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Mackey delays two more EPR launches

NHS England has intervened to delay the roll-out of electronic patient record systems at two trusts, due to major concerns over the operational impact.

A major go-live of a Nervecentre EPR at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals, due last week, was suspended.

And roll-out of elements of Nervecentre systems at Sherwood Forest Hospitals has also been delayed, HSJ understands.

Several sources said the delays were ordered by NHSE due to the likely disruption to elective activity and emergency care. National leaders are trying to hit annual recovery targets for the end of this month.

Concerns about accident and emergency disruption heightened when Nottingham University Hospitals Trust had to declare a critical incident after it went live with Nervecentre in November. 

In the autumn, NHSE chief executive Sir Jim Mackey told trust bosses he would be making the final call on whether EPR launches would go ahead, adding a further layer of scrutiny.

At the time, a national source told HSJ: “While electronic records can have huge benefits, the reality is we as a system need to pull our fingers out, invest in the training, job planning and process re-engineering, and make sure we’re really seeing and feeling the benefit, not a productivity loss. And suppliers need to help make that true.”

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Source: HSJ, 6 March 2026

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Mackey ‘risking safety’ with tough line on strikes, says BMA

NHS England’s instruction not to cancel planned care during the upcoming resident doctors strike risks harming patient safety, the British Medical Association has warned.

In a letter to NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey, the union argued the approach was “not only causing frustration and confusion to hospital leaders, but will put patients at risk”.

But Sir Jim has told HSJ that trusts, along with NHSE, should decide what was cancelled, rather than the British Medical Association.

Sir Jim said: “I do not accept it is necessary or acceptable to take this approach. If a diagnostic or outpatient clinic, or an elective procedure, has been booked, it should go ahead unless the BMA can present a credible argument as to why it was clinically necessary, but now is not.”

The letter, from BMA council chair Tom Dolphin and deputy Emma Runswick, said: “Your decision to instruct hospitals to run non-urgent planned care stretches safe staffing far too thinly, and risks not only patient safety in urgent and emergency situations, but in planned care, too.

“It also appears designed to lead to far more late, same-day cancellations for patients. Consultants cannot safely provide elective care and cover for residents at the same time.

“We are aware that many hospital leaders are equally worried about this new change in policy from NHSE, which is starkly different from how services were planned during industrial action under the previous government, and different from all the agreements we have reached with NHSE since 2015.”

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Source: HSJ, 21 July 2025

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Machine 'could quadruple' heart and lung transplants

The number of heart and lung transplants could quadruple thanks to a "reanimation" machine used in a pioneering operation, a hospital says.

The device, developed at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, managed to pump oxygenated blood into both organs in a world-first procedure. The machine can revitalise deteriorating organs allowing "donation after circulatory death" (DCD).

Hospital surgeon Pedro Catarino said it was like "recharging the batteries".

"It is reanimation and then it replenishes the energy stores of the heart, what we call reconditioning, which allows it be transplanted," he said. "We think it could at least double and perhaps quadruple the number of [heart and lungs] available for transplant."

He said it was desperately needed, adding: "Patients die on the waiting list every day."

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Source: BBC News, 23 March 2020

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Lying in agony in urine-soaked sheets: the horrific reality of patient life on an NHS ward

Left in agonising pain, with staff ignoring his cries for help, Martin Wild called 999 from his hospital bed, desperate for someone to get him the medication he needed.

This was just the beginning of the 73-year-old’s “nightmare” experience at the hands of Salford Royal Hospital.

Over nearly five months, the former car salesman says he was subjected to prolonged periods of neglect, including being left to lie in urine-soaked sheets, pleading for medication.

He lost so much weight that, according to his wife, he became skin and bone. One staff member involved in his care said they’d never seen a hospital patient neglected to such a serious degree.

Mr Wild told The Independent that his time at Salford Royal Hospital has shattered his belief in the NHS and that he believes it is not fit for purpose.

“It was a nightmare in that ward. I didn’t feel like there was much caring going on,” he said.

