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‘ChatGPT listened when my GP didn’t’: why women turn to AI on health

When Katie finally sat down in her GP’s surgery in November she had been in pain for years. Since the birth of her daughter in July 2023, sex had been agony. Yet the mother of three, a teacher, had delayed booking an appointment — she simply didn’t have the time.

After explaining her pain to a stranger, she was met with a shrug. “I was told that this is just what happens after kids. I felt so ignored and so awful. I cried; I felt invisible.”

Feeling failed by a human doctor, she turned to ChatGPT. “I know that AI is programmed to acknowledge me; it said something like, ‘that must be really stressful and tough to deal with right now,’ and then gave me a list of things my pain could be attributed to. It instantly put me at ease,” Katie, 28, said.

She is now in the majority. A study of 1,000 UK women aged 20 to 50 found that 53% would use a free AI tool for medical advice, even while acknowledging the 20 per cent error rate.

The report by Intimina, a Swedish company that makes women’s health products, Sixty-six per cent of women admitted they had avoided booking a GP appointment or collecting a prescription to avoid associated costs and 47% said the cost of living had led them to delay buying treatments until symptoms felt “severe”.

However, a London School of Economics study last year found that AI models systematically downplayed women’s symptoms compared to men’s.

Dr Susanna Unsworth, a women’s health expert with Intimina, said: “AI lacks the clinical nuance essential in intimate health. Self-treating based on a chatbot’s guess can lead to inappropriate treatment and prolonged suffering.”

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Source: The Times, 8 March 2026

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Warning issued over ‘deeply concerning’ ads for dangerous BBLs

A warning has been issued over “deeply concerning” adverts for dangerous Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBLs) after 9 in 10 were found to be breaking the rules.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it banned ads after discovering some that suggested the potentially fatal procedures are safe, exploited people’s insecurities, or pressured individuals into making quick decisions.

The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), the body that writes the UK advertising rules, is now taking action to tackle “irresponsible” ads for non-surgical liquid BBLs and cosmetic surgery abroad, which remain widespread.

While currently legal, liquid BBLs are unregulated in the UK and can lead to serious complications, including infection, sepsis and embolism.

Surgery abroad can also involve added risks, particularly when standards of care differ from those in Britain. For some people, these procedures have had devastating consequences, including serious infections, long-term health problems and in some tragic cases, death.

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Source: The Independent, 12 March 2026

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Women receiving worse treatment for back and neck pain

Women are receiving worse treatment for back and neck pain because their experiences are not factored into “male by default” clinical guidelines in the UK, research has found.

The NHS fails to acknowledge sex-specific considerations such as pain being more common among women in its model of care for non-surgical management of chronic neck and back pain, according to research from the University of Lancashire.

A major review of clinical guidance, published in the Physical Therapy Reviews journal, found that by consistently only referring to people, individuals or patients, clinical guidance in the UK ignores the role women’s different skeleton size, hormones, experience of pregnancy or menopause can play in musculoskeletal pain. Guidelines also ignore the different biological characteristics of intersex patients.

Lauren Haworth, research associate at the University of Lancashire and lead author of the study, said that considering sex-specific biology was important to deliver personalised, equitable healthcare.

“We know that large breasts can be heavy, and without adequate support this additional weight, combined with gravity, can cause strain on a woman’s body, which may contribute towards neck and back pain,” she said.

But she added that because existing guidance doesn’t acknowledge sex-based differences, “women may still be disadvantaged simply because their biological needs differ from those of men”.

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Source: The Guardian, 11 March 2026

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NHS has lost ‘muscle memory’ on corridor care, minister says

The NHS has lost “muscle memory” about how to tackle corridor care, a health minister has said.

Karin Smyth said the problem was an “issue of clinical leadership and managerial leadership”, telling MPs she was a “strong supporter of managers… recognising what should be pretty basic and is known but doesn’t happen now”.

Ms Smyth made the comments during a Commons health and social care committee session  about corridor care on Wednesday. Last year,HSJ  revealed  that around one million accident and emergency patients had been placed on corridors or in other temporary spaces across a 12-month period.

