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Faulty concrete fears at 250 NHS Scotland sites

More than 250 NHS buildings in Scotland could contain a potentially dangerous type of concrete that can collapse without warning.

NHS Scotland issued a Safety Action Notice in February and completed a "desktop survey" of its estate in June.

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) was used to build roofs, walls and floors from the 1960s to the 1990s.

NHS Scotland has warned the material is potentially vulnerable to "catastrophic failure without warning".

But a Scottish government spokesperson said there was "no evidence to suggest that these buildings are not safe."

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Source: BBC News, 25 July 2023

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Fault warning for Emerade 500 adrenaline pens

People carrying Emerade 500 microgram adrenaline auto-injector pens should return them and get hold of a prescription for a different brand.

A fault has been detected in the pens, meaning the dose of adrenaline may not be delivered when needed for people with severe allergies.

The official advice comes from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Alternative brands - EpiPen and Jext - are available up to 300 micrograms.

"Action has been taken to protect patients, following detection of a fault in one component of the Emerade adrenaline auto-injector pens," an MHRA spokesperson said.

"Patients should return all Emerade 500 microgram pens to their local pharmacy once they have a new prescription and have been supplied with pens of an alternative brand."

If an Emerade pen does need to be used before a patient can get hold an alternative pen, the advice is that it should be pressed very firmly against the thigh. If this does not work, the patient should immediately use their second pen.

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Source: BBC News, 19 May 2020

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Fatigue syndrome exercise therapy loses NICE recommendation

A controversial exercise technique used to manage chronic fatigue syndrome is no longer being recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).

The decision to stop recommending graded exercise therapy (GET) – which involves incremental increases in physical activity to gradually build up tolerance – represents a crucial win for patient advocates who have long said the practice causes more harm than good.

Patient groups have argued that the use of exercise therapy suggests that those with chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as ME) have no underlying physical problem but are suffering symptoms due to inactivity.

“We have been so widely dismissed and had our suffering at the hands of this condition constantly diminished by the inappropriate and damaging guidance/notion that we can simply exercise or think our way out of a physical illness none of us asked for nor deserve,” said ME patient Glen Buchanan.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is thought to affect about 250,000 people in the UK and has been estimated to cost the economy billions of pounds annually. One in four are so severely affected they are unable to leave the house and, frequently, even their bed.

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Source: The Guardian, 10 November 2020

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Father-to-be died in hospital 'screaming in pain'

The family of a father-to-be have criticised hospital staff who left him "screaming out in pain" in the final hours of his life.

Adam Hurst, 31, died from a rare type of hernia a few hours after arriving at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire, last December.

The hospital found Mr Hurst's pain management and the communication with him and his relatives was "inadequate".

The Medical Director of North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Kanchan Rege, said: "Our staff strive to provide high quality care at all times and this was not the case in this instance."

At the inquest into his death, the coroner concluded it was "not possible to say whether on the balance of probabilities earlier surgery would have resulted in a different outcome due to the rare and complex nature of the surgery". But the hospital's serious incident report, seen by the BBC, found Mr Hurst's pain "should have been more aggressively managed, from the outset".

It also found the frequency of his observations was "inadequate" and stated the documentation in the emergency department "was generally very poor from the nursing staff that cared for the patient".

The report also said "clear explanations to the patient and relatives are essential to allay fears and reduce anxiety".

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Source: BBC News, 5 December 2019

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Father-of-three not told of aneurysm before death

A father-of-three died of a brain haemorrhage following failings at the hospital where he worked, health bosses have admitted.

Craig Green, 39 was a catering assistant who worked at the QE and was referred by his GP to the hospital following hearing loss.

He attended an ear, nose and throat emergency clinic on the 1 April 2025.

An MRI scan was later carried out and doctors found an aneurysm in one of the arteries to his brain, which was flagged as a high priority to be reviewed by the neurovascular team at the trust.

However, the referral was never finished and neither Craig Green nor his GP were made aware of the findings.

