Jump to content
  • articles
    9,854
  • comments
    83
  • views
    12,512,846

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

Governance scandal trust failing to manage complaints

A trust which is facing major governance issues is failing to respond to hundreds of complaints properly, with patients and families waiting more than twice as long as the NHS target for responses to their concerns, an external review has found.

Cornwall Partnership Foundation Trust, which is subject to regulatory action by NHS England, was found to be “not classifying complaints, concerns and comments accurately”, while staff had “no formal training”, meaning complaints were “not investigated appropriately”.

Last year, the trust was embroiled in a governance scandal in which NHSE investigated multiple allegations of finance and governance failings, resulting in the departure of former CEO Phil Confue.

Rachel Power, chief executive of the advocacy group Patients Association, told HSJ  patient complaints often contain “vital intelligence” on how trusts can improve services and “essential warnings about any area where things might be going wrong”.

According to the review, the backlog had stemmed from several factors. These included more work being needed on investigations that had not been thorough enough, and the relevant service teams not responding to enquiries by the complaints team.

Additionally, there was a “lack of formal monitoring and review” to ensure complaint points were reported appropriately and consistently, and an “apparent lack of accountability by local teams for complaints” triaged through the trust’s patient liaison and complaints team.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 12 April 2022

Read more

Gosport's Brockhurst Medical Centre closed over 'risk of harm' concerns

A GP surgery that had been told it required improvement has been shut down after an inspection found patients could be at "risk of harm".

Hampshire's Brockhurst Medical Centre had already been due to close on 31 December.

However, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) suspended its registration with "immediate effect" following an unannounced inspection on Monday.

Patients are expected to be transferred to other practices on Saturday.

In September, a CQC assessment of the practice, on Brockhurst Road in Gosport, rated it overall as "requires improvement".

The issues highlighted in the report included that the practice "did not have systems for the appropriate and safe use of medicines" and "there was a risk that some patients were not receiving the care and treatment they needed".

Following Monday's inspection, Garry Higgins, of the CQC, said it had taken "urgent action" to suspend the registration of the GP surgery.

"We took the action because we believe if we didn't people using the service may be exposed to the risk of harm," he added.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 5 December 2020

Read more

Gosport War Memorial Hospital patient deaths inquiry ‘buried evidence’

Whitehall investigators have launched an inquiry into allegations of serious misconduct during the official review of the Gosport hospital scandal. They are examining claims that civil servants working on the £13m inquiry bullied staff, buried evidence and went on taxpayer-funded “working retreats” to Spain.

An independent panel last year linked Dr Jane Barton to the premature deaths of up to 656 elderly people given opiate overdoses at Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1989 and 2000.

Whistleblowers have alleged that the panel ignored concerns about the hospital’s culture and use of faulty medical equipment to deliver a “clean hit” and “draw a line under it all”.

The Department of Health said last night: “We take all and any allegations of wrongdoing very seriously. An investigation is being undertaken and it would be inappropriate to comment further until it is concluded.”

Read full story

Source: The Sunday Times, 11 August 2019

Read more
 

Gosport hospital drug deaths: Police identify 19 suspects

Nineteen suspects have been identified by police as part of a new inquiry into hundreds of deaths at a hospital.

An independent panel found 456 patients died after being given opiates inappropriately at Gosport War Memorial Hospital between 1987 and 2001.

The new criminal investigation is being led by Kent Police after three previous ones by Hampshire Constabulary resulted in no prosecutions.

Police said interviews with the suspects under caution were ongoing.

Detectives are examining more than 750 patient records as part of Operation Magenta after families, who have also campaigned for judge-led "Hillsborough-style" inquests, repeatedly called for justice.

Read full story

Source: BBC, 17 May 2023

Read more
 

Gosport hospital deaths: Families 'need Hillsborough-style inquests'

Relatives of patients who died after receiving "dangerous" levels of painkillers at Gosport War Memorial Hospital have called for new inquests. 

An inquiry found 456 patients died after being given opiate drugs at the hospital between 1987 and 2001, but no charges have ever been brought.

