by “NHS staff who seem to think that racism against Jewish people is acceptable – encouraged by a complacent and indifferent regulatory system.”

It follows widespread media coverage of cases where doctors who appeared to have made antisemitic remarks were allowed to continue working. Mr Streeting has previously said that in future they would be suspended before facing a tribunal.

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Source: HSJ, 16 October 2025

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NHS is at breaking point and putting patients at high risk, bosses warn

Patient safety in the NHS in England is being put at “unacceptably high” risk, with severe staff shortages leaving hospitals, GP surgeries and A&E units struggling to cope with soaring demand, health chiefs have warned.

The health service has hit “breaking point”, the leaders say, with record numbers of patients seeking care.

Nine in 10 NHS chief executives, chairs and directors have reported this week that the pressures on their organisation have become unsustainable. The same proportion is sounding “alarm bells” over staffing, with the lack of doctors, nurses and other health workers putting lives of patients at risk.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has come under fire for recently claiming, at a No 10 press conference, that he did not believe the pressure on the NHS was unsustainable.

But the survey of 451 NHS leaders in England finds the health service already at “tipping point”. The results of the poll, conducted by the NHS Confederation, which represents the healthcare system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, show that 88% of the leaders think the demands on their organisation are unsustainable, and 87% believe a lack of staffing in the NHS as a whole is putting patient safety and care at risk.

Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Almost every healthcare leader we’ve spoken to is warning that the NHS is under unsustainable pressure, and they are worried the situation will worsen, as we head into deep midwinter, unless action is taken. They are also sounding alarm bells over risks to patient safety if their services become overwhelmed, on top of a severe workforce crisis."

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Source: The Guardian, 10 November 2021

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NHS is ‘tech averse healthcare system’, says ex-government adviser

A cut to the NHS tech budget, revealed by HSJ, has been described as “pretty outrageous” by a former government adviser and eminent medical leader.

Sir John Bell, an immunologist and geneticist and regius chair of medicine at Oxford University, made the comments in a talk at the Tony Blair Institute’s Future of Britain conference.

NHSE’s cut to its tech budget was attributed to having to divert the money to fund spending growth, and some other inflationary costs, without receiving extra from government. At the time, NHSE said the service “remains firmly committed to our digital strategy from supporting hospitals to adopt electronic patient record systems to transforming how patients access NHS services through the NHS App”.

But Sir John said: “The NHS is a technology averse healthcare system.”

He said NHS spending on medicines was “much lower than peers and if you look at our access to technology – like MRI and CR scanners – we’re right at the back. We just don’t do it.”

He added that rapid tech development and adoption was needed particularly to enable mass early diagnosis of diseases, and new treatment therapies.

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Source: HSJ, 18 July 2023

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NHS is ‘not doing a very good job’ on children’s mental health

The NHS's approach to tackling children’s mental health is “threatening to overwhelm the social care system”, the president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services has warned.

Steve Crocker believes the NHS is “not doing a very good job” for children, describing how children are typically now waiting four months for a mental health assessment and over a year for treatment as being “simply not good enough”.

He admitted he was being “deliberately provocative” around children’s mental health at the opening of the ADCS conference yesterday, as he wants to see “more collaboration” from the new Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), which were put on a statutory footing this month.

Mr Crocker warned delegates that under the ICS reforms, there is an “ongoing risk that the needs of children are sidelined by the ongoing pressure in acute adult services”.

“The House of Lords amendment ensuring each ICS has a children’s strategic lead was a welcome development, but does it go far enough?” he asked.

Mr Crocker told LGC: “Children's mental health should be a priority for every ICS in the country. I can't imagine any reason why any ICS would not do that."

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Source: Local Government Chronicle, 8 July 2022

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NHS is ‘losing its memory’ warns new report on patient safety alerts

In a report published today, AvMA, the charity Action Against Medical Accidents, reveals serious delays in NHS trusts implementing patient safety alerts, which are one of the main ways in which the NHS seeks to prevent known patient safety risks harming or killing patients.

The report, authored by Dr David Cousins, former head of safe medication practice at the National Patient Safety Agency, NHS England and NHS Improvement, identifies serious problems with the system of issuing patient safety alerts and monitoring compliance with them. Compliance with alerts issued under the now abolished National Patient Safety Agency and NHS England are no longer monitored – even though patient safety incidents continue to be reported to the NHS National Reporting and Learning System.

David said: “The NHS is losing it memory concerning preventable harms to patients. Important known risks to patient safety are being ignored by the NHS. The National Reporting and Learning System, the NHS Strategy and new format patient safety alerts, all managed by NHS Improvement, now ignore the majority of ‘known/wicked harms’ which have been the subject of patient safety alerts in the past and have now been archived."