"What's very hard to understand is that, if he knew, he could've put things in place. He could've spoken to his family," his father, Dennis Green, said.

A spokesperson for the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust said there were failures in communication by their staff over Craig Green's case. The Department of Health said the failure was unacceptable.

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Source: BBC News, 3 February 2026

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Father whose baby died after missing vitamin K jab urges parents not to be taken in by misinformation

A father whose baby died at six weeks after his vitamin K jab was missed has urged parents not to be taken in by misinformation spreading across social media.

Alex Patto, 33, and his wife wanted their newborn son, William, to have the vitamin K jab to protect him against a rare but serious bleeding disorder known as vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB).

But the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge missed the jab and their firstborn child tragically passed away at six weeks old after suffering a bleed on his brain.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has completed a serious incident report and an inquest is due to take place in the coming months.

Having gone through baby loss, Alex said he finds it “hard to understand” why parents would trust unverified information on social media over advice from their healthcare professional to opt into the jab.

iNews previously revealed an increase in anti-vaccination misinformation on social media discouraging parents from getting the vitamin K jab for their newborn babies. The jab is a vitamin injection, not a vaccine – which are given to protect against infectious diseases – but doctors have reported videos on social media are incorrectly mislabelling it as such.

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Source: iNews, 23 March 2023

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Father took own life after botched dental surgery in Turkey

Pawel Bukowski, 48, was found dead at his home in Norfolk in April last year after Turkish dentists removed his teeth but sent him home without new implants.

An inquest has now found that the NHS “missed” opportunities to prevent the forklift driver’s death, which a coroner ruled was suicide.

Mr Bukowski travelled to the country in January 2025 for the treatment after suffering from periodontal disease, a chronic inflammatory condition.

Mr Bukowsi was told by dentists that once his teeth were removed, he would be given temporary dentures while he waited for a second permanent implant procedure several months later.

Daria Bukowska, his widow, told the inquest at Norfolk coroner’s court: “Unfortunately, after removing all of his teeth, the clinic told him they could not proceed further.

“They sent him home without any teeth and told him to return in six months. This was emotionally devastating for him.”

The inquest heard mental health workers concluded he was “hopeless with a strong suicidal ideation” and there were concerns for his “safety and wellbeing”.

However, they chose not to admit him to psychiatric care because of “sufficient protective factors” and sent him home to his family, who were given medication for him and advice on keeping him safe.

On April 26, his “heavy” drinking prevented a nurse from prescribing him further medication.

On April 28, a psychiatrist was due to visit him at home at 10am but staff sickness meant he was not visited until shortly before 1pm, when he was found dead.

Johanna Thompson, the area coroner, recorded his cause of death as suicide and said there was “evidence of Pawel’s intent to end his life in the messages and notes he left”.

The Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust investigated itself following his death and found the decision not to admit him on April 24 was a “missed opportunity”, the coroner said.

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Source: The Telegraph, 13 April 2026

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Father calls for overhaul of 'flawed' suicide assessments

A father whose son took his own life in July 2020 is calling for an "urgent overhaul" of the way some counsellors and therapists assess suicide risk.

His son Tom had died a day after being judged "low risk", in a final counselling session, Philip Pirie said.

A group of charities has written to the health secretary, saying the use of a checklist-type questionnaire to predict suicide risk is "fundamentally flawed".

The government says it is now drawing up a new suicide-prevention strategy.

According to the latest official data, 6,211 people in the UK killed themselves in 2020. It is the most common cause of death in 20-34-year-olds.

And of the 17 people each day, on average, who kill themselves, five are in touch with mental health services and four of those five are assessed as "low" or "no risk", campaigners say.

Tom Pirie, a young teacher from Fulham, west London, had been receiving help for mental-health issues.

He had repeatedly told counsellors about his suicidal thoughts - but the day before he had killed himself, a psychotherapist had judged him low risk, his father said.

Tom's assessment had been based on "inadequate" questionnaires widely used despite guidelines saying they should not be to predict suicidal behaviour, Philip said.