“I used to lie there at night; I could hear people shouting and screaming for help. It was like being in the third world.”

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Source: The Independent, 24 February 2024

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Lung disease patients waiting up to 10 years for diagnosis in poorer areas of England

Ministers are being urged to roll out a better testing regime for one of the country’s biggest killers, with the most recent figures showing death rates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease more than three times higher in some of the most deprived areas of the country.

More than 20,000 people a year in England die from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The most significant cause of COPD is smoking, but a significant proportion of cases are work-related, triggered by exposure to fumes, chemicals and dust at work.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that death rates from the disease are significantly higher in more deprived areas of the country.

The NHS is rolling out targeted lung screening across England for people aged between 55 and 74 who are current or former smokers. The charity Asthma + Lung UK says the checks will identify many people who may have COPD, but there is no established protocol for them to be diagnosed and given appropriate treatment and support.

Dr Samantha Walker, interim chief executive at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “Once targeted lung health checks are fully rolled out, millions of people could be told they have an incurable lung disease like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but they won’t be given a firm diagnosis or signposted to the right support, which is simply unacceptable.

“What we need to see is a national referral pathway in place for those people who show signs of having other lung conditions as part of this screening process to ensure that people with all suspected lung conditions get the diagnosis and treatments that they deserve. We know that people with lung disease will live better, fuller lives with an earlier diagnosis.”

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Source: The Guardian, 24 March 2024

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Lung cancer tests urged for ex-smokers over 55

Lung cancer screening should be offered to over-55s who have smoked, government advisers have said.

New guidance from the UK National Screening Committee has called for a mass introduction of checks for all present and former smokers between the ages of 55 and 74. While the NHS offers routine screening for other types of cancer, including breast, bowel and cervical, there is no lung cancer screening programme.

Lung cancer is the UK’s deadliest form and every year 48,000 people are diagnosed, with 35,000 deaths. The death rate is so high because it is often spotted when symptoms develop and it is too late for treatment. Only 5% of those diagnosed with lung cancer at the latest stage survive for five years, but when picked up early more than half survive.

Officials have recommended targeted screening to cut death rates. It involves a CT scan which takes a detailed picture of the lungs to look for abnormalities.

The National Screening Committee said that targeting all of those who have smoked would reduce deaths because 70% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking.

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Source: The Times, 30 September 2022

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Lung cancer diagnoses of UK women to outnumber men’s for first time

The number of women diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK is expected to overtake men this year for the first time, according to projections that have prompted calls for women to be as vigilant about the disease as they are about breast cancer.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for one in five of the total. It has one of the worst cancer survival rates, which is largely attributed to diagnoses at a late stage, when treatment is less likely to be effective.

Analysis by Cancer Research UK for the Guardian suggests women will overtake men for lung cancer diagnoses in 2022-24. The projections suggest that this year, female cases will eclipse male cases for the first time, with 27,332 and 27,172 cases respectively.

Cancer experts said the “very stark” figures reflected historical differences in smoking prevalence, specifically that smoking rates peaked much earlier in men than women. Women should now be as alert to potential lung cancer signs as they were about checking for lumps in their breasts, they said.

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Source: The Guardian, 5 July 2023

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Lunchtime cancer checks to save thousands of lives

Thousands of lives a year could be saved by providing cancer screening in supermarkets and other convenient locations so people can go in their lunch breaks, a report has suggested.

Sir Mike Richards, the NHS’s first cancer director, was asked to review national screening programmes and suggest how to improve early detection rates. The Report of The Independent Review of Adult Screening Programme in England, released yesterday, recommends that people “should be able to choose appointments at doctors’ surgeries, health centres or locations close to their work during lunchtime or other breaks rather than having to attend their GP practice”.

It adds: “Local screening services should put on extra evening and weekend appointments for breast, cervical and other cancer checks. And as people lead increasingly busy lives, local NHS areas should look at ways that they can provide appointments at locations that are easier to access.”

Sir Mike said that screening programmes save 10,000 lives per year but added: “Yet we know that they are far from realising their full potential. We need to make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to attend these important appointments.”