The minister said: “I think we can’t underestimate what [is] sometimes called muscle memory loss about how to do things right.”

Last week, NHS England said trusts could “virtually eliminate” corridor care  with the right leadership, ordering executives to take personal charge of the problem.

Labour MP Danny Beales told the committee this week that the recommendations, which include executives walking corridors and senior leadership being present at discharge meetings, were “quite basic”.

Professor Tim Briggs, a surgeon and national director for clinical improvement, said: “The big thing that’s going to be required is cultural leadership change.”

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Source: HSJ, 12 March 2026

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AI could spot a quarter of breast cancers doctors miss on scans

A large study using NHS breast screening data suggests that artificial intelligence could detect a quarter of breast cancers that human specialists initially miss on mammograms, a breakthrough researchers say could mark a turning point in the battle against the disease.

Scientists say the technology could also make breast screening doctors roughly twice as effective by dramatically reducing the number of scans they need to review, potentially helping address chronic staff shortages in the NHS.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, affecting about one in eight during their lifetime. Early detection is crucial: tumours found through screening are typically easier to treat, and survival rates are far higher when the disease is caught before it spreads.

The findings, published in Nature Cancer, come from a large study analysing mammograms from about 150,000 women in the NHS breast-screening programme. In the UK system, every scan is normally reviewed independently by two trained specialists, with disputed cases referred to senior clinicians for arbitration.

Researchers examined what would happen if one of the two human readers were replaced by an AI system trained to analyse mammograms for subtle signs of cancer.

One of the most striking findings was the system’s ability to identify “interval cancers” — tumours that are not detected during screening but are diagnosed later, before the next routine mammogram after three years. In retrospective analysis, the AI flagged about a quarter of these cancers on earlier scans, where they had initially been missed.

“These cancers are very subtle,” said Susan Thomas, a researcher at Google Health, who worked on the study. “If we can increase the chances of detecting them earlier, that has the potential to make a real difference for patients.”

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Source: The Times, 10 March 2026

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Rogue cosmetic clinics fake credibility with Harley Street pop-ups

Harley Street is being used by rogue practitioners to establish pop-up cosmetic treatment clinics to trick patients into thinking they are credible, a professional standards body has revealed.

Complaints about unqualified individuals carrying out procedures at temporary offices on the Marylebone street, renowned as a centre for plastic surgery, have increased from 18 to 118 in the last five years.

The figures have been released by Save Face, a government-approved register of accredited aesthetic practitioners that also offers support to people who have undergone botched procedures.

Ashton Collins, director of Save Face, said her organisation has seen a sharp rise in people setting up pop-up clinics on Harley Street to acquire a veneer of respectability despite having no qualifications to carry out cosmetic treatments.

She explained that these treatments ranged from Botox and fillers to more dangerous procedures such as non-surgical Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs).

The rogue services are typically being advertised through social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok at bargain prices to attract clients, she added.

But in the event that treatments are botched, victims then discover their practitioner is not permanently located on Harley Street and they have nowhere to go to seek corrective procedures or financial compensation.

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Source: The Times, 9 March 2026

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Trump’s new abortion policy ‘threatens UN protections for women and LGBT+ rights’

The decision by Donald Trump's administration to extend the US policy that bars groups receiving foreign aid from promoting abortion risks weakening United Nations (UN) programmes designed to protect women and support LGBT+ people around the world, experts has warned.

The policy – branded the “promoting human flourishing in foreign assistance policy” – dramatically expands the so-called Mexico City policy, which restricts organisations receiving US funding from providing or promoting abortion services overseas.

The new rule goes much further and attaches broader ideological conditions to American foreign assistance. Organisations that receive US assistance must now ensure that none of their activities, even those funded by other governments, conflict with Washington’s positions on abortion, gender identity or diversity programmes.

The rule took effect in February and could apply to tens of billions of dollars in US foreign aid. Under the policy, non-compliance could lead to funding being withdrawn and previously disbursed money being clawed back.

Experts say the measure could have far-reaching consequences for the UN, which relies heavily on voluntary contributions from member states, including the US, historically its largest donor.