The checklists, which differ depending on the clinicians and NHS trusts involved, typically ask patients questions about their mental health, such as "Do you have suicidal thoughts?" or "Do you have suicidal intentions?"

At the end of the session, a score can be generated - placing the individual at low, medium or high risk of suicide, or rating the danger on a scale between 1 and 10.

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Source: BBC News, 20 April 2022

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Father calls for industry changes after baby dies during 'hands-free' breastfeeding

The father of a seven-week-old boy who died after being breastfed in a baby carrier is calling for increased safety standards around baby slings.

James Alderman, who was known as Jimmy, was being breastfed "hands-free" within a baby carrier worn by his mother while she moved around their home.

Jimmy's father, George Alderman, told Sky News: "Baby slings are sold as being a lifesaver, allowing you to get on with your business while your baby's safe and close to you, but in this instance, we had our baby close, but not safe."

The inquest into his death heard Jimmy was in an unsafe position too far down the sling.

Mr Alderman said that while much of the available advice around slings focused on them not being too tight, few people were aware of the danger of the sling not being tight enough, and so allowing the baby to slump.

Explaining what medical experts think happened to Jimmy, he said: "After he'd been feeding, he fell asleep and then he slumped forwards. Then, because his head was covered and he had his chin against his chest, he was facing downwards.

"Nothing was covering his face, but because of the position he was in, that meant that not enough oxygen was going into his lungs because he was small and not fully developed, and that's why he stopped breathing."

Mr Alderman said that while many brands of baby carriers said they were safe for breastfeeding, the lack of advice around how to safely do it meant that parents were "left to work it out by themselves".

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Source: Sky News, 30 December 2024

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Fat-shamed by banter at my pregnancy scan

A mum-of-four said she felt "fat-shamed" at a pregnancy scan and during follow-up appointments.

Alexandra Dodds said her weight was raised at every appointment, and circled with a pen so vigorously in her notes that she wanted to lose them.

"It was just kind of jokes, like 'hope you've stopped the Christmas snacks', or 'make sure you've thrown the box of chocolates away'," said Ms Dodds. "I didn't feel like it was said in a spiteful way to try to upset me, it was like banter, but I don't feel like you can banter about that," she added.

Baby Brianna was born healthy at home before a midwife could arrive in July, last year.

Alexandra said she only felt able to speak out about what she wanted during her pregnancy and labour because of three previous pregnancies.

"If I feel any level of shame, that's just a clear indication that I have to talk about it, because it means I'm not the only person and other people will understand," she added.

Joint research by Cardiff University and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) found women with higher BMIs felt stigmatised by risk messaging in maternity care.

The Wrisk Project, which surveyed more than 7,000 women, looked at how risk is communicated in pregnancy following concerns it didn't always "reflect the evidence base".

Clare Murphy, director of BPAS, said the work showed they hadn't got it right. "Pregnant women are often infantilized, and it feels like sometimes decisions are made about them, for them," she said.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said care should be based on respect and understanding of women's needs.

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Source: BBC News, 3 January 2021

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My ob-gyn kept shaming me for my weight gain during pregnancy - patient video

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Faster MRI scans could help end dementia diagnosis ‘postcode lottery’

Faster MRI scans could help end the “postcode lottery” of dementia diagnosis by cutting costs and making the scans more widely available, a study has suggested.

Brain scans help diagnose dementia alongside memory tests and blood tests, but because MRI scans are expensive, very few patients are offered them.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) have developed a way of running the brain scans to achieve the same results in a third of the time - potentially doubling the number of dementia scans able to be done in a day and lowering the cost.

Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “While MRIs aren’t the only way to diagnose dementia, very few people with concerns about their cognitive health are offered one as part of the diagnosis process, mainly because they are expensive and not widely available.

“These faster MRIs, which take less than half the time of standard scans, could help end this postcode lottery in dementia diagnosis, cut costs and potentially give more people access to them.”

