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The underdiagnosed and undertreated condition putting women’s health at risk

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal imbalance that affects ovaries, periods and fertility in about one in 10 Canadian women.

Different from ovarian cysts, PCOS is associated with infertility, pregnancy complications, heart disease and a general decreased quality of life, and yet fewer than half of those affected even know they have it.

This under-recognition and under-diagnosis is a significant problem, because a recent Canadian study suggests these women are 20 to 40 per cent more likely to experience negative health outcomes during their lifetime than the general population, including hypertension (high blood pressure), kidney disease, gastrointestinal disease, eating disorders, depression and anxiety.

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Source: Independent, 24 December 2025

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UK medical regulator warns against buying weight-loss jabs from social media channels

Losing weight may be a common new year resolution but health experts have warned against buying medications for such purposes from social media sellers or other illegitimate channels.

Jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro have become hugely popular for weight loss, with trials suggesting the latter can help people lose an average of 20% of their body weight after 72 weeks of treatment.

However, with demand high, access on the NHS limited, a prescription required and a hefty price tag attached, the black market for such medications is booming.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a fresh warning to those planning to use weight-loss medications, stressing the importance of only buying them from registered UK pharmacies or legitimate retailers.

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Source: Guardian, 29 December 2025

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A&Es in ‘big trouble’ because of ‘normalised’ corridor care, says leading UK medic

Emergency departments across the UK are “in big trouble” owing to the way corridor care has been “normalised”, a leading medic has warned.

Dr Ian Higginson, the president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said there should be “howls of outrage” over deaths linked to long emergency department waits, with just a few hospitals around the UK managing to avoid caring for patients on trolleys in corridors.

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Source: Guardian, 30 December 2025

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Hospitals warned end-of-life care crisis threatening treatment

A rising number of end-of-life patients in hospitals could affect the level of treatment carried out this winter, a group of regional NHS leaders have been told.

A consultant in palliative care highlighted the impending "crisis" during an online internal meeting of health leaders in Sussex, a recording of which has been heard by the BBC.

The consultant at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust described dilemmas facing hospital managers when some patients are having to be given end-of-life care in A&E corridors.

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Source: BBC, 29 December 2025

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Trust spent £5m on patient death case

North East London Foundation Trust paid out more than £4.8m over a period of seven years on the legal case relating to the death by suicide of mental health inpatient Alice Figueiredo. The 22-year-old died on a NELFT ward in 2015.

This figure includes £4m paid to law firm Kennedys Law between April 2018 and November 2025. The trust was also fined £565,000 and ordered to pay £200,000 of prosecution costs after it was found guilty in June of failing to ensure Ms Figueiredo’s health and safety.

Benjamin Aninakwa, a ward manager at the trust, was also found guilty of failing to take reasonable care for the health and safety of patients on the ward. 

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Source: HSJ, 23 December 2025

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People in poorest areas of England ‘more likely to need emergency care for lung conditions’

People from the poorest backgrounds in England with serious lung conditions are more likely to be admitted to hospital for emergency care than their more affluent counterparts, according to research.

Analysis of NHS admissions data for November by Asthma + Lung UK found people from the most deprived backgrounds in England were 56% more likely to be admitted for emergency care, while 62% were more likely to be readmitted within 39 days of an emergency admission, which is linked with an increased chance of dying.

The research also found that people in deprived areas were almost twice as likely to be admitted to hospital for a respiratory condition.

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Source: Guardian, 23 December 2025

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Resident doctor pay talks to continue over Christmas as strike looms (Scotland)

The Scottish government has said it will continue negotiating pay with resident doctors over Christmas in order to avoid a strike in the new year.

On Friday, medics voted in favour of a four-day strike, in what could the first national walkout staged by NHS workers in Scotland.

Having met BMA Scotland representatives earlier, Health Secretary Neil Gray told BBC Scotland he was "going to look at what compromises can be made" in the coming weeks.

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Source: BBC News, 22 December 2025

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Keir Starmer urged to protect HIV funding for once-in-a-generation opportunity to end Aids

A coalition of leading charities, advocates and MPs has backed a letter from the editor-in-chief of The Independent, Geordie Greig, urging Sir Keir Starmer to protect UK funding for the global HIV response – or risk missing “the incredible opportunity to end the Aids pandemic within the next few years”.

In 2024, the world was on track to end the pandemic by 2030, but devastating aid cuts from rich countries this year, including the UK and the US, have thrown this prospect into doubt.

The Elton John Aids Foundation, the National Aids Trust, Medecins Sans Frontieres and the STOPAids coalition are among the groups backing The Independent’s call for funding to be protected.