"The new human flourishing policy projects the Trump administration’s political position against gender equality through its global financial assistance", Cristal Downing, a director at the International Crisis Group said.

"This could have broad implications at the UN and elsewhere, compounding the global regression on gender equality that we have seen accelerate in the last year," she continued.

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Source: The Independent, 11 March 2026

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‘NHS doctors ignored my pleas for help after giving birth. Now I’m living with a colostomy bag’

When Rachel Cooper arrived at hospital to give birth to her son in April 2018, she had no idea she would be leaving days later with a life-changing injury.

But Ms Cooper, now 43, is one of the dozens of mothers and families who say they were harmed by poor maternity care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, one of the largest trusts in the country.

The now 43-year-old was discharged from the hospital after her vaginal labour with an untreated third-degree tear that was missed by medics.

It eventually became infected and, despite doctors claiming her symptoms were “normal”, Ms Cooper was forced to undergo surgery when her baby was just eight days old. Eight years on, she is still living with the repercussions.

She told The Independent: “The dangerous medical practices and poor treatment by staff characterised every stage of my birth journey and has had a permanent effect on my mental health. I’m not the mother to my baby that I could have been.”

Ms Cooper told her story as the government announced on Tuesday that Donna Ockenden, who chaired the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital maternity inquiry and is currently chairing the Nottingham University Hospitals maternity inquiry, will now also chair the probe into the Leeds trust.

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Source: The Independent, 11 March 2026

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Victims of mental health violence ‘left in dark under new bill’

Bereaved families and victims of mental health-related violence will continue to be “left in the dark” under planned laws which allow hospitals to withhold information about patients, charities have warned.

The victims’ commissioner has also expressed concern that the government is missing an important opportunity to redress the balance towards victims, who she said already faced barriers to getting “even the most basic information” about offenders.

The Victims and Courts Bill, being debated in the Lords, places the onus on hospital managers to decide “as they consider appropriate” how much information about mentally ill perpetrators is passed to victims and families.

In the past, victims have been distressed to discover that homicide perpetrators were released back into the community, and sometimes in close proximity, without their knowledge. The Nottingham public inquiry has shown how clinicians were reluctant to pass information to police and other authorities about a man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who killed three people in June 2023.

Julian Hendy, of the charity Hundred Families, which campaigns for transparency and awareness of mental health-related violence, said victims and their families were not often given important information such as being notified when perpetrators applied for day release.

He said that the rights and protections of victims in cases where perpetrators received hospital orders needed to be brought into line with cases where offenders were imprisoned and more information was readily available.

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Source: The Times, 10 March 2026

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Mother given wrong antibiotics died from sepsis

A young mother died from sepsis contributed to by NHS neglect after she was given the wrong antibiotics, a coroner has ruled.

Aleisha Rochester, 33, a bank cashier from Croydon, south London, died two weeks after undergoing a routine procedure to remove an abscess from her left armpit.

She had sought medical help several times for her worsening condition and been prescribed antibiotics - but not ones that could tackle the bacteria causing her infection.

Staff at St Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals also did not follow the NHS trust's own guidelines on administering antibiotics, assistant coroner Sian Reeves said. 

During an inquest in December, Reeves ruled that Rochester's death had been contributed to by neglect and she would most likely have lived if given the right antibiotics in time.

Rochester had undergone a routine day procedure at St Thomas' Hospital on 5 August 2023 to remove abscesses from her left armpit and groin but she became unwell and the wound to her left armpit became infected after 10 August, the coroner said.

After multiple GP and hospital visits, on 15 August antibiotics were prescribed "but not in line with St Helier Hospital's antimicrobial guidelines," the coroner wrote.

She added that the drugs did not provide effective coverage against a Gram-positive organism, which was the most likely pathogen causing the infection.

"Prior to selecting this combination of antibiotics, the surgical team did not consult with the hospital's microbiology team for advice."

The coroner ruled that, on 15 August, Rochester "should have been, but was not prescribed" the right antibiotics and if she had, she most likely would have survived. "Her death was contributed to by neglect," she said.