Professor Nick Fox, at UCL’s Institute of Neurology, said: “As more treatments that can slow or change the course of dementia are being developed, it's important to make sure MRI scans are available to everyone. This is because people living with dementia often need an MRI scan as part of their diagnosis before they can access these treatments.

“To help make this possible, our team carried out the first study looking at how new imaging techniques - called parallel imaging - could speed up MRI scans in clinics. Their goal is to move closer to a future where every person with dementia can get a diagnosis through a scan.”

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Source: The Independent, 13 October 2025

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Fast response to terror attacks saves lives. UK medics should not be held back

The Streatham terrorist attack has again highlighted one of the most difficult decisions the emergency services face – deciding when it is safe to treat wounded people.

In the aftermath of the stabbings by Sudesh Amman, a passer-by who helped a man lying on the pavement bleeding claimed ambulance crews took 30 minutes to arrive. The London Ambulance Service (LAS) said the first medics arrived in four minutes, but waited at the assigned rendezvous point until the Metropolitan police confirmed it was safe to move in.

Last summer, the inquest into the London Bridge attack heard it took three hours for paramedics to reach some of the wounded. Prompt treatment might have saved the life of French chef Sebastian Belanger, who received CPR from members of the public and police officers for half an hour. A LAS debriefing revealed paramedics’ frustration at not being deployed sooner.

A group of UK and international experts in delivering medical care during terrorist attacks have highlighted alternative approaches in the BMJ. In Paris in 2015, the integration of doctors with specialist police teams enabled about 100 wounded people in the Bataclan concert hall to be triaged and evacuated 30 minutes before the terrorists were killed. The experts writing in the BMJ believe the UK approach would have delayed any medical care reaching these victims for three hours.

These are perilously hard judgment calls. Policymakers and commanders on the scene have to balance the likelihood that long delays in intervening will lead to more victims dying from their injuries against the increased risk to the lives of medical staff who are potentially putting themselves in the line of fire by entering the so-called 'hot zone'.

First responders themselves need to be at the forefront of this debate. As the people who have the experience, face the risks and want more than anyone to save as many lives as possible, their leadership and insights are vital.

In the wake of the Streatham attack the government is looking at everything from sentencing policy to deradicalisation. Deciding how best to save the wounded needs equal priority in the response to terrorism.

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Source: The Guardian, 7 February 2020

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Family's anger as hospital unit where father died after surgery mix-up investigated

The family of a man who died waiting for life-saving brain surgery at one of the country's leading hospitals say they're "furious" the department which treated him is now under rapid investigation.

John Brackenbury died in 2016 after doctors at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge prioritised another patient for treatment.

Despite several recommendations being made after John's death, whistleblowers at the hospital have told Sky News that changes didn't happen.

Mr Brackenbury's daughter, Jenny Dunk, said it's "despicable" that lessons weren't learnt from his death.

"Nobody cared, nobody saw dad as a human being, you know, they're all about kind of looking after themselves and their own egos and protecting each other," Jenny said.

John was admitted to Addenbrooke's in November 2016 after suffering a brain haemorrhage, which needed treatment within 48 hours.

But clinicians unexpectedly chose to operate on a different patient.

"We were told that there was an unfortunate sequence of events and they took the wrong person. They took an 85-year-old Mrs B instead of a 70-year-old Mr B," John's widow Jean explained.

John's operation was delayed until the following day, but he died overnight.

His daughter Jenny said: "He was just left in a bed, nil-by-mouth, and abandoned."

His widow describes John's treatment as "completely cruel".

"There didn't seem to be any communication whatsoever between the surgical staff and the ward staff," Jean said.

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Source: Sky News, 14 March 2026

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Family who had to investigate their 19-year-old autistic son's cause of death themselves blast inquest system

The family of an autistic teenager who died from an accidental overdose say they had to investigate the death themselves to find the truth of how he died.

