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Grim figures reveal the scale of healthcare decline worldwide

Startling numbers from around the world give grim statistical support for the argument that healthcare quality has not only stalled, but is in worrying retreat. 

Nearly 15 million deaths have been attributed to Covid-19 worldwide. All countries have seen waiting times increase and deaths from cardiac conditions and cancer rise. Mental health problems have been exacerbated, while the frailty of some elderly care services has left families unsupported. The global workforce crisis has been exposed, health inequalities amplified, and life expectancy arrested. Government debt has soared, and livelihoods have been lost. 

In a new report, health systems leaders from across the world – including the UK, Australia, India, Singapore, Canada, the USA and Europe – raise the alarm.

There has been a decline in the focus on quality by the leadership of health systems all over the world with an opportunity cost in terms of patient outcomes, safety issues and people’s experience of healthcare.

How do we shift from firefighting to a focus on quality of care?

Dr Mark Britnell, chair of the Beamtree Global Impact Committee report, makes a simple argument: the only way to reverse the retreat from quality is to march steadfastly towards it. 

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Source: The Telegraph, 26 July 2022

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Grieving mothers who have lost babies have to wait six weeks for mental health help to start, says report

Women experiencing trauma after birth and baby loss are waiting an average of six weeks – four weeks longer than they should – to be assessed by specialist mental health teams according to a new survey by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance.

More broadly, mothers are facing year-long waits for general mental health care as a lack of funding leaves “patchy” services throughout the country, the study said.

The charity has published a report highlighting the postcode lottery facing women who need maternal mental health support.

Data from 41 maternal mental health teams in England also found the average waiting time for one-to-one therapy following an assessment is 16 weeks. However, waits across the country varied from 0 to 12 months.

Providing maternal mental health services to all areas of the country was a core target within the NHS’s long-term plan, published in 2019. These services offer a range of help to women including those who have suffered trauma after birth.

Although most areas of the country have a team, access to services is varied according to the MMHA.

Dr Camilla Rosan, Chair of the Faculty of Perinatal Psychology at the British Psychological Society, said while there has been progress, “women and birthing people are still left waiting for months and months, still jumping through hoops and leaping over mountains to get to the evidence-based care they need and deserve. All the while their symptoms are worsening.

“This is time they don’t have – parents and babies simply can’t wait...”

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Source: The Independent, 2 October 2024

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Grieving father calls for criminal inquiry into Priory following deaths of four women

A bereaved father whose vulnerable son died after managing to escape from the Priory has called for a criminal inquiry into the mental health care group after the deaths of four more patients.

Richard Caseby, who lost his son Matthew, has campaigned for three years against the privately run group after an inquest found his son’s death was contributed to by neglect. The 23-year-old was able to abscond from the hospital over a fence which had previously been identified as a risk. He was hit by a train just hours later.

Now the Priory, one of the UK’s largest mental health providers, faces new scrutiny as coroners are set to examine the death of 20-year-old Amina Ismail, who died while at the Cheadle Royal Hospital in Stockport. Ms Ismail died in September 2023, a year after three other young women died at the same unit - Beth Matthews, 26, Lauren Bridges, aged 20, and 30-year-old Deseree Fitzpatrick.

Mr Caseby, a former newspaper editor, told The Independent: “The Priory is a fundamentally dangerous company, one that persistently refuses to learn from its mistakes and neglect. The roll call of death and disgrace at its hospitals just gets longer.”

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Source: Independent, 25 April 2024

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Grieving families who lost babies due to NHS failings hit out at maternity investigation

Families "enduring everlasting grief" after losing babies due to NHS failings are being sidelined by a rapid review into maternity services, a campaign group has claimed.

One woman, whose daughter died in 2022, described how victims are forced to "compress" their experiences into eight minutes, with some re-traumatised by having to choose the most important reasons for their babies' deaths.

The Maternity Safety Alliance has renewed its call for a statutory inquiry into NHS maternity services, urging the Government to "abandon this performative approach".

However, a spokesperson for the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (NMNI) argued that its rapid review would allow improvements to be made faster than would be possible with a statutory inquiry.