Four families told the BBC they have requested judge-led "Hillsborough-style" hearings with a jury. The Attorney General's Office said it was reviewing the application.

Police began a fresh inquiry in 2019 into 700 deaths after the Gosport Independent Review Panel found there was a "disregard for human life" at the hospital in Hampshire.

Coroner-led inquests in 2009 found drugs administered at the hospital contributed to five deaths.

However, lawyers representing some of the families told the BBC more wide-ranging inquests similar to those that examined the events of the Hillsborough disaster should be undertaken.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 5 February 2021

Read more

Google puts users at risk by downplaying health disclaimers under AI Overviews

Google is putting people at risk of harm by downplaying safety warnings that its AI-generated medical advice may be wrong.

When answering queries about sensitive topics such as health, the company says its AI Overviews, which appear above search results, prompt users to seek professional help, rather than relying solely on its summaries. “AI Overviews will inform people when it’s important to seek out expert advice or to verify the information presented,” Google has said.

But the Guardian found the company does not include any such disclaimers when users are first presented with medical advice.

Google only issues a warning if users choose to request additional health information and click on a button called “Show more”. Even then, safety labels only appear below all of the extra medical advice assembled using generative AI, and in a smaller, lighter font.

AI experts and patient advocates presented with the Guardian’s findings said they were concerned. Disclaimers serve a vital purpose, they said, and should appear prominently when users are first provided with medical advice.

“The absence of disclaimers when users are initially served medical information creates several critical dangers,” said Pat Pataranutaporn, an assistant professor, technologist and researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a world-renowned expert in AI and human-computer interaction.

“First, even the most advanced AI models today still hallucinate misinformation or exhibit sycophantic behaviour, prioritising user satisfaction over accuracy. In healthcare contexts, this can be genuinely dangerous.

“Second, the issue isn’t just about AI limitations – it’s about the human side of the equation. Users may not provide all necessary context or may ask the wrong questions by misobserving their symptoms.

“Disclaimers serve as a crucial intervention point. They disrupt this automatic trust and prompt users to engage more critically with the information they receive.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 16 February 2026

Read more

Google AI tool can help patients identify skin conditions

Google has unveiled a tool that uses artificial intelligence to help spot skin, hair and nail conditions, based on images uploaded by patients.

A trial of the "dermatology assist tool", unveiled at the tech giant's annual developer conference, Google IO, should launch later this year, it said.

The app has been awarded a CE mark for use as a medical tool in Europe.

A cancer expert said AI advances could enable doctors to provide more tailored treatment to patients.

The AI can recognise 288 skin conditions but is not designed to be a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment, the firm said.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 18 May 2021

Read more

Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice

People are being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google’s artificial intelligence summaries, a Guardian investigation has found.

The company has said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are “helpful” and “reliable”.

But some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 2 January 2026

Read more

Google AI Overviews cite YouTube more than any medical site for health queries, study suggests

Google’s search feature AI Overviews cites YouTube more than any medical website when answering queries about health conditions, according to research that raises fresh questions about a tool seen by 2 billion people each month.

The company has said its AI summaries, which appear at the top of search results and use generative AI to answer questions from users, are “reliable” and cite reputable medical sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Mayo Clinic.

However, a study that analysed responses to more than 50,000 health queries, captured using Google searches from Berlin, found the top cited source was YouTube. The video-sharing platform is the world’s second most visited website, after Google itself, and is owned by Google.

Researchers at SE Ranking, a search engine optimisation platform, found YouTube made up 4.43% of all AI Overview citations. No hospital network, government health portal, medical association or academic institution came close to that number, they said.

“This matters because YouTube is not a medical publisher,” the researchers wrote. “It is a general-purpose video platform. Anyone can upload content there (eg board-certified physicians, hospital channels, but also wellness influencers, life coaches, and creators with no medical training at all).”

Google told the Guardian that AI Overviews was designed to surface high-quality content from reputable sources, regardless of format, and a variety of credible health authorities and licensed medical professionals created content on YouTube. The study’s findings could not be extrapolated to other regions as it was conducted using German-language queries in Germany, it said.