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Source: BBC News, 11 March 2026

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Streeting cancels trust-commissioned maternity review

A review commissioned by Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to investigate its perinatal mortality rate has been cancelled following an intervention by the health secretary, HSJ understands.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust decided last spring to commission the “independent” external review to look into its “higher than expected” baby death and stillbirth rates in recent years.

HSJ understands that, despite health and social care secretary Wes Streeting ordering a wider inquiry in October, the trust had, until recently, planned to press on with the initial external review.

However, several sources said that Mr Streeting has now made clear it must be scrapped, after some families raised concerns about the process last month.

Leeds families argued the trust was using the review to try to undermine the wider inquiry. They claimed LTHT was attempting to “exhaust” and “emotionally drain” bereaved families in the hope they would not participate in the wider probe.

Bereaved mothers Fiona Winser-Ramm, Amarjit Kaur Matharoo, and Lauren Caulfield, who have been campaigning for years for an independent inquiry, welcomed the decision to scrap the LTHT-commissioned review.

They said: “The government-led, full independent inquiry must run its course without interference or manipulation.

“LTHT needs to apologise to bereaved families… there should never have been engagement with patients about past cases once the independent inquiry was announced.”

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Source: HSJ, 10 March 2026

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ICB cuts an ‘absolute shitshow’, say leaders

National policymakers are “working it out as they go along”, and integrated care board staff are “on their knees” amid a confused restructure, local leaders have reported.

A Health Foundation report based on interviews with integrated care board leaders throughout last year, shared exclusively with HSJ, found they were “scathing” about the “handling and subsequent management” of the announcement of 50% cuts to staffing budgets.

ICB leaders who spoke to researchers labelled the cuts as “disgraceful”, “unprofessional”, and “an absolute shitshow”. They described surprise at “manager bashing” from government and concern that this would deter “the next generation of managers” from joining the NHS.

Leaders also described ICB colleagues as being “on their knees” and having “terrible, terrible morale”, and raised questions about the future of partnership working and ICBs as organisations. 

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Source: HSJ, 11 March 2026

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Maternity inquiry chair named in government U-turn

The health secretary has made a U-turn over who will lead an independent inquiry into "repeated maternity failures" at an NHS trust.

Wes Streeting has appointed Donna Ockenden, following a campaign by bereaved and harmed families, to lead the review into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTH) NHS Trust.

Ockenden, a senior midwife, is currently leading the maternity review at Nottingham, which is the largest of its kind, examining about 2,500 cases of harm to mothers and babies.

In January 2025 a BBC investigation revealed the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers at the Leeds trust over the past five years may have been prevented.

Streeting first announced the inquiry into the West Yorkshire trust in October 2025, saying it was required to understand what had "gone so catastrophically wrong" at the maternity units at Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital.

Days later in a BBC radio interview, Streeting announced that Ockenden would not be the chair of the Leeds review.

In February, families and MPs urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to "intervene and appoint" the senior midwife immediately to head the Leeds inquiry.

Amarjit Matharoo, whose daughter Asees was stillborn in January 2024, said it "has been a long, drawn-out, and emotionally draining process to get the assurances that this investigation will be handled with the appropriate methodology and care that it needs".

Matharoo said they were "grateful that Wes Streeting has listened carefully" and felt "very lucky" to have Ockenden appointed.

Streeting thanked families for "their openness in recent discussions" and said he was "delighted to appoint someone so trusted" by bereaved and harmed families.

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Source: BBC News, 10 March 2026

 

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'I'm in constant pain after vaginal mesh surgery'

"I walked into the hospital able-bodied and came out on crutches."

Susan McLarnon is one of thousands of women across the UK who have experienced serious complications after being given a vaginal mesh implant to treat a prolapse and urinary incontinence

She says she now lives in "constant pain" and is calling for the government to commit to a deadline for a redress scheme.

McLarnon is one of several women travelling to Downing Street later to hand a letter to the prime minister asking for "urgent action" to be taken on compensation for those harmed by pelvic mesh implants.

Some women were left in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex, after the surgery to treat incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse.