“Implementation of guidance in new Patient Safety Alerts can be delayed, for years in some cases. The Care Quality Commission that inspects NHS provider organisations also no longer appear to check that safeguards to major risks, recommended in patient safety alerts, have been implemented, or continue to be implemented, as part of their NHS inspections.

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Source: AvMA, 28 January 2020

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NHS is 'dangerously over-reliant' on China amid fears supplies could be 'weaponised'

The NHS has become 'dangerously over-reliant' on China for vital medicines and supplies, a report has warned.

One in six medical items used in UK hospitals — including needles, bandages and oxygen — are shipped from the communist state.

Thinktank Civitas found that overall NHS dependency on Chinese supply chains has trebled since 2019, with the UK now sending £6.2billion a year to Beijing for medical gear.

Security experts are now calling for an 'NHS Security Act' to wean Britain off Chinese medical items and start manufacturing more domestically.

Civitas looked at 228 medical items on the Government's disaster relief list — which include drugs, tests, medical devices and personal protective equipment (PPE). The team found that 17% came from China in 2020, up from 6% before the pandemic. 

The report found up to a third of tests and diagnostic equipment and 30% of PPE used in the health service now come from China.

Almost all paper masks used by medics in hospitals come from China (90%), more than half of all gloves (54%) and almost 80% of bandages. And 42% of emergency trolleys and wheelchairs are Chinese-made.

Robert Clark, head of defence and security at Civitas, said: 'Things like gloves, monitors, wheelchairs and bandages all largely come from China rather than the UK. We are dangerously over-reliant on China."

"Let's not be naïve about China. This is an urgent issue for health bosses with the risk that future geo-political spats could lead to the Chinese switching off critical medical supplies destined for the NHS."

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Source: Mail Online,17 May 2022

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NHS investigator says maternity unit care 'appalling'

A former NHS inspector said a hospital's maternity services may not have had to close if she had been listened to.

Maternity services at Yeovil District Hospital shut in May 2025 due to safety concerns and are set to reopen in April.

Amanda Ford, a registered nurse and midwife, said her concerns were not listened to after she witnessed "appalling care" and a baby death that should not have occurred while working for the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB).

Yeovil District Hospital said it strived to have an open, safe culture and acknowledged it did not always get this right. The HSIB no longer exists and its successor organisations declined to comment.

Ford, 56, worked for the HSIB in the South West from 2019 to 2020.

"Yeovil was one of my first units I was asked to go and investigate some incidents," said Ford.

"Within a month… I just was appalled. One was a baby death. That's a death that shouldn't have occurred - of a very healthy baby.

"One was a lady who was put through labour, who basically shouldn't have been labouring, and she was lucky to have survived that and her baby survived. It was just appalling care."

Ford has not provided the BBC with identifying details of either case.

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Source: BBC News, 26 February 2026

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NHS investigation body launches inquiry into medication errors in children

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has launched an investigation into the risks involved in prescribing, dispensing and administering medicines to children.

The investigation was triggered after HSIB was notified of an incident including a child aged four years, who, after being diagnosed with a blood clot in her leg following a surgical procedure, received ten times the intended dose of anticoagulant on five separate occasions, over three days.

This, HSIB said, was owing to errors that occurred during the prescription, dispensing and administration processes.

The errors resulted in the child being admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit, with evidence of a bleed in her brain, where she stayed for three months until she was discharged with an ongoing care plan.

HSIB said that studies showed that prescribing errors were the most frequent type of medication error in children’s inpatient settings.

The investigation will look at this and other incidents to examine the role of multidisciplinary teamworking and checking in medication errors, as well as considering the risks associated with the implementation of electronic prescribing and medication administration (ePMA) systems in clinical areas using weight-based paediatric prescribing.

“‘Wrong dose’ errors are a particular risk in children’s wards,” said Alice Oborne, consultant pharmacist in safe medication practice and medicines safety officer at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

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Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal, 26 January 2021

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NHS introduces 3D heart scans to diagnose patients in 20 minutes

Patients with life-threatening coronary heart disease will be treated five times faster thanks to 3D scans being introduced on the NHS that allow for a diagnosis in just 20 minutes.

The revolutionary technology can turn a regular CT scan of the heart into a 3D image, allowing doctors to diagnose them rapidly, NHS England said.

It added that about 100,000 people will be eligible to use the HeartFlow technology over the next three years.

Patients – who would previously have had to undergo an invasive and time-consuming angiogram in hospital – will now be seen, diagnosed and treated around five times faster.

The new technology, introduced from last month, is part of the NHS long-term plan to cut the number of heart attacks and strokes by 150,000.

NHS England said more people here will have access to the potentially life-saving technology than anywhere else in Europe, the US or Japan.

Matt Whitty, director of innovation and life sciences for NHS England, said HeartFlow had been a “huge success” in clinical trials and would now help “tens of thousands of people a year receive quick diagnosis and treatment and ultimately save lives”.

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Source: The Guardian. 4 May 2021

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