Will Melbourne, 19, was found dead at his Cheshire home on December 18, 2020 after he mistakenly had taken a strong synthetic opioid 100 times stronger than morphine he bought on the dark web.

The inquest into Will's death took three years to come back and his family say had to investigate the matter themselves to find out what happened. 

Sally and John Melbourne said their lives were put on hold during the long wait for the inquest to be completed and the family were told at the pre-inquest hearing that the court were short-staff and had a backlog of 500 cases.   

Parents and friends of the teenager used a trail of digital "breadcrumbs" to uncover that Will had tried to buy oxycodone, a highly addictive opioid that helps with pain relief and anxiety, which turned out to be a synthetic opioid.

The blue pills Will had bought on the darknet were found beside his body. 

The family say the drugs were not tested until they raised it with the coroner's court a year after his death.

Will's blood sample had also been destroyed after the company storing it went into administration. 

The family said they were left traumatised by the time the inquest was concluded. 

Mrs Melbourne said: "We thought the inquest system was there to give us answers. Instead, we felt blocked at every turn. 

"It was outrageous that we had to take the investigation on ourselves."

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Source: Mail Online, 4 January 2023

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Family welcomes new guidance to prevent breathing tube deaths

A grieving family has welcomed new guidance to try to prevent a common surgical procedure from going wrong and causing deaths.

Oesophageal intubation occurs when a breathing tube is placed into the oesophagus, the tube leading to the stomach, instead of the trachea, the tube leading to the windpipe.

It can lead to brain damage or death if not spotted promptly.

Glenda Logsdail died at Milton Keynes University Hospital in 2020 after a breathing tube was accidentally inserted into her oesophagus. The 60-year-old radiographer was being prepared for an appendicitis operation when the error occurred.

Her family welcomed the guidance, saying in a statement: “We miss her terribly but we know that she’d be happy that something good will come from her tragic death and that nobody else will go through what we’ve had to go through as a family."

Oesophageal intubation can occur for a number of reasons including technical difficulties, clinician inexperience, movement of the tube or “distorted anatomy”.

The mistake is relatively common but usually detected quickly with no resulting harm.

The new guidance, published in the journal Anaesthesia, recommends that exhaled carbon dioxide monitoring and pulse oximetry – which measures oxygen levels in the blood – should be available and used for all procedures that require a breathing tube.

Experts from the UK and Australia also recommended the use of a video-laryngoscope – an intubation device fitted with a video camera to improve the view – when a breathing tube is being inserted.

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Source: The Independent,18 August 2022

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Family wants 'Alice's Law' after mother's BBL death

The family of a mother of five who died after getting a Brazilian butt lift (BBL) has written to the government to demand it brings in a new law to regulate the cosmetic industry.

Alice Webb, 33, became unwell and later died in hospital after the treatment given by Jordan James Parke at his Gloucester salon in 2024.

Webb's sister, April Palmer, and her former partner Ben Kingscote have written to health secretary James Murray calling on him to introduce Alice's Law, which would restrict liquid BBL procedures to qualified surgeons.

Webb's family have said they are "disgusted" at the "extremely troubling" lack of progress since she died. The government insisted that it is "taking action".

The family has previously backed the campaign launched by Save Face three years ago calling for greater regulation.

The government has announced proposals to restrict BBLs and other high-risk procedures, but the family's letter criticised ministers for not acting soon enough, despite knowing the dangers.

"Had the Government acted on those warnings when they were raised, Alice might still be with us," the letter from the family said.

"Alice's Law is very important to us as a family, as we believe it could prevent avoidable harm and spare other families the same heartbreak," they said.

"Every month of inaction risks further, entirely preventable fatalities."

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Source: BBC News, 22 May 2026

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Family of woman who died after misdiagnosis by 'substitute doctor' criticise govt review

The parents of a woman who died after her blood clot was misdiagnosed by someone who she thought was a doctor have called a government-ordered review "a missed opportunity".

Marion and Brendan Chesterton have welcomed many of the recommendations in Professor Gillian Leng's review of the role that physician associates (PAs) perform in the NHS, but say "they don't go far enough".