Two years ago, a major report, external called for urgent action but campaigners are still waiting.

Kath Sansom, founder of Sling The Mesh, who will be handing in the letter at Downing Street with the other women, said pelvic mesh had "stolen women's health, irreversibly ruined their quality of life, their independence, and their future".

They are calling for a timescale for a funded, government-backed compensation scheme for all women who have been harmed.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care said it is "carefully considering" the recommendations in the report and aims to provide an update in due course.

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Source: BBC News, 10 March 2026

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CEO blames group model for trusts’ collapse

Bringing two trusts together in a group led to problems with governance, accountability and the visibility of leaders, the organisations’ interim chief executive has admitted.

Hull University Teaching Hospitals and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Foundation Trust, which work together as the Humber Health Partnership, have been placed in the highest tier of national intervention due to concerns over leadership, performance and patient safety.

The two trusts formed a group in 2023 but subsequently lost their chief executive and chair after their relationship broke down.

In a report for the meeting, Lyn Simpson, who was brought in as interim chief last year, said the group model’s aim was “the right one”.

But she added: “From its inception, the group operating model evolved in practice closer to a de-facto merger than a traditional NHS group arrangement, without the accompanying clarity, simplification or maturity of governance typically required to make such models effective.

“While the original intent of the group model was to enable shared solutions, the operating model was not always systematically refined as pressures increased. Over time this has contributed to increased organisational complexity, diluted lines of accountability and reduced visible senior leadership capacity at site level.”

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Source: HSJ, 10 March 2026

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NHS England pauses new referrals for masculinising or feminising hormone treatment in under-18s

The NHS is pausing new referrals for masculinising or feminising hormone treatment for 16 and 17-year-olds after an in-depth review found there was insufficient evidence to support its continued use.

Prescriptions for hormones had been available in England for under-18s with a diagnosis of gender incongruence or dysphoria who met certain criteria.

But after the Cass review, NHS England commissioned its own review of all the available clinical evidence. That review has now concluded and found the evidence did not back the continued use of the treatment for 16 and 17-year-olds.

In her review of children’s gender care, Hilary Cass had recommended “extreme caution” in providing such treatment and a “clear clinical rationale for providing hormones at this stage rather than waiting until an individual reaches 18”.

NHS England said patients under 18 currently receiving cross-sex hormones may continue to receive treatment. However, that treatment must now be reviewed individually with clinicians.

On Monday, NHS England launched a 90-day consultation on plans to remove the treatment as a routine procedure. New referrals for the treatment will be paused during the consultation period.

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Source: The Guardian, 9 March 2026

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NHSE expects to declare victory on number one target

NHS England bosses are predicting they will get close enough to hitting 65% against the 18-week standard by March to declare victory against their main performance objective for this year, HSJ  has learned.

This would mark a significant improvement, around 2.5 percentage points, from the 61.5% for December, the most recent official data. Performance has flatlined at around this mark for the past six months.

Senior figures cautioned they still had a difficult task balancing activity and finances in the final weeks of 2025-26, but they are increasingly optimistic about success against the government’s priority NHS target.

Official figures for January, to be published on Thursday, will give a first indication of the impact of a £120m “elective sprint” funded by NHS England at late notice, for the final months of the year.

One senior national figure told HSJ it was “a tricky time with final sprints to the line on elective, urgent and emergency care, and the money. But the fact that we are still in the running for all three feels very positive and motivational”.

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Source: HSJ, 10 March 2026

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NHS orders hundreds of patients to be removed from crisis-hit hospital following string of police investigations

Hundreds of NHS patients are set to be removed from a privately-run mental health hospital following a string of allegations of patient abuse and neglect.

Health chiefs have ordered 287 inpatients to be removed from one of the sites run by St Andrew’s Healthcare after The Independent revealed it has faced several police investigations into allegations of abuse, rape and patient deaths.

The mental health hospital provider, which is a registered charity, can house more than 400 NHS patients at its Northampton site, some of whom are sent to the facility for specialist mental health care.

On Monday, NHS England issued a letter to local health chiefs ordering them to plan to move patients from the site. Patients will be transferred to other hospitals or discharged.