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Source: The Times, 16 October 2019

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Lucy Letby’s hospital slammed for A&E failings over ‘unsafe’ corridor care that left elderly patients delirious

Lucy Letby’s hospital trust has been slammed for a string of emergency care failings, including unsafe corridor care that led to elderly patients developing delirium.

The Countess of Chester Hosptial, where Lucy Letby worked and was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others, was criticised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over delays in the care of sepsis patients, as well as elderly patients who were left for so long that they developed “corridor-induced delirium”.

The hospital was also criticised for having “visibly dirty equipment” and out-of-date medical devices, including some with damaged wires hanging out.

The watchdog has handed the trust a formal warning notice over the failures identified after the CQC’s inspection in February 2025. Concerns included:

  • Mental health patients being left with staff who were sleeping or on their phones.
  • Patients with fractured hips are forced to sit in wheelchairs when they should have had beds.
  • Inspectors found 59 incidents of delays to providing sepsis treatment, 44 of which were because the trust failed to take patients from ambulances quickly enough.
  • Evidence that “long stays on the corridor” and the deterioration of patients because of this was “normalised”.

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Source: The Independent, 8 August 2025

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Lucy Letby’s conviction leaves nurses ‘terrified’ to continue working for NHS

Ae group of registered and retired nurses, plus other healthcare and medical professionals have written an open letter to Sir Keir Starmer, warning that the Lucy Letby case has left them “terrified” to continue working in the NHS in case they are wrongly blamed for deaths in their care.

The group of 19 nurses argued that the recent convictions of Letby had “implications” for the nursing profession.

They have called for the Government to establish a royal commission to conduct a forensic examination of the evidence presented in the case.

In August last year, Letby was convicted of the murders of seven babies and the attempted murders of six other infants at the Countess of Chester Hospital. A retrial in July found her guilty of the attempted murder of another child.

But several scientists and doctors have since questioned the evidence, and there are concerns that not enough weight was given in the trial to levels of understaffing, poor practice and cramped conditions in the baby unit.

The letter says: “All of us are worried that this conviction is unsafe, and as a result we and many of our colleagues are now terrified to continue working in the NHS as we believe that next time it could be one of us who blamed for a failing system.

“We believe that flawed and unreliable scientific evidence was used to convict Ms Letby, and this is having a huge impact on the nursing profession.”

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Source: The Telegraph, 26 August 2024

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Lucy Letby: police and CPS handling of case raises new concerns about convictions

When the public inquiry into the crimes of the former nurse Lucy Letby opened in Liverpool last month its chair, Lady Justice Thirlwall, dismissed concerns about the safety of the convictions as “noise”. The judge cautioned that questions being raised were increasing the distress of parents whose children had died or been harmed.

Letby was found guilty across two trials of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester hospital (COCH) in 2015 and 2016. Thirlwall pointed out that in May this year, the court of appeal refused Letby permission to appeal, and she said it was not the role of her inquiry to review the convictions.

Yet questions about the case, and the number of experts raising them, have continued to mount. Letby is being represented by a new barrister, Mark McDonald, and a number of specialists including leading neonatologists – doctors who specialise in treating premature babies – are voluntarily working with him on an application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Having examined the detail, these experts consider there are more plausible alternative causes of the babies’ deaths and collapses than those for which Letby was convicted.

The Guardian looks at the key concerns about the case.

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Source: The Guardian, 10 October 2024

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Lucy Letby: NHS could face record compensation bill of more than £60m

The NHS could face a record compensation bill of more than £60m from civil claims lodged by the families of Lucy Letby’s victims, experts have said.

Parents whose babies have disabilities caused by Letby’s attacks at the Countess of Chester hospital could each expect to receive a payout of more than £10m to fund their future care.

Compensation paid by the NHS to parents whose babies died or were left with disabilities as a result of care at Shrewsbury hospital in Britain’s largest maternity scandal reportedly amounted to almost £50m. In a separate case, the health service had to pay £37m to a boy who was left brain damaged at birth.