Emily, 30, died in November 2022 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. She went to see her GP at a north London surgery twice in the weeks before her death - and on both occasions was seen by a physician associate who missed the blood clot and instead prescribed propranolol for anxiety.

The actress from Salford had told her worried parents that she had been seen by a doctor, but she had not.

Her father Brendan told Sky News: "If she come out and said I've seen someone called the physician's associate I'm sure we would have insisted that, you know, let's go back and insist that you see a doctor. She never knew."

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Source: Sky News, 14 July 2025

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Family of nurse found dead in river say she was failed by ‘systemic neglect’

The family of a nurse whose body was found in a river after a three-week search have said she was failed by “systemic neglect and under-resourcing in mental health services”.

Victoria Taylor, 34, went missing from her home in Malton, North Yorkshire, on 30 September last year. Her body was recovered from the River Derwent on 22 October after an extensive search.

The inquest into her death in Northallerton heard that Taylor struggled with alcohol and mental health problems related to a childhood trauma.

Coroner Catherine Cundy said the trauma left “an indelible mark” on Taylor’s life “in the form of depression, anxiety and chronic feelings of worthlessness”. Recording a narrative verdict, Cundy said she could not be sure of Taylor’s intentions when she went into the river.

In a statement issued afterwards, Taylor’s sister, Emma Worden, said she hoped the inquest would be a turning point. She said: “Vixx was a devoted mother, a loving fiancee and a fiercely loyal sister. She showed up for those she loved with warmth, humour and a deep sense of care.

“She reached out for help. She made herself visible to services. And yet, time and again, she was failed and left without the support she needed. The failures in her care were not isolated incidents. They were part of a wider pattern of systemic neglect and under-resourcing in mental health services.

“Vixx deserved better. She deserved to be seen, heard and supported. Instead, she was left to carry burdens alone. Her death is a tragedy, but it must also be a turning point. Let this inquest be a step toward accountability, learning and change.”

During the daylong inquest Worden turned to representatives of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS foundation trust (TEWV) saying they were going “round in circles”. She said: “Nobody looked her in the eye and said: ‘We will help you,’ and she’s not here now because you failed her.”

The coroner said she would be writing to TEWV and a number of other agencies with her concerns over the support Taylor was given.

She said she found it “difficult to understand” why community mental health services repeatedly declined to offer Taylor support as her situation deteriorated during 2024.

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Source: The Guardian, 3 September 2025

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Family of man who died after surgery delay calls Sussex NHS trust apology ‘hollow’

The family of a man who needlessly died after a 12-hour delay in surgery have called for changes at a troubled NHS trust as regulators expressed alarm about patient safety and waiting times.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) upgraded the surgery department at the Royal Sussex county hospital in Brighton from “inadequate” to “requires improvement” at a time when it is at the centre of a police investigation into dozens of patient deaths, allegations of negligence and cover-up.

In their report, the regulator expressed concern about already long and lengthening waiting times, repeated cancelled operations and staff shortages that could compromise safety.

The inspection report comes as the Guardian can reveal the trust apologised and settled with the family of Ralph Sims, who died aged 65 after heart surgery in April 2019 when doctors failed to act appropriately to a drop in his blood pressure.

Sims, who was a keen runner, suffered a drop in blood pressure and developed an irregular heart rhythm eight hours after surgery to replace an aortic valve at the hospital.

An internal investigation into Sims’ treatment acknowledged that hospital staff failed to “recognise the significance of the fall in blood pressure”.

University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust, which runs the hospital, accepted that the father of three should have returned to surgery to identify the cause of his deterioration. Instead, medics decided that he should be observed overnight.

Due to another emergency case, an angiogram was not carried out on Sims until just before noon the following day – 12 hours after the drop in pressure. The delay caused irreversible – and avoidable – heart muscle damage, leading to his death five weeks later.