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Source: Independent, 22 December 2025

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Mum urges heart screening after son's sudden death

"The police told me it was a sudden death - the worst knock on the door that any parent dreads."

Sue Carter's son Ryan died in 2019 from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), external, a condition which claims the lives of about 500 people in the UK every year.

The 25-year-old, from Totton, Hampshire, was a "very bright, fit and healthy young man" but, when his girlfriend found him unresponsive one afternoon, "nothing could bring him back" despite medical help, said his mum.

Ms Carter has raised £25,000 so far to fund heart screening days for young people in the area and Sunday's Totton Running Club annual fundraiser for cardiac risk in the young will also remember her son.

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Source: BBC News, 21 December 2025

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Death rates rise when NHS cuts back on nursing

Hospitals which have cut registered nurses or replaced them with lower-paid staff have seen a surge in death rates, a major study has revealed.
The research, which analysed staffing at 122 NHS trusts over four years, revealed dangerous variations.

Nicola Ranger, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said it proved degree-educated registered nurses were essential to patients’ safety and she called for NHS England to investigate trusts where deaths had risen. She demanded the government boost nurses’ pay and career progression, warning “the clock is ticking” for ministers to act.

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Source: The Times, 20 December 2025

 
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Epidural kit shortage could last until March, regulator says

A shortage of epidural kits in the UK is expected to last until at least March, the government's medicines regulator has warned.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told healthcare providers in a patient safety alert earlier this month that the shortage followed manufacturing issues concerning epidural bags.

Hospitals are being sent substitutes bags for the pain relief drug given to women in labour, while the Royal College of Anaesthetists is working with the NHS to advise hospitals on how to manage the situation.

Medical staff have expressed concern about these plans, the BBC understands, though the NHS said women "should come forward for care as usual".

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Source: BBC, 21 December 2025

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Young care leavers in England to get free prescriptions, dental and eye services

Young people leaving care in England will receive free prescriptions, and dental and eye services up to their 25th birthday, the government has said.

A pilot to trial paid internships for care leavers in the NHS and a guaranteed interview scheme for NHS roles also forms part of a package of measures announced by the Department of Health and Social Care.

A separate three-year pilot aims to improve access to mental health support for children in care, the DHSC said.

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Source: Guardian, 23 December 2025 

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Government refuses move to force industry to disclose payments

The government has rejected calls for legislation requiring industry to disclose its payments to the healthcare sector, five years after a major review said statutory rules should be introduced.

It will produce guidance for both the pharmaceutical and medical devices industries instead, it has announced in a new consultation outcome document. This will set out which payments should be reported, as well as the format and frequency of the reporting.

This was one of the recommendations from the 2020 Cumberlege Review, which investigated three women’s health scandals. It found transparency of payments in the healthcare sector was needed to guard against both real and perceived conflicts of interest. There was concern that such conflicts could be encouraging the use of unsafe devices and practices.

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Source: Health Service Journal, 19 December 2025

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Trust takes control of ‘toxic’ service at ‘under siege’ neighbour

A small hospital’s general surgery service is being taken over by a neighbour, after a review found “unacceptable” care standards and reported concerns about a “toxic culture”.

The Royal College of Surgeons review, published today, said staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (QEHKL) Foundation Trust service also reported a “real disconnect between [the trust’s] senior management and the ground”.

In response, the trust has said the QEHKL service will now be overseen by Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals FT’s general surgery team, under “mandated support arrangements in preparation for establishing a shared service”.

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Source: Health Service Journal, 18 December 2025

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Long waits and ‘unacceptable’ lack of data at NHS gender clinics in England, review finds

Doctors treating vulnerable patients with gender dysphoria have no way of assessing whether the NHS treatment provided has worked because outcomes are not systematically recorded, a damning official inquiry into the clinics has found.

Waiting times for a first appointment at NHS adult gender dysphoria clinics (GDCs) in England are projected to reach 15 years unless there are improvements, the review found. The number of people seeking treatment is rising significantly and on average patients are already waiting five years and seven months for a first assessment.

The review conducted by Dr David Levy, an NHS medical director and cancer specialist, was commissioned after last year’s Cass report on gender care for children and young people.

His report found that the clinics’ failure to study outcomes for their patients made it impossible to judge the safety of these services. Long waiting lists were also leading to safety issues, driving people to self-source hormone drugs from high-risk online providers abroad.

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Source: The Guardian, 18 December 2025.

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Lack of shared patient records linked to mother’s death

The lack of a single patient record across a system led to failures in information sharing, which contributed to a mother’s death, a coroner has concluded.