Stephen Jones, the head of Leigh Day’s medical negligence team in Manchester, said the trust could argue that by committing the offences, Letby breached the employer-employee relationship to an extent such that it was not responsible for her. But he added: “I think there would be outrage that the trust wouldn’t accept responsibility for babies in their care.” He said compensation could run into eight figures for a family whose baby was severely injured and had a long life expectancy.

Emma Wray, a partner in Hodge Jones & Allen’s medical negligence department, suggested the NHS could set up a scheme for victims, as it has done with other scandals, to make claiming compensation easier.

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Source: The Guardian, 23 August 2023

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Lucy Letby: Inquiry given powers to compel witnesses to give evidence

The inquiry into how nurse Lucy Letby was able to murder seven babies will now have greater powers to compel witnesses to give evidence.

In a significant move, ministers upgraded the independent inquiry after criticism from families of the victims that it did not go far enough.

The inquiry, ordered after Letby was found guilty this month, was not initially given full statutory powers.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he had listened to the families.

He said he had decided a statutory inquiry led by a judge was the best way forward and "respects the wishes" of the families.

Mr Barclay said the key advantage was the power of compulsion.

"My priority is to ensure the families get the answers they deserve and people are held to account where they need to be," he added.

He said an announcement about who would chair the inquiry would be made in the coming days - ministers have already said it will be a judge.

Richard Scorer, a lawyer who is representing two of the families, welcomed the government's announcement.

"It is essential that the chair has the powers to compel witnesses to give evidence under oath, and to force disclosure of documents. Without these powers, the inquiry would have been ineffectual and our clients would have been deprived of the answers they need and deserve," he said.

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Source: BBC News, 30 August 2023

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Lucy Letby: Experts tell BBC about medical evidence concerns

Senior doctors and scientists have told the BBC they have concerns about how crucial evidence was presented to the jury at Lucy Letby's trials.

The BBC’s File on 4 has examined how expert witnesses helped to build the case against the former nurse.

The programme raises concerns about how courts grapple with cases of significant medical complexity - with the juries in Letby’s two trials presented with huge amounts of complicated medical evidence relating to each child.

The experts who spoke to the BBC raise questions about the amount of insulin she needed to harm babies in her care, the health condition of one of the babies she was convicted of murdering, and pathology findings presented to the jury.

A public inquiry is under way to establish how Letby was able to murder and injure babies. At its opening Lady Justice Thirlwall was scathing about those who have questioned the verdicts, saying this was causing “enormous additional distress to the parents”.

Last month some of the families of the babies gave evidence at the inquiry.

Each of the experts interviewed by File on 4 acknowledge how difficult it must be for the families to hear doubts raised about the trials. However, they say they feel so strongly about the evidence they felt compelled to speak out.

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Source: BBC News, 1 October 2024

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Lucy Letby: Corporate manslaughter probe at Chester hospital

Police are investigating possible corporate manslaughter at the hospital where serial killer Lucy Letby worked.

The former nurse, 33, was jailed in August for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Cheshire Police said the latest investigation was in its early stages.

Lawyers representing some of the victims' families said they were "reassured" steps were being taken to consider the actions of management.

Organisations and companies can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care under The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

Det Supt Simon Blackwell, of Cheshire Police, said the inquiry would focus on the indictment period of the charges for Letby from June 2015 to June 2016.

He said the investigation would consider areas "including senior leadership and decision making to determine whether any criminality has taken place".

"At this stage we are not investigating any individuals in relation to gross negligence manslaughter," he added.

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Source: BBC News, 4 October 2023

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Lucy Letby was ‘constant malevolent’ presence on neonatal ward, court hears

A nurse murdered seven babies and attempted to kill 10 others by poisoning them on a hospital neonatal unit where she was a “constant malevolent presence”, a court has heard.

Lucy Letby, 32, fatally injected newborns with insulin, air or milk during night shifts when she knew their parents would not be present, a jury was told.