The letter comes after NHS England officials issued a warning to St Andrew’s Health in December 2025 over allegations of poor care.

In January, The Independent revealed St Andrew’s Healthcare had more than a dozen staff members arrested in relation to multiple police probes.

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Source: The Independent, 9 March 2026

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Trusts waiting twice the legal limit for key regulatory approval

NHS trusts are being forced to wait an average of six months for a regulatory decision on capital projects, despite the relevant legislation stating they should be completed in 8-12 weeks, HSJ  can reveal.

This is resulting in lengthy delays to urgent building repairs and the purchase of new medical equipment, as well as the potential loss of funding if work is not started by the end of the financial year for which capital budgets apply.

The NHS faces a maintenance backlog estimated at £15bn, meaning a huge number of remedial projects are now being put forward by trusts.

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Source: HSJ, 9 March 2026

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Women ‘dehumanised and diminished’ by inadequate miscarriage care

Women experiencing miscarriage are facing additional trauma and distress due to a significant lack of adequate follow-up care, a new report has revealed.

One patient described her experience as "dehumanising", while others reported feeling dismissed and traumatised by the current system.

Research by the Miscarriage Association, which underpins the report, found that nearly two-thirds of women felt their follow-up care was insufficient. Furthermore, more than four in 10 of those who sought mental health support after losing their baby did not receive it.

The new report urges immediate action to make comprehensive follow-up care a routine part of miscarriage management.

Some 65% of women in the study said they did not have adequate follow-up care, while 42% said they did not receive treatment for mental health symptoms following their miscarriage.

Many women felt they were sent home with little or no guidance, or with conflicting advice, according to the Miscarriage Association.

Some reported insensitive wording from healthcare professionals, with one woman claiming she was told her baby “had been put in the incinerator with the rest of the medical waste” whilst recovering from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.

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Source: The Independent, 9 March 2026

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Almost a third of people in England use private dentists amid NHS dental crisis

Almost a third of people in England now use private dentistry, with a sharp rise in the number of poorer households forced to pay for fillings and extractions.

The scarcity of NHS care means the proportion of people turning to private dental services jumped from 22% in 2023 to 32% late last year, the health service’s patient watchdog found.

The reliance on paid-for treatment is so significant that dental care is becoming a costly “one tier” – private-only – service for more and more people, Healthwatch England is warning.

It is concerned that the percentage of people who describe themselves as struggling financially that have used private dentistry has almost doubled in recent years from 14% to 27%.

“Our findings are a warning that for some people there’s only one-tier dental care – private,” said Rebecca Curtayne, Healthwatch England’s acting head of policy, public affairs and research. “It’s the most vulnerable people in our society who bear the brunt of the ongoing shortage of NHS dental appointments.

“Too many people on low income are being forced into private care they struggle to afford, or are going without treatment altogether. The system is failing those who need it most.”

The big shift to private dental care showed NHS dentistry “exists in name only for many people”, the Patients Association said.

“This report is yet further damning evidence on the state of NHS dentistry and this double penalty for people on low incomes demonstrates a systemic failure with real human consequences,” said Rachel Power, the association’s chief executive.

“This isn’t just about the cost of dentistry. The lack of affordable dental care harms physical health, leaves people in ongoing, sometimes agonising, pain, and can take a heavy toll on mental and emotional wellbeing.”

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Source: The Guardian, 9 March 2026

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Almost 900 excess deaths from long A&E waits in Scotland as ‘heartbreaking’ state of hospital system laid bare

Responding to analysis from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, which suggested that there were 871 deaths in Emergency Departments (EDs) associated with a 12 or more hour wait for admission, Dr Fiona Hunter, Royal College of Emergency Medicine Vice President for Scotland, said: “These harrowing figures show that something must change in the approach to fixing the crisis in our EDs.  

“Heartbreaking doesn’t cover it. Each of these 871 people may have had families and friends who would have had to face the devastating reality that their loved one died not because they were too sick to treat, but because our hospitals don’t have the capacity to look after them properly.  