The probe is being led by Baroness Valerie Amos and will examine 12 NHS trusts, with a report due in the spring.

The Maternity Safety Alliance has published fresh criticism of the process, claiming the timescale is “compressed” and the involvement of families is “limited to sharing their experiences rather than participating in the decision-making processes”.

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Source: The Independent, 6 February 2026

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Grieving dad says NHS not learning from mistakes

A dad whose son died following a series of hospital errors has warned the NHS is still failing to learn from its mistakes after an increase in serious patient safety incidents.

Fraser Morton's baby son, Lucas, was one of six "unnecessary" baby deaths at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock nearly a decade ago.

The scandal sparked a shake-up of how safety incidents are reviewed but concerns have been raised about the quality and effectiveness of these investigations.

More than 800 safety incidents were reported in the NHS last year - a 41% increase from 2020 - and health watchdogs are now revamping the reporting system to improve scrutiny.

The rise in reported Significant Adverse Event Reviews (SAERs), which include avoidable deaths, comes as the NHS has faced unprecedented pressure since the Covid pandemic.

Mr Morton said he'd seen little of the promised changes, such as the appointment of an independent patient safety commissioner, since the death of his son in 2015.

He said: "In 2016, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Scotland's healthcare system was marking their own homework when it came to reviews and investigations and we've not made any progress since then.

Mr Morton's son Lucas died after a series of failings, including not properly monitoring his heartbeat during childbirth, but the death was not investigated as an SAER.

Only after pressure from the family and a BBC investigation was a fuller review launched with NHS Ayrshire and Arran then admitting Lucas's death was "unnecessary" and issuing the family an "unreserved apology".

Mr Morton added: "It is the lack of independent scrutiny that concerns me.

"Mistakes will always happen, but the NHS is the only high- risk, high-consequence organisation or sector that doesn't have an external regulator, a truly independent regulator you [can] compare to say the rail, airline or nuclear industry."

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Source: BBC News, 7 March 2025

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Gridlock as record number of ambulances queue at A&E in England

The extent of the gridlock in hospitals over Christmas has been revealed, with data in England showing record numbers of ambulances delayed dropping off patients at A&E.

More than 40% of crews were forced to wait at least half an hour to hand over patients in the week up to 1 January.

That is the highest level since records began a decade ago.

But there is hope pressures could soon start easing, with flu and Covid admissions dropping last week.

But the UK Health Security Agency is warning it is too early to say whether the flu season - the worst in a decade - has peaked, because reporting lags over the festive period may have affected the data.

And Matthew Taylor, of the NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, said wards were still incredibly full, which was creating delays in A&E and for ambulances.

He said hospitals were facing "crisis conditions" that were presenting a risk to patients.

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Source: BBC News, 5 January 2023

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Greenland women seek compensation over involuntary birth control

A group of 67 women from Greenland are seeking compensation from the Danish government over a campaign of involuntary birth control in the 1960s.

At least 4,500 women, some of them teenagers, were fitted with coils under a programme intended to limit birth rates among the indigenous population.

An inquiry is due to conclude in 2025, but the women, some of whom are in their 70s, want compensation now.

They are seeking 300,000 kroner (£34,880; $42,150) each.

Records from the national archives showed that, between 1966 and 1970 alone, intrauterine devices (IUDs) were fitted into the women, some as young as 13, without their knowledge or consent.

A commission set up by the Danish and Greenlandic governments to investigate the programme is not due to deliver its findings until May 2025.

"We don't want to wait for the results of the inquiry," said psychologist Naja Lyberth, who initiated the compensation claim.

"We are getting older. The oldest of us, who had IUDs inserted in the 1960s, were born in the 1940s and are approaching 80. We want to act now."

Ms Lyberth said that, in some cases, the devices fitted had been too big for the girls' bodies, causing serious health complications or even infertility, while in others the women had been unaware of the devices until they were discovered recently by gynaecologists.

She accused the Danish government of the time of wanting to control the size of Greenland's population in order to save money on welfare.