The family said: It added: “Whilst the trust has apologised to our family it feels hollow. Ralph’s death was entirely unnecessary, and despite the issues in his care, it took the trust several years to apologise.”

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Source: The Guardian, 14 February 2024

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Family of girl left brain-damaged at birth accept £28m NHS payout

The family of a girl left brain-damaged at birth have agreed to accept £28m in damages after the NHS trust involved admitted that its mistakes led to the tragedy.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge university hospitals NHS trust failed to monitor the baby’s heart rate while her mother was in labour or ask an obstetrician to review the case, either of which might have led to the girl being born in a healthy condition.

The girl, who is six, suffered severe hypoxia-ischaemia – loss of oxygen to her brain – while she was being born at Queen’s hospital in Romford, east London, in July 2019. That left her badly disabled.

She has epilepsy, experiences unpredictable seizures and is expected to lose mobility throughout her life. She will need lifelong care to help with her cognitive and language impairments. She will also need constant supervision because she has no awareness of danger and is overly friendly with strangers.

The girl’s mother demanded urgent action by ministers and NHS bosses to overhaul maternity care, which is in the spotlight after a series of scandals at trusts across England.

“My daughter is thriving and doing well. But it’s impossible for me to forget that I was robbed of the precious experience of most mothers giving birth by the horror of what happened to us,” said the mother. Neither she nor her daughter can be identified for legal reasons.

“Seven years on, I’m still deeply affected by seeing the hospital’s name crop up in the press regarding tragedies for other families and their babies. This is despite the repeated promises of the government and endless reviews into maternity safety. Surely someone must take the bull by the horns and take action to change things.”

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Source: The Guardian, 4 June 2026

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Family of Cornwall girl, 6, misled over cause of death, coroner finds

A six-year-old girl thought to have died from sepsis was in fact suffering from a blood condition triggered by E coli infection, an inquest has found.

Coco Rose Bradford was taken to the Royal Cornwall hospital in the summer of 2017 suffering from stomach problems and later transferred to the Bristol Royal hospital for children, where she died.

The following year an independent review flagged up failings in her care in Cornwall and the Royal Cornwall hospitals trust apologised for how it had treated her.

Her family were left with the belief she had died of sepsis and could have been saved if she had been given antibiotics. But on Friday, coroner Andrew Cox, sitting in Truro, found that Coco died from multiple organ failure caused by haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS). The inquest heard there is no proven treatment for HUS.

Cox said Coco’s family had been misled over the sepsis diagnosis, which he said was deeply regrettable, adding: “As a matter of fact, I find Coco had overwhelming HUS, not overwhelming sepsis.”

During the inquest, the court heard Coco’s family felt staff at the Cornish hospital were “dismissive, rude and arrogant” and did not take her condition seriously.

Cox found that although staff had recognised the risk of HUS from the moment Coco was admitted, this was not clearly set out in a robust management plan. The coroner also said a lack of communication had made Coco “something of a hostage to fortune”.

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Source: The Guardian, 14 January 2022

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Family hit a 'brick wall' seeking justice for baby

The grandfather of a baby who died at a hospital that was fined over failings in the delivery has spoken of his five-year fight for justice.

Derek Richford was speaking as an independent report into baby deaths at the East Kent Hospitals Trust will be released this week.

He said he "came up against a brick wall" while searching for answers over the death of grandson Harry Richford.

An inquest into Harry's death at Margate's Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in 2017 found it was wholly avoidable and contributed to by neglect.

Coroner Christopher Sutton-Mattocks said the inquest, which was finally held in 2020, was only ordered due to the family's persistence.

The following year the trust was fined £733,000 after admitting failing to provide safe care and treatment for mother Sarah Richford and her son following a prosecution by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Mr Richford said: "To start with we felt fairly alone and we felt like we were coming up against a brick wall.

"The trust were refusing at that time to call the coroner. They were reporting Harry's death as 'expected'.

"We didn't contact anyone other than the CQC just to say 'look there's been a problem here'."