“Patients enduring these long waits are often the sickest or most injured, in need of further care on a ward. But a lack of beds, driven in large part by delayed discharges, meant they had to wait in A&E – and this can go on for hours and hours.  

“Almost 900 people may have paid the ultimate price for this complete breakdown in hospital flow.  

“Last year, RCEM published figures for 2024, which suggested there were 818 excess deaths associated with 12 hour waits in EDs. Today’s figures suggest that the problem is getting worse, not better.  

“Whoever forms the next government cannot ignore this problem. The numbers speak for themselves: more people will die, who otherwise would go home to their families, if overcrowding and long waits in ED aren’t fixed. 

“Addressing the ‘back door’ blockage of hospitals must be a priority for all political parties. Only then will the needless and agonising waits, and the avoidable deaths they cause, stop.  

“These are fixable issues and we encourage all political parties to make this a priority. Lives are at stake.”  

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Source: Royal College of Emergency Medicine, 7 March 2026

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Cancer death rates hit historic new low across the UK, study shows

Cancer death rates in the UK have hit a historic new low, according to data.

The charity Cancer Research UK, which analysed the figures and shared them with the Press Association, said death rates have fallen by 11% in the last decade.

Around 247 in every 100,000 people in the UK are thought to die from cancer in any given year, which is a 29 per cent drop on the peak in 1989 (around 355 per 100,000).

The data shows that ovarian cancer death rates have fallen by 19% in the last decade (2012-2014 to 2022-2024), while stomach cancer has dropped by 34% and lung cancer by 22%.

Bowel cancer is down 6%, breast cancer by 14%, cervical cancer by 11% and leukaemia by 9%. Oesophageal cancer is also down 12%.

When it comes to cervical cancer, there has been a 75% drop in death rates since the 1970s, with the NHS cervical screening programme having a huge impact.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which is given to schoolchildren, is also driving down cervical cancers.

At least 6.5 million people have received the vaccine in the UK since it was introduced in 2008.

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Source: The Independent, 9 March 2026

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Two deaths reported to drug watchdog over potential link to weight-loss jabs

The deaths of two people in Northern Ireland potentially linked to weight-loss injections have been reported to the government agency responsible for ensuring medicines are safe.

The two cases are among more than 500 suspected adverse drug reaction reports submitted from Northern Ireland over the last two years related to GLP-1 medications.

The drugs, prescribed under names such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, are widely used across the UK for weight management and to treat diabetes.

The reports were made to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The MHRA said a report of a suspected reaction "does not necessarily mean it has been caused by the medicine, only that the reporter had a suspicion it may have".

"Underlying or concurrent illnesses may be responsible, or the events could be coincidental," it added.

The data shows that the two deaths were of a man and a woman, one who was in their 40s and the other in their 60s, although it does not specify which age category applied to which person.

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Source: BBC News, 9 March 2026

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Martha’s rule may have saved 400 lives so far in England, figures show

More than 400 lives may have been saved as a result of Martha’s rule, which lets NHS patients request a review of their care, official figures reveal.

Helplines received more than 10,000 calls in the first 16 months of the scheme after its introduction in England in 2024, according to data seen by the Guardian. Thousands of patients were either moved to intensive care, received drugs they needed or benefited from other changes as a direct result of the calls.

The system is named after Martha Mills, 13, who died in 2021 from sepsis after a bicycle accident. A coroner found she would probably have survived if she had been moved to the intensive care unit at King’s College hospital in London when she began deteriorating.

Martha’s rule helplines received 10,119 calls between September 2024 and December 2025 from patients, relatives or staff who were worried about care, the figures show. That led to 446 people receiving improvements to their care that may have saved their life.

One in three calls (3,457) identified a rapid worsening of a patient’s condition, helping raise the alarm more quickly and enable crucial interventions to be made. The NHS England data shows 1,885 patients had their treatment changed as a result.

In addition, about 6,000 calls had addressed clinical, communication or coordination concerns, which led to “meaningful improvements” in care or navigating the healthcare system for patients and their families, health officials said.

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Source: The Guardian, 8 March 2026

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