"It's already 100% clear that the government has broken the law by violating our human rights and causing us serious harm," she said.

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Source: BBC News, 3 October 2023

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Green targets ‘prioritised over patient safety’ at super-hospital

The drive to hit green targets was prioritised over patient safety when the beleaguered Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) was built in Glasgow, a key expert has warned.

Andrew Poplett, an engineer specialising in healthcare ventilation who has conducted audits of the building, said the air cooling system installed in most patient rooms, known as “chilled beams”, was good at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but did not meet healthcare standards for circulating air.

Engineers who worked on the building have also told a public inquiry, which is considering fatal infections among patients, that the drive to hit a low carbon emission target was “paramount” from the start.

Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, there was a fixed emissions reduction target for 2015 — the year the hospital opened — a goal the SNP government under the first minister Nicola Sturgeon later announced they had met. In previous years, milestones had been missed. 

The comments throw light on a key aspect of the £842 million hospital, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth amid much fanfare, but went on to encounter multiple problems, including infection outbreaks.

Seven patient deaths are being investigated by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. In 2021, a review found 84 children had been infected with rare bacteria while undergoing treatment on site. Kimberly Darroch has argued for years that her daughter, Milly Main, died from an infection she caught at the hospital while recovering from leukaemia in 2017.

Poplett said the “chilled beams” were installed to ventilate rooms at the QEUH. This ceiling-based system uses cold water to reduce air temperature, a little like radiators use hot water to warm rooms. They change the air, depending on room size, around two to four times per hour, compared with the level recommended for healthcare facilities of six.

He told The Times: “The NHS is a government organisation committed to achieve an awful lot of different priorities, one being net-zero carbon. If you want to move towards net-zero carbon and energy efficient buildings, chilled beams are useful.

“However, the protocol of the required ventilation rates from a clinical perspective is diametrically opposed to net-zero carbon. You cannot have both.

“It appeared that the environmental consideration to make the hospital as energy efficient and as green as possible took priority over the clinical requirement for high change air rates.”

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Source: The Times, 11 May 2026

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Greater Manchester hospitals ‘forced to provide extra critical care beds’

Hospital waiting lists across the country could hit 13 million in the months to come.

Reports have found Manchester Hospitals are having to provide extra beds for critical care patients as the number of people coming in has surged.

Hospitals are struggling to cope due to increase in patients attending hospitals in the city a reports the Manchester Evening News.

The “number of people attending emergency departments across Greater Manchester has seen a significant increase in recent weeks” and that assistance from hospitals in other parts of the country was “part of our usual processes”, a spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership has said.

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Source: The Independent, 15 July 2021

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Great Ormond Street Hospital unable to hire dentists for two years amid national staffing crisis

A staffing crisis in children’s dentistry has prompted the urgent removal of junior doctors from Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (GOSH.

GOSH has struggled to recruit consultants for its paediatric dentistry services for at least two years, which has led to trainee doctors going unsupervised, according to a new report by regulator Health Education England.

A report seen by The Independent said the service was running with just one part-time consultant but needed at least two.

The news comes amid a national “crisis” in dentistry, with the latest data from the government showing that half of all children’s tooth extractions in 2021-22 were due to “preventable tooth decay”.

GOSH told The Independent it was struggling with a “limited pool” of paediatric dentists and, as a result of shortages, many patients were waiting longer than the 18-week standard.

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Source: The Independent, 8 February 2023

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Great Ormond Street Hospital surgeons forced to use mobile phone torches during surgery after power cut

Surgeons at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for children were forced to use mobile phone torches during an operation due to a power outage, the NHS’s safety watchdog has found.

The leading children’s hospital has faced ongoing concerns over the maintenance of its estate and operating theatres, which have led to water leaks and power outages, according to a report by the Care Quality Commission.

The CQC warned of “recurrent” problems, including a power outage during spinal surgery and ventilation failures.

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Source: The Guardian, 4 August 2025

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Great Ormond Street Hospital admits errors led to boy’s death

Mistakes by Great Ormond Street contributed to the death of a five-year-old boy, the children’s hospital has admitted – just months after it concluded a legal case with his family in which it denied responsibility.