He said at a meeting with the trust, more than five months later, "we suddenly realised that there were a huge [number] of errors".

Mr Richford told the BBC: "It took me about a year to come up with all the detail I needed and to speak to all the right people."

He said the family then spoke to the Health Safety Investigation Branch who found there were issues.

Mr Richford also tracked down a "damming" report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

"In the end it was like peeling back the layers of an onion, and the more you took off, the more you found," he said.

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Source: BBC News, 18 October 2022

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Family have 'lingering questions' over baby's death

A family has been left with "lingering questions" about the death of a baby at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, an inquest has been told.

Darrach Smyth, an infant from the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, died in 2008 following cardiac complications.

A decision was subsequently taken to transfer children's heart surgery from Belfast to an all-Ireland centre in Dublin.

The death of Darrach, who was born with Down's syndrome and was subsequently treated for heart and lung problems, was part of a review conducted prior to the decision to move the services from Belfast.

At the inquest, Cora and Joseph Smyth both outlined their ongoing concerns about a decision to temporarily stop the sedation - or pain relief medication - of their son about a week before he died.

In a statement to the inquest, his mother, Cora Smyth, explained how her son, who died almost eight months after his birth, had been receiving routine hospital treatment during his short life.

He died shortly after cardiac surgery.

She said her son's death had "a huge impact" on their lives and they had "lingering" unanswered questions.

These questions are about the pausing of sedation for a period during and after Darrach's transfer from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit to the Children's Hospital, shortly before his death.

Cora Smyth explained that the family was not aware of this at the time, and only discovered it when they requested hospital notes, following a BBC News NI report four years later in 2012, about a review of children's congenital cardiac services in Belfast.

She said no one at the hospital has ever adequately answered their questions about this issue.

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Source: BBC News, 12 January 2025

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Family doctors in Scotland say patient safety now 'at risk' as they battle to source supplies of vital prescription medicines

GPs in Scotland last night warned patient safety is at risk due to a chronic shortage of prescription medicines.

Medics said their ability to effectively treat people is being compromised and that the battle to source vital medicine has reached crisis point.

A survey of practitioners, including GPs, by the Medical and Dental Defence Union Scotland (MDDUS) found nine out of ten members said the ability to ‘practise medicine safely’ has now been ‘impacted’.

Forty-five per cent said they were "seeing patients whose overall health has deteriorated’ as a result of the ‘shortage of medicine".

The issue is affecting a range of conditions and includes drugs used to treat cystic fibrosis, diabetes and epilepsy, as well as hormone replacement therapy, opioid painkillers and medicines for heart conditions.

Manufacturing and logistical problems caused by Brexit, the conflict in Ukraine and the Covid pandemic have previously been cited as reasons for the supply problem.

One GP stated: ‘It is very demoralising working as hard as we can – and still being unable to meet patients’ needs due to constraints outside of our control. It makes workdays harder than necessary and mentally exhausting."

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Source: Daily Mail Online, 10 August 2024

Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy? 

Are you a pharmacists working in community or hospital settings?

To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in our Community conversation on medication shortages.

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Family campaigns to prevent breech birth deaths

A couple whose baby died after he was starved of oxygen during a home birth are campaigning for risky breech deliveries to be spotted earlier.

Arthur Trott was an undiagnosed breech baby, born after a planned home birth in Burgess Hill on 24 May 2021.

A breech delivery is when a baby's bottom or feet will emerge first.

An inquest into his death found a delay in transfer to hospital "materially contributed" to his brain injury.

The South East Coast Ambulance Service Trust said it welcomed "any changes to national breech birth guidance".

Arthur's parents believe a breakdown in communication between the paramedics who attended and their control room meant Mrs Trott was kept at home too long.

Arthur's father, Matt Trott, said: "You could hear the panic and confusion in everyone's voices. One minute they were told to go to hospital, the next minute to stay."

As a result of Arthur's death, all planned home births in Sussex are being offered a presentation scan at 38 weeks.

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Source: BBC News, 14 March 2023

 

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