The research comes after a Guardian investigation found people were being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google AI Overviews responses.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 24 January 2026

Read more
 

Good social relations promote active and healthy aging in Europe, finds researcher

In the older European population, men, as well as those with lower socioeconomic status, weak social ties, and poor health, might experience more difficulties getting informal support and are considered to have a higher risk of worsening frailty state and lower quality of life. This reality is shown in a new doctoral thesis at Umeå university.

Read the full article here

Read more
 

Good perioperative care can cut post-surgery complications by up to 80%, review shows

Patients who receive good perioperative care can have fewer complications after surgery, shorter hospital stays, and quicker recovery times, shows a large review of research.

The Centre for Perioperative Care, a partnership between the Royal College of Anaesthetists, other medical and nursing royal colleges, and NHS England, reviewed 27 382 articles published between 2000 and 2020 to understand the evidence about perioperative care, eventually focusing on 348 suitable studies.

An estimated 10 million or so people have surgery in the NHS in the UK each year, with elective surgery costing £16bn a year.

A perioperative approach can increase how prepared and empowered people feel before and after surgery. This can reduce complications and the amount of time that people stay in hospital after surgery, meaning that people feel better sooner and are able to resume their day-to-day life.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: BMJ, 17 September 2020

Read more

Gonorrhoea vaccine rollout in Scotland begins

A gonorrhoea vaccine rollout has begun in Scotland following a UK-wide rise in cases.

The illness, which is the second most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Scotland, is potentially painful and in rare cases can be life-threatening.

The vaccine programme, which was introduced in England last month, will be offered to gay and bisexual men, trans women and anyone who's had a bacterial STI in the past two years.

Speaking ahead of the rollout, Public Health Minister Jenny Minto said the campaign was "urgent and timely since the number of diagnoses has been high and the disease is becoming increasingly difficult to treat with antibiotics".

Doctors and charities called for vaccinations earlier this year after the UK's joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) recommended a targeted rollout in November 2023.

The Scottish government is funding the vaccination programme.

Minto said: "The science tells us that this vaccine will potentially protect thousands of people and prevent the spread of infection.

"Anything which stops people from contracting gonorrhoea in the first place can have huge benefits, including ensuring our health system remains resilient by reducing the amount of treatment needed."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 01 September 2025

Read more

Gonorrhoea cases rising quickly in England

Gonorrhoea cases in England have resurged since the easing of Covid restrictions, health officials are warning people who are sexually active.

The disease is caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The infection is spread by unprotected vaginal, oral and anal sex.

Symptoms can include a thick green or yellow discharge from sexual organs, pain when urinating and bleeding between periods, but some people will have no symptoms.

Condoms can stop the spread of this and other sexually transmitted infections. 

Experts say people should practise safe sex and get tested regularly if they are having sex with new or casual partners. Testing is simple, free and discreet, they advise.

Provisional data shows diagnoses in the first half of 2022 hit 56,327 - 21% higher than for the same period in 2019.

An untreated infection can lead to infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and can be passed on to a child during pregnancy.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 16 March 2023

Read more
 

Gonorrhoea cases reach record high in England

A record number of people in England were diagnosed with gonorrhoea last year, annual UK Health Security Agency figures show.

Diagnoses rose 7.5% - from 79,268 in 2022 to 85,223 in 2023.

Syphilis, meanwhile, rose 9.4% - from 8,693 to 9,513, the highest number since 1948 - with more heterosexual men and women becoming infected.

Overall, sexually transmitted infection diagnoses, including several different STIs, rose 4.7%.

The British Association of Sexual Health and HIV said the rise in STIs was a “concerning indicator” of pressure on sexual-health services and called for a new strategy.

President Prof Matt Phillips said: “We find ourselves at a critical point for securing the viability of sexual-health services.

