Jump to content
  • articles
    9,950
  • comments
    84
  • views
    12,735,751

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

New NHS online hospital to focus on eyes, menopause and prostates

The new NHS online hospital service being launched in England next year will initially focus on menopause, prostate and eye conditions.

The NHS has selected nine different conditions in total for the service which will be available through the NHS app in 2027.

The service, which was first announced in September, will allow patients to have assessments, check-ups and follow-up appointments online and will have its own dedicated team of doctors.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 6 January 2026

Read more

Our children waited too long for the same diagnosis as Jesy Nelson's twins

Parents of babies born with a life-limiting, rare condition say their diagnoses came months too late, and after they had initially raised the alarm about their symptoms.

Dani-Rae Brown was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) seven months after her first symptom and now has to use a wheelchair, while Lucian Neale was diagnosed at six weeks old despite showing symptoms in his mother's womb.

SMA is a progressive muscle-wasting disease that can cause death within two years if untreated.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 5 January 2026

Read more

Shortage of NHS stroke specialists resulting in thousands dead or disabled, say doctors

Thousands of people who have had a stroke are ending up severely disabled or dying because the NHS has too few specialists to treat them quickly enough, senior doctors are warning.

A chronic shortage of stroke consultants across the NHS means that patients are suffering horrendous consequences because of delays in getting clot-busting drugs and surgery, they said.

“People are either dying or living with disability unnecessarily because they’re not getting the correct evaluation and treatment by the right expert at the right time,” Prof David Werring, the past president of the British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians (BIASP), told the Guardian.

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 5 January 2026

Read more

NHS England urged to introduce external second opinion when dismissing staff

NHS England is being urged to introduce an independent second opinion whenever it decides to dismiss a healthcare professional, in memory of a nurse who set himself on fire after being unfairly dismissed from his job.

Dr Narinder Kapur, an NHS whistleblower, is proposing “Amin’s rule”, named after Amin Abdullah, who killed himself in 2016, to plug a gap he says exists when it comes to staff wellbeing.

Kapur, 76, a consultant neuropsychologist and visiting professor at University College London, was sacked by Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge in 2010 after raising concerns about staff shortages and unqualified staff working without proper supervision.

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 4 January 2026

Read more

Hospices warn of cuts after 'difficult' 2025

Some hospices in the West are warning they will have to reduce their services, if the government-agreed funding they receive from the NHS does not increase.

Hospices have differing funding arrangements, but many receive around a third of their money from the NHS and the rest through donations.

Jessie May Hospice in Bristol, which provides palliative care for children at home, told the BBC its costs had risen 17% in 2025, with donations and statutory funding failing to match this.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 5 January 2026

Read more

Coroner calls for circumcision safety measures after baby’s death in London

A coroner has warned that more babies could die from infected circumcisions in the UK after the death of a six-month-old boy exposed a lack of infection control training and accreditation for circumcisers.

Mohamed Abdisamad died in February 2023 of a streptococcus infection. He had a cardiorespiratory arrest on his way to hospital a week after undergoing a non-therapeutic circumcision, an inquest at west London coroner’s court found in October.

In a prevention of future deaths report published this week, the assistant coroner Anton van Dellen urged the government to take action to avoid similar tragedies.

He wrote: “During the inquest, the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.”

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 2 January 2026

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

Man held after five people attacked in hospital

A man has been arrested after five people were assaulted with a weapon in a hospital, police have said.

The casualties, none of whom are thought to have suffered life-threatening injuries, were treated by paramedics at Newton Community Hospital in Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, after the attack with what may have been a crowbar shortly after 12:00 GMT.

Merseyside Police added the suspect was believed to have gone to the hospital to request an appointment but became "increasingly agitated" when this was declined and he was asked to leave.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 30 December 2025

Read more

Huge rise in number of people in England’s A&Es for coughs or hiccups

Millions of people are turning to A&E departments in England for minor ailments including coughs, blocked noses and hiccups, according to data that health leaders say lays bare a failure to give patients prompt access to primary care.

Emergency wards are designed for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies only. But many are becoming swamped with patients whose health concerns should be dealt with elsewhere, including a near tenfold increase in people seeking help for a cough.

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 31 December 2025

Read more

Fears for NHS patients’ safety as eight in ten hospitals are relying on outdated medical equipment

NHS England advises scanners should be replaced every ten years to ensure reliable images and accurate diagnoses.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to install modern equipment.

Yet 38 of the 48 hospital trusts contacted use X-ray machines more than ten years old — and at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust one machine dates back 30 years.

More than 20 trusts rely on ageing MRI scanners — a hospital trust in Plymouth still uses an 18-year-old machine.

Read full story

Source: Irish Sun, 29 December 2025

Read more

High demand sees hospital trigger safety alert

A Lancashire hospital has declared its "highest level" of alert due to high demand putting "patient safety at risk".

The Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) in Lancaster has been placed at level four of its Operations Pressure Escalation Levels, which means a hospital is "unable to deliver comprehensive care".

The decision to trigger the escalation means the hospital can take additional steps to maintain patient safety.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 30 December 2025

Read more

Asian women in England almost twice as likely to suffer severe childbirth tears

Asian women in England are almost twice as likely to suffer the most severe birth injuries during labour, with many healthcare professionals unaware of this greater risk, analysis has found.

Third- and fourth-degree tears, also known as obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI), are the most severe forms of vaginal tearing during childbirth.

Up to 90% of women experience some tearing during labour, with most of these injuries healing quickly and having a relatively minor impact. A third-degree tear extends into the muscle that controls the anus and a fourth-degree tear extends further into the lining of the anus.

According to Guardian analysis of NHS figures obtained via a freedom of information request, Asian women suffered third- and fourth-degree tears at a rate of 2,831 tears per 100,000 deliveries during 2023-24. This compares with rates of 1,473 per 100,000 for white women and 1,496 per 100,000 for black women.

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 26 December 2025

Read more

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

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: Independent, 24 December 2025

Read more

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

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

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 29 December 2025

Read more

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 30 December 2025

Read more

Hospitals warned end-of-life care crisis threatening treatment

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: BBC, 29 December 2025

Read more

Trust spent £5m on patient death case

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

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

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

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 23 December 2025

Read more

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

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 23 December 2025

Read more

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

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 22 December 2025

Read more

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

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: Independent, 22 December 2025

Read more

Mum urges heart screening after son's sudden death

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

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 21 December 2025

Read more

Death rates rise when NHS cuts back on nursing

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

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

Read full story

Source: The Times, 20 December 2025

 
Read more

Epidural kit shortage could last until March, regulator says

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

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

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

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

Read full story

Source: BBC, 21 December 2025

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.