The world-renowned children’s hospital failed to flag results of a crucial blood test, showing that Walif Yafi had a dangerous infection, to doctors at King’s College Hospital where he had been receiving treatment. He died a few weeks later, in September 2017.

In September this year, Walif’s parents agreed an out-of-court settlement with Great Ormond Street, which admitted negligence but denied liability for the boy’s death. However, this week the hospital admitted an expert had reviewed the case ahead of the settlement and concluded its actions did contribute to Walif’s death. The hospital said it had been under no duty to share these results with Walif’s parents at the time.

Walif had a liver transplant in 2012 after suffering cancer shortly after his birth, and was being overseen by Great Ormond Street as an outpatient, as well as by the transplant team at King’s College Hospital, in south London. 

On 24 August 2017, he had a routine blood test at Great Ormond Street, which showed he had an adenovirus infection – something that is common in children whose immune system is being suppressed by drugs, as Walif’s was because of his transplant. If untreated, the infection can be deadly.

But the blood test result was not communicated to the team at King’s College Hospital. Shortly afterwards, Walif’s health deteriorated and he was admitted to hospital. He was transferred to King’s College Hospital a week later, and it was not until 7 September that the infection was confirmed. 

By this stage, he was severely unwell and, though he began anti-viral therapy, Walif suffered multiple organ failure from the spread of the infection. On 30 September, he suffered cardiac arrest and died.

It was only when approached by The Independent this week that the trust revealed its expert had, in the course of negotiating the settlement with Walif’s parents, determined the hospital did materially contribute to the child’s death.

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Source: The Independent, 29 November 2020

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Great Ormond Street doctor who botched surgery harmed nearly 100 children

Nearly 100 children were harmed by a Great Ormond Street Hospital limb reconstruction surgeon, a review has found.

The investigation, published by the world-famous London hospital into Yaser Jabbar, found widespread evidence of unacceptable practice in the botched operations he carried out.

Jabbar worked at the hospital between 2017 and 2022, providing care to 789 children – 94 of them came to harm, GOSH's report concluded.

Most of those – 91 – were patients he did surgery on. He specialised in limb-lengthening and reconstruction for children with complex problems.

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Source: BBC News, 29 January 2026

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Great Ormond Street criticised over Arvind Jain's death

Delays at the Great Ormond Street Hospital led to a boy dying an agonising death, a health watchdog has found.

Arvind Jain, 13, who had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, died in August 2009 after waiting months for an operation. The ombudsman's report found he had "suffered considerable distress" and criticised referral procedures as "chaotic and substandard".

The Great Ormond Street Hospital said there were "failings in clinical care".

Arvind's sister Shushma said: "To read that he was suffering all the time, that was disgusting. He had been asking us repeatedly if he would get the operation and we would be constantly reassuring him that he would not die."

The degenerative disease Arvind, who lived in Cricklewood, north London, suffered from was not immediately life threatening but in January 2009 his condition had become acute enough for him to struggle with swallowing and feeding. He had a temporary medical solution where a tube was inserted through his nose to help him get the required nutrition. He also experienced a number of other medical complications although none of these was considered life-threatening.

The permanent solution recommended by his consultant paediatric neurologist was a gastrostomy insertion which would allow Arvind to feed through his stomach.

The Great Ormond Street Hospital Trust (GOSH) excels in such procedures, however, a series of communication errors meant despite repeated and urgent requests from his neurological consultant, proper investigations were not carried out into Arvind's suitability for the operation.

After five months of delays he and his family were reassured that as soon as he got the operation he would be much more comfortable. Another hospital also offered to carry out the operation in the event that the delays continued. But the surgical team that was due to carry out the operation never managed to assess Arvind.

His condition deteriorated to the point where he was not well enough to be operated on and Arvind died on 9 August 2009.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report said he "suffered considerable distress and discomfort". It also describes a series of basic shortcomings in Arvind's care.

The report said: "The standard of care provided for Arvind fell so far below the applicable standards as to amount to service failure."