“From recruitment challenges, to public-health funding, to ensuring the right experts are supporting every clinic, the next government has an opportunity to change the tides and address these barriers, to ensure everyone has timely access to expertise to support good sexual health and wellbeing.”

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 4 June 2024

Read more

GMC will no longer launch FTP proceedings for ‘minor’ concerns

The General Medical Council (GMC) has relaxed its fitness to practise (FTP) processes for doctors so that ‘minor’ concerns such as ‘pushing a colleague’ are not taken to tribunal. 

In an update to its guidance, the regulator has given FTP decision makers and case examiners ‘more discretion’ to throw out complaints if they represent a lower risk to public protection. 

Concerns which are ‘minor in nature and did not impact patient care’ will fall under this guidance.

This is part of the GMC’s efforts to carry out ‘more efficient and proportionate investigations’ and to ‘minimise’ stress for doctors during the FTP process. 

Two examples of concerns which will no longer need to be investigated, if there are ‘no aggravating factors’,  are:

  • A doctor giving false details to a market research company, in order qualify for free products.
  • A doctor pushing a colleague out the way following a heated argument. 

The regulator has said: "Decision makers will now be able to weigh the full circumstances of a concern earlier in the fitness to practise process to assess the overall risk to public protection including to public confidence in the profession– meaning some concerns may not need to be investigated or referred to a tribunal."

However, the guidance, which covers concerns relating to violence and dishonesty, emphasises that allegations which raise a risk to public protection will continue to be investigated. 

Read full story

Source: Pulse, 4 April 2024

Read more
 

GMC to restart fitness-to-practise investigations this month

The GMC has set out its plans to restart fitness to practise (FTP) investigations this month.

Existing FTP cases will resume, where this is possible, with flexibility on timescales and on the basis of direct discussion with those involved and ‘careful consideration and agreement’ with responsible officers, the regulator said.

Acknowledging that investigations are ‘difficult’ for all involved’, the GMC said it is of the view that delaying decisions any further could ‘cause additional stress’. It also said investigations would resume with the ‘understanding that many individuals and organisations remain under pressure and any potential impact needs to be proportionate’.

During this period, it will continue to review concerns that are raised to protect patient safety.

Read full story

Source: Pulse, 3 July 2020

Read more

GMC to investigate ‘stalker’ doctor who shared patient’s records

The UK medical regulator has launched an investigation into a “stalker” doctor who accessed intimate details of the health history of a woman who had begun dating the doctor’s ex-boyfriend.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is investigating whether the doctor – a consultant at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge – breached their professional, ethical and legal duties to protect the woman’s personal information.

The victim has given the watchdog a statement detailing the consultant’s repeated violations of her medical records and documentation that shows what she did.

The GMC declined to comment because it has not yet decided to open a formal disciplinary case against the consultant, who could face serious sanctions including a ban on working as a doctor. One of the GMC’s investigative officers is examining the victim’s claims and collecting evidence.

The Guardian revealed how the doctor had looked at the victim’s hospital and GP records seven times last August and September, in the early stages of the woman’s relationship with a man the consultant had been involved with for several years.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 15 May 2023

Read more

GMC tackles bullying and sexual harassment for doctors

New responsibilities for doctors regarding their use of social media and tackling toxic workplace behaviours and sexual harassment are among key proposals in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) planned update to its core ethical guidance.

The regulator has launched a 12-week consultation on the draft new content of 'Good medical practice', which outlines the professional values, knowledge and behaviours expected of doctors working in the UK. This represents the first major update of the guidance since it first came into effect in April 2013, with the review process launched last year.

The GMC said the draft new update follows months of working with doctor, employer, and patient representatives, as well as other stakeholders, and reflects the issues faced in modern-day healthcare workplaces.

Included for the first time in the draft new guidance is a duty for doctors to act, or support others to act, if they become aware of workplace bullying, harassment, or discrimination, as well as zero tolerance of sexual harassment.