One of the babies was just 24 hours old when Letby allegedly injected him with air, killing him just 90 minutes after she came on shift. The nurse tried to kill his twin sister the next day, it is alleged.

The court was told that Letby, who was trained to care for the most seriously ill babies, developed an “unusual interest” in the parents of some of her 17 alleged victims and in some cases tracked them on Facebook.

Jurors were told that she was the only “common denominator” that connected the deaths of seven infants and the “catastrophic” collapses of 10 others at the Countess of Chester hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. She allegedly tried to kill some babies more than once – in one case, three times – using various methods.

Nick Johnson KC, prosecuting, told the jury: “We say the collapses and deaths of the 17 children named on the indictment were not normally occurring tragedies. They were all the work, we say, of the woman in the dock who we say was a constant malevolent presence when things took a turn for the worse for these children.”

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Source: The Guardian, 10 October 2022

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Lucy Letby trial: Nurse used syringe to force milk and air into baby, court is told

Lucy Letby used a plunger to force milk and air into one of the babies she is accused of attempting to murder, a medical expert has told a court.

The alleged attack caused the infant’s stomach to distend to such a degree that she then projectile vomited a “massive” amount of milk so violently that the material left her cot and splashed over a chair several feet away.

Staff at the Countess of Chester Hospital managed to save Baby G’s life but the incident was so catastrophic that it caused the child severe brain damage. Seven years later she still suffers from quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

Dr Dewi Evans, a consultant paediatrician called in by the prosecution, said the use of a plunger on the end of a syringe was the only explanation for the baby’s sudden collapse in the early hours of 7 September 7 2015.

Letby, 32, of Hereford, is accused of murdering seven children in the neonatal unit of the hospital in Cheshire, and of ten attempted murders, between June 2015 and June 2016. She denies all the charges.

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Source: The Times, 13 December 2022

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Lucy Letby sentenced to 15th whole life term

Former nurse Lucy Letby has been sentenced to another whole life term for trying to kill a premature baby girl.

The 34-year-old is already in jail for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

On Tuesday, she was found guilty of trying to murder another girl, known as Baby K, following a retrial.

Letby had refused to go up to the dock to be sentenced to 14 whole life terms last August, but was in the dock earlier to be handed her 15th.

Her original murder trial jury acquitted her of two counts of attempted murder, and there were six further charges on which jurors could not decide, including that concerning Baby K.

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Source: BBC News, 5 July 2024

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Lucy Letby inquiry set to begin amid continued doubts over convictions and a fresh attempt at appeal

 The public inquiry into what happened when Lucy Letby murdered seven babies at a hospital starts this week amid a growing debate on the evidence used to convict the nurse.

Letby was sentenced to 15 whole life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital following two trials.

On Tuesday, an independent statutory inquiry, called the Thirlwall Inquiry, begins to specifically explore what happened at the time of the crimes.

It begins, however, at a time of growing debate around scientific evidence used to convict Letby, 34, which has led to questions over whether the hearings should take place.

In a letter to ministers last month, a group of 24 neonatal experts said they feared a narrow scope for the inquiry based on Letby’s convictions could lead to “a failure in understanding and examining alternative, potentially complex causes for the deaths, thus missing important lessons”.

The terms of reference for the inquiry are the experience of the hospital for the parents of the babies, the conduct of those working at the hospital over the Letby and the effectiveness of NHS management across the country.

However, the concerns raised by some over Letby’s convictions have impacted the families of the babies.

Tamlin Bolton, who represents the families of six victims, said: “I can’t stress enough how upsetting that has been for all of the families that I represent.

“And they have thought about so many ways in which they can try to address that and deal with it and make sure they put their voice across. But of course they’re restricted by wanting to keep themselves confidential and private.”

She said it was important to highlight that this week’s inquiry was focussed on the “duty of candour” between patients and hospitals, rather than the criminal convictions “which are final”.

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Source: The Independent, 9 September 2024

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Lucy Letby case expert witness was under fitness to practise investigation during trial

A doctor who gave crucial expert evidence about insulin poisoning for the prosecution of the nurse Lucy Letby was under investigation by the medical regulator at the time due to serious concerns about his fitness to practise.