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Source: BBC News, 23 September 2020

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Great Ormond Street apologises after children suffered ‘severe harm’ under surgeon

A leading NHS children’s hospital is reviewing the care 721 patients received after an investigation found that children treated by one of its surgeons came to “severe harm” during limb reconstruction operations.

Great Ormond Street hospital (Gosh) in London has offered its “sincere apologies” to children who have suffered what the Sunday Times reported was in some cases lifelong damage.

Some of the children were left with one leg up to 20cm shorter than the other, the paper reported, while others are still in chronic pain years after their treatment, and one had a limb amputated – an outcome that experts said later could have been avoided.

An external review of the care of 39 of the 721 patients has found that 13 came to “severe harm”, another nine suffered “low/moderate harm”, while two cases have been referred for peer review, and the other 15 experienced no harm.

The children are reported to have been treated byYaser Jabbar, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. Jabbar’s behaviour became a concern after the hospital asked the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) in 2022 to investigate the performance of its paediatric surgery department and patient outcomes, after staff and families voiced concerns about the quality of care it provided.

A spokesperson for Gosh said in a statement: “As part of the review, the RCS raised concerns around the practice of a surgeon who no longer works at the trust, and other practice within the service. We are taking these concerns incredibly seriously.

“We have contacted all patients of the surgeon and a group of independent experts from other paediatric hospitals are reviewing the care of all the patients of this surgeon. We are incredibly sorry for the worry and uncertainty this review may cause them.”

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Source: The Guardian, 8 September 2024

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GPs’ survey finds race discrimination in NHS treatment of primary care

A survey of an area’s GPs and other primary care staff found those from a minority ethnic background feel they are less involved in decision making and less respected by their colleagues, according to results shared with HSJ.

The survey, instigated by GPs in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, also found more staff from a minority ethnic background said they had experienced some form of bullying or harassment, including “instances of physical violence”.

The work is thought to be unusual in primary care — annual “workforce race equality standard” surveys are required by NHS England for NHS trusts and, in the past year, clinical commissioning groups, but not in primary care. 

The survey in October was instigated by Doncaster Primary Care BAME Network and facilitated by Doncaster clinical commissioning group. It was sent to GPs and practice staff, community pharmacy staff, and other “healthcare professionals” in primary care. There were 136 respondents.

The report of the results said minority ethnic staff felt they were less able to make decisions to improve the work of primary care, less involved in decisions regarding their area of work and less respected by their colleagues compared with their white colleagues.

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Source: HSJ, 9 March 2021

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GPs won’t see us unless it’s ‘life or death’, complain pensioners

A 94-year-old man has said his GP refuses to see him “unless it’s life or death”.

Dennis Baker, from North Hampshire, said he felt “put off” by his doctor's surgery, which is a three-minute walk from his house.

The pensioner, who lives with his wife who has advanced dementia and is bed-bound, said he found it “quite difficult to carry on a conversation with a doctor” and cannot get one to visit him at home.

“The chances are [the receptionist] will say… ‘you're not dying, a doctor will phone you at some stage today’, that’s the usual response,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One.

It comes as the president of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) said family doctors should start “saying no” to extra work to tackle the crisis in primary care.

Speaking at Pulse Live last week, Professor Dame Clare Gerada said the workload crisis was not the fault of GPs and they “cannot innovate [their] way out”.

“When you’re in debates and people are saying to you 'you’ve got to work harder and smarter' - no, the rest of the system has to adapt,” she told the conference.

“You have to start saying no.”

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Source: The Telegraph, 3 May 2022

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GPs will not be nationally mandated to use advice and guidance, NHSE confirms

There will be no national mandate for GPs to use advice and guidance in a certain number of cases, NHS England has told Pulse. 

National medical directors for primary and secondary care said that formalised pathways should be developed ‘locally’, and decisions should be based on an area’s population.

In September, it was reported that NHS England’s upcoming outpatients strategy would further increase the use of advice and guidance (A&G) before GP referrals are accepted, with the RCGP then "voicing concerns" about this proposal. 