For the first time, the GMC's ethical guidance proposes 12 commitments, including:

  • Make the care of patients my first concern.
  • Demonstrate leadership within my role, and work with others to make healthcare environments more supportive, inclusive, and fair.
  • Provide a good standard of practice and care, and be honest and open when things go wrong.
  • Ensure my conduct justifies my patients’ trust in me and the public's trust in my profession.

Read full story

Source: Medscape, 27 April 2022

Read more

GMC shares doctors frustration at delays to its reform

The GMC has responded to senior medical leaders’ frustration at news that the Government is again delaying long-promised plans for its reform which would ease the strain felt by doctors. 

Its chief executive said its Council shared widespread disappointment at the hold-up in changing the legislation – which was expected this year, but will not now happen until 2024-25.

Charlie Massey told Independent Practitioner Today: "Physician associates and anaesthesia associates are an important part of the health workforce and we welcome progress to bring them into regulation, which we will do within 12 months of legislation being laid by Government.

"But we are disappointed that the outdated legislation for doctors will not be replaced at the same time. 

"The current framework stops us from being responsive and flexible in how we address patient safety concerns and register doctors to join the UK workforce. That isn’t good for patients and puts unnecessary strain on doctors.

"The Government has said that it expects to deliver reforms for doctors as a priority following its work on physician associates and anaesthesia associates."

Mr Massey called for a clearer commitment on the specific timing of that work, adding that the GMC wanted to progress better regulation for both doctors and medical associate professionals (MAPs) as soon as the Department of Health and Social Care laid the necessary legislation.

"It is now the department’s decision when and how to implement these changes. When the department does implement these changes, we will be ready to start the process to put the reform changes into practice," he said.

Read full story

Source: Independent Practitioner Today, 9 August 2022

Read more

GMC regulation of physician associates and anaesthesia associates to begin

The General Medical Council (GMC) will begin regulating physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) from this Friday, 13 December.

Registration for PAs and AAs will open from Monday, 16 December. A small number will receive an invitation to apply for registration before the end of the month, and all PAs and AAs on existing voluntary registers will have received their invitations by the end of January 2025.

There are thought to be around 5,000 PAs and 200 AAs in the UK. From December 2026 it will be an offence to practise as a PA or AA in the UK without registration.

To join the register of PAs and AAs, individuals will need to complete an application and provide evidence, including their qualifications and, where relevant, work history and references, to show they meet the GMC’s standards.

GMC Chief Executive Charlie Massey said:

"We are looking forward to becoming the regulator of these professions and I am sure it will also be an exciting time for them. I have met many physician associates and anaesthesia associates in recent months and have seen how they work with doctors and others in teams providing excellent care for patients.

‘There have been challenges along the way, but we are about to see a step change in regulation. For the first time, patients, employers and colleagues will be assured that physician associates and anaesthesia associates have the necessary education and training, meet our standards, and can be held to account if serious concerns are raised."

Source: General Medical Council, 12 December 2024

Read more

GMC launches 'hub' to tackle racism after recent criticism

Following the blistering verdict last week of the independent review into the General Medical Council's (GMC) handling of the notorious 'laptop' case, which highlighted the "worrying trend" of ethnic minority doctors facing disproportionate regulatory action, the GMC has launched a new resource 'hub' to support doctors facing racism at work. 

A new dedicated area on the GMC website offers advice on how to address racism in the workplace, and sits alongside its existing dedicated whistleblowing webpage as the latest of 12 areas in an 'ethical hub' that brings together resources on how to apply GMC guidance in practice, focussing on areas doctors often query or find most challenging, and helping to address important ethical issues.

Announcing the launch, the GMC said: "Tackling discrimination and inequality continues to be an urgent priority for health services."

It added: "The GMC has committed to working with organisations to drive forward change, setting targets on tackling inequality." Its equality, diversity, and inclusion targets set last year aimed, inter alia, "to eliminate disproportionate complaints from employers about ethnic minority doctors, by 2026, and to eradicate disadvantage and discrimination in medical education and training by 2031". In March this year it published its first progress report, which showed that the gap between employer referral rates for ethnic minority doctors and international medical graduates, compared with white doctors, had "reduced slightly".