The General Medical Council (GMC) opened an investigation into concerns about Prof Peter Hindmarsh, including that he had harmed patients, on the first day he gave evidence at Letby’s trial in late 2022.

The GMC investigation was still continuing when Hindmarsh gave evidence for a second time at the Letby trial three months later. Great Ormond Street hospital reported Hindmarsh to the GMC after a formal investigation led by his main employer, University College London hospitals trust (UCLH).

The jury in the trial of the nurse, who was convicted of murdering babies in the Countess of Chester hospital’s neonatal unit, was never informed about any investigation into Hindmarsh, one of the prosecution’s key witnesses.

While the GMC conducted its investigation, and during some of the period when Hindmarsh gave evidence, a medical tribunal ordered severe restrictions on his work, saying that he “may pose a real risk” to members of the public. The tribunal also considered the allegations about Hindmarsh “may have the potential to impact on his ability to act as an expert witness”.

Nevertheless, the tribunal permitted him to continue giving expert evidence for the prosecution of Letby. The Crown Prosecution Service told the defence it would oppose any attempt to inform the jury of the GMC investigation, on the basis that the allegations had not reached a final adjudication.

Ultimately the GMC investigation was never concluded, because Hindmarsh removed himself from the GMC register, a process known as “voluntary erasure”. That effectively ended the investigation, and there was no regulatory finding against him.

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Source: The Guardian, 3 March 2026

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Lucian Leape, whose work spurred patient safety in medicine, dies at 94

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the IHI Lucian Leape Institute (LLI) honour the life and legacy of patient safety luminary Lucian Leape, MD who has died at the age of 94.

A giant in health care, Dr. Leape is widely considered the parent of the modern patient safety movement. His participation in the landmark Harvard Medical Practice Study in the 1980s, and the subsequent publication of its findings in 1991, helped establish the field of patient safety. He and his colleagues pulled back the curtain on the true scope of adverse events and preventable error in health care. Dr. Leape devoted four decades of his life and career to raising awareness of the magnitude of preventable medical harm, and more importantly, building communities and mechanisms for action to eliminate harm to patients and the workforce.

Dr. Leape also left his mark as a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Quality of Health Care in America Committee, which published the seminal works in the patient safety movement, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001). He was the founding chairman of the LLI, which was formed in 2007 by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF, which merged with IHI in 2017) to provide a strategic vision for improving patient safety. He was an active member of the think tank bearing his name through the remainder of his life.

Lucian Leape was both a literal and figurative tower of courage and transparency who challenged healthcare’s status quo acceptance that harm to patients was an acceptable, collateral consequence of healthcare. He eschewed the notion that safety should primarily depend on, or be blamed on, individuals who provide direct patient care. Instead, under his direction, the LLI pursued five transforming, yet under addressed system-level concepts deemed essential for safety including medical education reform, accelerating care integration, workforce safety and joy and meaning in work, partnering with patients, and transparency.

Lucian’s spirit and influence live on in the continued work of the LLI, the IHI, and the countless individuals and institutions that relentlessly pursue safe, person-centered care delivered in psychologically safe, fair and just, and respectful environments. His groundbreaking insights illuminated pathways to healing broken systems, harvesting the best of leaders and the workforce, and ensuring the centeredness of patients first amid the complexity of health care. While we mourn the loss of a remarkable mentor, colleague, and friend, we celebrate the gift of his life and career. His indelible influence will continue to shape our commitment to patient safety for generations.

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Source: Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2 July 2025

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Low staffing during pandemic harmed US nursing home residents, House panel says

A special House panel investigating America's response to the coronavirus pandemic said it has found anecdotal evidence of understaffing at nursing homes that led to patient neglect and harm.

At a hearing Wednesday, the select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis plans to discuss some of its findings, including how large nursing home chains reacted to complaints from staff and families.