According to a Prevention of Future Deaths notice, providers across Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board involved in the care of Hannah Booth, who died by suicide in January 2025, did not have the “whole picture” of her mental health deterioration because electronic systems used by different services did not share data.

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Source: Health Service Journal, 19 December 2025

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Leaked report reveals culture of bullying and harassment at scandal-hit NHS hospital

A culture of systemic bullying and harassment has been allowed to flourish among staff at one England’s most scandal-hit hospitals, a damning leaked report reveals.

The safety of patients at Blackpool Victoria hospital was affected as a result of the failings, the report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) found.

The report was provided to leaders at the Blackpool teaching hospitals NHS trust in January but its findings were not shared widely with staff until 10 months later, prompting concerns that employees’ ability to take urgent action on its 19 recommendations was compromised.

Staff who spoke to the RCP inquiry team said that excessive workloads were handed to inexperienced doctors, leaving them fatigued and stressed while treating patients. They described a “keeping your head down culture” where their concerns were inadequately addressed. Consultants said that there was “systemic bullying, harassment and racial discrimination among staff”.

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Source: The Guardian, 3 December 2025

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Large Language Models hallucinate when removing patient info from EPR, finds study

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools sometimes produce hallucinations when asked to remove personal patient information from electronic patient records (EPRs), a study has found.

Researchers from the University of Oxford evaluated the ability of large language models (LLMs) and purpose-built software tools to detect and remove patient names, dates, medical record numbers, and other identifiers from real-world records, without altering clinical content.

The study, published by iScience on 9 December 2025, found that smaller LLMs frequently over-redacted or produced hallucinatory content, in which erroneous text not present in the original record was shown, or occasionally introducing fabricated medical details.

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Source: Digital Health, 18 December 2025.

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Staff left suicidal by ‘punitive’ and drawn-out HR investigations

Investigations into workplace conflict and alleged misconduct are frequently being used as punishment across the NHS, leaving staff feeling suicidal and alienated, according to findings shared with Health Service Journal.

Failings in probes carried out by NHS employers internally, and commissioned from external companies, are exposed in Investigating the Investigators, a report by workforce culture expert Roger Kline.

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Source: Health Service Journal, 17 December 2025

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NHSE cracks down on ‘variable’ testing after C difficile rise

NHS England is introducing new infection diagnosis standards, which experts told Health Service Journal reflected a “real concern” about variation between providers.

A draft document on proposed changes to the NHS Standard Contract 2026-27 says adherence to national guidance on diarrhoea sampling and testing for C difficile was currently “variable” across providers, while NHSE has also warned about variation in service delivery and outcomes for blood culture pathways.

It comes amid national concern over the rising numbers of infections caused by C difficile, a type of bacteria which can cause diarrhoea, with cases reaching a 13-year high in 2024 and experts warning they could rise again.

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Source: Health Service Journal, 18 December 2025

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Patients left stranded and forced to take public transport to hospital appointments

Patients with mobility issues have been left stranded with no way of getting to and from their hospital appointments, according to a review.

Every weekday, more than 20,000 people use NHS non-emergency patient transport services to get to appointments, operations and services such as dialysis.

But a review by Healthwatch, the patient watchdog, revealed transport services across the country are sometimes cancelled at the last minute or patients are told they do not meet the requirements for transport.

Wheelchair user John Nye told The Independent he had to pay almost £100 for a wheelchair accessible taxi to get to and from his operation in June. The appointment was at 7am but patient transport was unable to take him before 8.30am.

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Source: The Independent, 17 December 2025

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Managers ‘felt pressured and bullied’ in overcrowded ED

Managers in a major emergency department felt “pressured and bullied not to disclose difficulties” and were left to manage “extreme risk” including avoidable deaths, the Care Quality Commission has reported.

The CQC warned University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust it could face enforcement action over concerns about overcrowding and the use of “escalation areas” for emergency care at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

In a report issued today, the hospital’s emergency care was rated “requires improvement” overall, but “inadequate” for safety. It was based on an inspection in February, prompted by concerns raised with the CQC.

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Source: HSJ, 17 December 2025

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‘High risk’ patients waiting years for struggling service

Several reviews are under way of a hospital’s struggling ophthalmology service, after it reported backlogs of hundreds of patients at high risk of harm.

Concerns have repeatedly been raised at George Eliot Hospital Trust about clinical practice and safety for optometry and glaucoma patients, according to several board papers issued over recent months.

The ophthalmology service was taken back into the trust’s direct control five years ago, having previously been outsourced to private provider Newmedica from 2012.

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Source: HSJ, 17 December 2017

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