However, when asked about the reports that this would be mandated, Dr Stella Vig, national medical director for secondary care and clinical director for elective care, said she ‘doesn’t know’ where that came from, and ‘doesn’t recognise’ those comments.

NHS England also released guidance clarifying the medico-legal risks and clinical responsibility for clinicians using A&G or referral assessment services (RAS), which is now available on the NHS Futures website.

The guidance said that these forms of specialist advice are "expanding rapidly" as a result of improvements to digital services.

On legal issues, it said liability ‘will be determined on a case by case basis’ but that GPs could be liable if "all relevant clinical information is not provided" when sending an A&G request. 

But specialists at hospitals would be accountable if they send back advice to the GP which is ‘not clinically appropriate’ or if they ‘refuse to accept a patient’. 

On turnaround times, NHS England has said that ‘local variables will ultimately dictate the agreed response times’ for hospital teams dealing with A&G – but the guidance recommends that the response time "should not exceed 10 working days for routine requests". 

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Source: Pulse, 30 November 2023

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GPs warned to stock up on flu jabs as NHS fears double risk this winter

GPs have been warned of a double risk from flu and COVID-19 this winter which could hit the NHS just months after its recovery from the coronavirus surge.

NHS England has told practices to stock up on flu vaccines while discussions are ongoing as to whether to widen the eligibility for flu jabs to try and protect as many people as possible from September onwards.

A second wave of coronavirus during winter, when the NHS is typically under strain from flu could overwhelm services with those most at risk from flu similarly vulnerable to coronavirus.

In a letter from NHS chiefs, including chief medical officer Chris Whitty, GPs were told: “Flu vaccination is one of the most effective interventions we have to reduce pressure on the health and social care system this winter. We are currently seeing the impact of COVID-19 on the NHS and social care, and this coming winter we may be faced with co-circulation of COVID-19 and flu.

“Those most at risk from flu are also most vulnerable to COVID-19. We must do all we can to help protect them this winter.”

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Source: The Independent, 20 May 2020

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GPs warn of ‘tsunami of demand’ this winter as patient contacts surge 200%

GPs have warned of a ‘tsunami of demand’ this winter as patient contacts surged 200% during the pandemic.

One of the largest GP providers in the UK, Modality Partnership, told The Independent it received 4.8 million calls from patients in one year alone with around a quarter going unanswered every day.

The provider, which covers 500,000 patients across the country, said its practices were now working above “safe levels” with 50 appointments a day per GP, far higher than the 35 advised by the British Medical Association.

Speaking with The Independent, Vincent Sai, chief executive and partner at Modality said the new health secretary Therese Coffey must “not point fingers” and “not find a scapegoat” as “every part of the system is under pressure. Every player in the health system is under the cosh.”

Dr Sai said: “We believe patient contacts have increased 200 per cent, over the last few years. The expectation is that GP practices have maybe four to five patient contacts per year, but if you just look at just the number of phone calls alone, it’s showing that it’s much more now.

“So something is broken somewhere...there’s more work, there are fewer people. People say I can’t get access to my GP and the hypothesis is they’re just lazy and not working, but it’s not the case.”

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Source: The Independent, 7 September 2022

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GPs want legally mandated face masks in practices

Over 8 out of 10 (84%) of members of the Medical Protection Society thinks a face covering should be mandatory when attending any healthcare setting.

This was the finding of a survey including 562 of the GP indemnity providers' members, out of which 473 said masks should be mandated by law as they are on public transport and in shops.

Effective from 13 July, PHE guidance says all clinical and non-clinical staff as well as patients should wear a face mask in areas of GP practices that cannot be made 'Covid-secure' through social distancing, optimal hand hygiene, frequent surface decontamination, ventilation and other measures.

But NHS England has said GPs cannot refuse to treat patients who present at the practice without a face covering because they are not legally required to wear them. In response to its member survey, MPS has urged political leaders to ‘reconsider’ this decision.

Medicolegal lead for risk prevention Dr Pallavi Bradshaw stressed that ‘it cannot be right’ for frontline healthcare workers to be put at ‘unnecessary risk by patients who refuse to wear a face mask’.