“Many nursing home facilities were severely understaffed during the early months of the pandemic, leading to deficient care, neglect, and negative health outcomes for residents,” the committee reported Wednesday in a news release in advance of the hearing.

President Biden earlier this year instructed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS] to develop minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. By highlighting problems during the pandemic, the House hearing on Wednesday increases pressure on nursing homes and the Biden administration as that work by CMS continues. The agency said recently it plans to study staffing levels through the winter.

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Source: The Washington Post, 21 September 2022

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Low participation in medical trials puts millions of young people at risk

Millions of young people risk missing out on new treatments for health conditions and having to use medicines that are unsafe, ineffective or inappropriate because so few take part in medical research, experts have warned.

Data analysis by the Guardian reveals that members of gen Z – those born between the late 1990s and the early 2000s – are significantly underrepresented in clinical trials and health studies.

People aged 18 to 24 make up 8% of England’s population, but only 4.4% of those taking part in medical research.

Though less affected by life-threatening conditions such as cancer and heart disease, young adults still experience a significant burden of disease. Almost half – 45% – of those aged 24 or under have a long-term physical or mental health condition.

Experts said the lack of young people participating in research would have a serious impact on their physical and mental health for decades unless urgent action was taken to reverse the trend.

Kirsty Blenkins, the deputy chief executive of the Association for Young People’s Health, said adults aged 24 and under faced “a distinct set of health challenges” that were often “shaped by major life transitions, social pressures and inequalities” that impacted their physical and mental wellbeing.

Their absence from clinical and health research projects had serious implications, she added.

“Treatments and interventions may be designed and tested primarily on older adults, which means they may not always be safe, effective, or appropriate for younger populations. This can lead to poorer health outcomes, delayed diagnosis, and reduced trust or engagement with healthcare systems.”

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Source: The Guardian, 20 October 2025

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Low child vaccine uptake sees tipping-point warning

The UK is at a "tipping point", with low uptake of routine vaccinations putting children at risk of catching severe diseases, health officials say.

Stalling vaccination rates against some diseases, such as whooping cough and measles, means population immunity is no longer high enough to stop outbreaks.

Latest figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), for January-March, show a small increase in some vaccinations, including a 0.3% rise in pre-school booster jabs given to under-fives.

But targets are still being missed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) target is for 95% of under-fives to be vaccinated.

And for the six-in-one jab - against whooping cough, polio and tetanus - and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine this was exceeded in Scotland and Wales.

But for the UK as a whole only 91.5% of under-twos had received the six-in-one jab - and among the whole under-five age group, the proportion was just 84.5%.

he UK's vaccine committee head, paediatrician Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, is "really worried" by the recent rise in whooping, or "100-day", cough, also known as pertussis, which can be particularly serious for babies and infants.

"We've already seen some deaths from the most recent outbreak," He told BBC News.

"We're really at a tipping point, where there's a real risk for more children getting seriously ill or [dying] from diseases we can prevent."

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Source: BBC News, 25 June 2024

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Loved ones remembered on fifth anniversary of start of Covid

Former Children's Laureate Michael Rosen said that "a shadow passed over us" and recited a moving poem of Covid pandemic memories to mark the fifth anniversary since the outbreak of the deadly virus.

Emotional scenes played out across the UK on Sunday as the bereaved and their communities hosted hundreds of events to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the pandemic in a day of reflection.

Rosen, 78, was rushed to hospital with Covid and put into an induced coma in intensive care in March 2020.

Speaking at a memorial event in Staffordshire, the poet said "thanks to the expertise and care I received, I came through, but I look back over my shoulder and think of those who didn't".

The annual day is one of the recommendations set out by the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration, external.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: "As we mark five years since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, I know for many there is deep grief and loss that may never be relieved."

In London, sobbing could be heard as bereaved relatives, led by a Highland piper, joined well wishers to walk beside the National Covid Memorial Wall.

They passed 3,000 photographs of the faces of some of those who died, which represents just over 1% of the total death toll from Covid in the UK, organisers said.

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Source: BBC News, 8 March 2025

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