Read full story

Source: Medscape UK, 15 November 2022

Read more

GMC imposes conditions on anaesthetics at Basildon University Hospital amid concerns for trainee doctors and patients

The General Medical Council (GMC) has placed conditions on the Anaesthetics training programme at Basildon University Hospital, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, following serious issues relating to patient safety and the quality of postgraduate medical education.

As the regulator responsible for setting the standards of postgraduate medical training, and checking they are being met, the GMC has taken this action to address a range of issues including failures to protect doctors in training from sexual misconduct, misogyny and undermining behaviours, as well as inappropriate staffing levels within the department.

Doctors in training in anaesthetics are currently not working in the department due to the concerns, and the GMC will require evidence of change before conditions can be removed and before they can return.

Professor Pushpinder Mangat, Medical Director and Director for Education and Standards at the GMC, said:

‘We work to make sure that education and training prepares doctors to deliver good, safe patient care by setting high standards and expected outcomes.

‘We need assurance that the required standards and the conditions imposed are being met, including the creation of a working culture where doctors can raise issues openly, without fear of repercussions.’

Read full story

Source: GMC, 19 January 2026

Read more

GMC approves 36 courses to teach more than 1,000 NHS physician associates

More than 1,000 physician associates (PAs) could begin their careers in the NHS every year after regulators approved dozens of courses to teach them.

The General Medical Council (GMC) said it had given 36 courses formal approval to teach PAs and anaesthesia associates (AAs).

Overall, these courses had capacity for up to 1,059 PAs and 42 AAs to qualify each year.

The GMC said approving training courses would mean that “patients, employers and colleagues can be assured that PAs and AAs have the required knowledge and skills to practise safely once they qualify”.

Prof Colin Melville, the GMC’s medical director and director of education and standards, said: “This is an important milestone in the regulation of PAs and AAs and will provide assurance, now and in the future, that those who qualify in these roles have the appropriate skills and knowledge that patients rightly expect and deserve.

“As a regulator, patient safety is paramount, and we have a robust quality assurance process for PA and AA courses, as we do for medical schools. We have been engaging with course providers for several years already, and we only grant approval where they meet our high standards.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 30 April 2025

Read more
 

GMC admits it needs to do more to reduce racial inequalities

The General Medical Council (GMC) has achieved marginal improvements against its targets to reduce racial inequalities, it said in an annual update on the programme.

However, BAME doctor representatives as well as the GMC itself said the progress was not sufficient against the targets which the regulator had set itself last year.

These included stopping disproportionate complaints from employers about ethnic minority doctors by 2026, and getting rid of disadvantage and discrimination in medical education and training by 2031.

According to the update, the gap between employer referral rates for ethnic minority doctors and international medical graduates, compared to white doctors, has marginally reduced.

The report also acknowledged the judgment by an employment tribunal in June last year, which found that the GMC had discriminated against a doctor based on his race.

Reading Employment Tribunal upheld a complaint that Dr Omer Karim, who previously worked as a consultant urologist in Slough, had been discriminated against during an investigation by the GMC, after the body dismissed charges against a white doctor accused of the same conduct. 

The GMC has appealed the verdict but is still waiting for the appeal to be heard.

Read full story

Source: Pulse, 10 March 2022

Read more

Gloucestershire NHS introduces pharmacy plan to speed up patient discharge

An NHS trust has introduced pharmacy changes to help patients who are medically fit to leave hospital sooner.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is focusing on getting TTOs (drugs To Take Out) to the pharmacy by 13:00 GMT each day.

It says this reduces the length of stay for patients by several hours and can release up to 20 beds a day.

"That's 20 people not waiting in the emergency department," said medical director, Professor Mark Pietroni.

The plan has been called 'Early Meds to Release Beds' by the trust.

Patients whose TTOs are with the pharmacy by 13:00 GMT are usually discharged about four hours later.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 20 January 2023

Read more

© 2026 Patient Safety Learning. All rights reserved.

Patient Safety Learning is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission Registration number 1180689.

×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.