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Source: Pulse, 8 August 2020

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GPs urged to trial experimental drugs on patients

Lord O’Shaughnessy has carried out a widespread review of clinical trials in Britain and found it is falling behind in medical research.

He has suggested a raft of reforms, which include financial incentives for GPs who carry out community drugs and treatments trials on their patients at local surgeries or in their own homes.

Patients who receive genomic testing on the NHS should also be automatically asked to consent to their genetic data being used for research, the report recommends.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has been told to cut red tape and speed up approvals for medicines. It has also been asked to approve clinical trials within 60 days of submission.

Writing in The Telegraph, Will Quince, Minister of State for Health and Secondary Care, said: “Cutting the time it takes for new medicines to reach patients is vital and has a direct impact on how patients recover faster or better manage conditions.

“We want to make it easier for more people to be a part of life-changing research and giving the option to take part in trials virtually will improve the scope of who wants to, or can take part.

“From cancer to obesity, these research studies can lead to billions of pounds in savings for the NHS and cut waiting lists through faster diagnosis and enhanced treatment.”

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Source: The Telegraph, 26 May 2023

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GPs urged to join forces to avoid ‘imposition’ of neighbourhood providers

GPs should rapidly start “collaborative discussions” with peers about developing joint “models” to fit in with the government’s proposed development of “neighbourhood health”, the British Medical Association’s GP committee has said.

The GPC has previously issued strong criticism of the government’s 10-Year Health Plan, because it does not commit to a new core GP contract, and opens the door to trusts running more GP practices.

However, a document issued by the committee on Friday says GPs should “quickly” begin talks with other practices, federations and primary care networks, with a view to “develop[ing] collaborative models”. They should “think about how they may operate” in neighbourhood systems.

The 10YHP proposes the introduction of two new “neighbourhood” contracts from next year to coordinate and provide local services, which it says will also encourage GPs to work across larger areas.

Some believe there are few parts of the country where large-scale GP providers are mature enough to take on these roles, meaning NHS trusts and foundation trusts are likely to step in.

The BMA’s GPC England appears to be encouraging GP practices to accelerate “collaboration” – such as creating or developing larger providers and federations – with a view to taking on neighbourhood contracts. 

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Source: HSJ, 30 July 2025

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GPs turn to AI to help with patient workload

The difficulty of getting an appointment with a GP is a familiar gripe in the UK.

Even when an appointment is secured, the rising workload faced by doctors means those meetings can be shorter than either the doctor or patient would like.

But Dr Deepali Misra-Sharp, a GP partner in Birmingham, has found that AI has alleviated a chunk of the administration from her job, meaning she can focus more on patients.

Dr Mirsa-Sharp started using Heidi Health, a free AI-assisted medical transcription tool that listens and transcribes patient appointments, about four months ago and says it has made a big difference.

“Usually when I’m with a patient, I am writing things down and it takes away from the consultation,” she says. “This now means I can spend my entire time locking eyes with the patient and actively listening. It makes for a more quality consultation."

She says the tech reduces her workflow, saving her “two to three minutes per consultation, if not more”. She reels off other benefits: “It reduces the risk of errors and omissions in my medical note taking."

With a workforce in decline while the number of patients continues to grow, GPs face immense pressure.

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Source: BBC News, 14 January 2025

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GPs told to resume booking face-to-face appointments following row over access

NHS England has said GP practices must start opening their receptions and allow people to book initial face-to-face appointments — scrapping the controversial ‘total triage’ rule — for the first time since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Since last spring, NHSE guidance, supported by the profession, has said that face-to-face appointments must generally only take place after a phone, video or digital consultation. Many GP practice receptions have been closed to people wanting to make routine appointments.

This rule was kept in place throughout last summer, despite covid circulation being low, and some health systems made the approach one of the pillars of planned post pandemic transformation.

“Embedding total triage” was encouraged in 2021-22 operational rules for the NHS.

The shift was seen by some as part of a move to a potentially more effective and efficient way of working. But there have been concerns about access and complaints in the media.

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Source: HSJ, 14 May 2021

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