Jump to content
  • articles
    9,854
  • comments
    83
  • views
    12,508,179

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

Don’t let this heatwave affect your medicines: Three important tips from the MHRA

As the UK braces for another scorching day of high temperatures today, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is reminding people that these hot conditions can affect medicines and how well they work. Hot weather changes how your body responds to medications, which could impact people managing long-term conditions – but a few simple steps can help avoid problems.

Alison Cave, Chief Safety Officer at the MHRA, said:

“Let’s face it – when there’s a heatwave, most of us are focused on getting outside and enjoying it while it lasts. But it’s easy to forget that medicines left in the heat – in cars, bags, or on sunny windowsills – might not work properly when you need them.

“Some medicines can also make you more likely to burn in the sun, feel dizzy, or get dehydrated, especially if you’re taking diuretics or have a condition like asthma, heart disease, or diabetes.

“To stay safe in the heat:

  1. Store medicines somewhere cool, dry and out of direct sunlight – especially if you’re out and about
  2. Know the signs of heat-related illness – stay hydrated and listen to your body
  3. Take extra care in the sun if your medicine makes your skin more likely to burn

“And remember, for all medicines it’s important to read the leaflet and speak to a healthcare professional if you have any questions.” 

Read full press release

Source: MHRA, 26 May 2026

Read more

Don’t let the heatwave affect your medicines: Three important tips from the MHRA

With the UK bracing for another heatwave this week, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is reminding people that high temperatures can affect medicines and how well they work. Hot weather changes how your body responds to medications, which could impact people managing long-term conditions – but a few simple steps can help avoid problems.

Alison Cave, Chief Safety Officer at the MHRA, said:

“Let’s face it – when there’s a heatwave, most of us are focused on getting outside and enjoying it while it lasts. But it’s easy to forget that medicines left in the heat – in cars, bags, or on sunny windowsills – might not work properly when you need them.

“Some medicines can also make you more likely to burn in the sun, feel dizzy, or get dehydrated, especially if you’re taking diuretics or have a condition like asthma, heart disease, or diabetes.

“To stay safe in the heat:

  • Store medicines somewhere cool, dry and out of direct sunlight – especially if you’re out and about.
  • Know the signs of heat-related illness – stay hydrated and listen to your body.
  • Take extra care in the sun if your medicine makes your skin more likely to burn.

“And remember, for all medicines it’s important to read the leaflet and speak to a healthcare professional if you have any questions.” 

Read press release

Source: MHRA, 10 July 2025

Read more

Don’t get surgery on a Friday

If you have any say, you might want to avoid scheduling your next surgery on a Friday.

The most comprehensive analysis of what happens to patients who have surgery on Fridays versus Mondays, published in JAMA by more than a dozen US and Canadian researchers, is unequivocal: The people who underwent all kinds of procedures before the weekend suffered on average more short-term, medium-term, and long-term complications than people who went under the knife after the weekend was over.

The study was based in Ontario and included more than 450,000 patients who received one of the 25 most common surgeries between 2007 and 2019.

Previous studies have generally found the same effects across different types of health systems: One UK-based study had reported better outcomes for Monday surgeries after 30 days. A paper looking at Dutch patients detected higher mortality rates after one month for patients who had Friday surgeries compared to Monday. This appears to be a phenomenon no matter the country, as prior US-based research also attests.

People who received pre-weekend surgeries — defined as a Friday or a Thursday before a long weekend — were overall about 5% more likely to experience one of those complications within a year of their surgery than people who got post-weekend procedures (on Monday or the Tuesday after a long weekend). The effect was stronger for heart and vascular surgeries; it was negligible for obstetric and plastic surgeries.

Researchers found Friday surgeries were more likely to be performed by junior surgeons when compared to Monday surgeries. “This difference in expertise may play a role in the observed differences in outcomes,” they wrote, based on a statistical analysis that controlled for other factors.

There could also be fewer senior colleagues on the hospital campus for the junior physicians to consult with, the authors said. In addition, the weekend doctors and nurses may be less familiar with the patient’s case, raising the risk that complications will be caught later and therefore lead to worse outcomes.

Read full story

Source: Vox, 21 March 2025

Read more
 

Don’t charge migrants for maternity care, say midwives

Midwives have called on the government to end the policy of charging some migrants for maternity care, saying it undermines trust and creates a climate of fear among vulnerable pregnant women.

A report by Maternity Action, backed by the Royal College of Midwives, says some women were seeking maternity care late in pregnancy, missing tests and treatments, or completely avoiding antenatal care for fear of charges and Home Office sanctions.

“Midwives should not act as gatekeepers to maternity services,” said Gill Walton, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: BMJ, 9 September 2019

Read more
 

Don’t bank on a coronavirus vaccine, says Sir Patrick Vallance

The government’s chief scientific adviser has cautioned against banking on a OVID-19 jab, warning that new vaccines are “long shots”.

Oxford University researchers are planning to begin human trials of a vaccine this week and believe that they could have results showing whether it works as early as September.

However, Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser, has cautioned that even if a vaccine shows signs of protecting against the virus, ensuring that it is safe could take much longer.

“All new vaccines that come into development are long shots. Only some end up being successful,” he said yesterday. “Coronavirus will be no different and presents new challenges for vaccine development. This will take time.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 20 April 2020

Read more
TAGGED

Don’t ask for ‘unhelpful’ national mandates, warns NHSE director

NHS England’s national medical director has warned health campaigners against demanding “unhelpful” new national rules and mandates, as power was moving to local integrated care boards.

Claire Fuller told the Pathways from Homelessness conference in London that she was against central mandates because “we have never really made anything better by making anything rigid”.

She said the shift of ICBs to becoming strategic commissioners will give them a “greater understanding of their population” need and empower them to “commission services more appropriately, and in theory, move the money around to match it”.

Dr Fuller, who was chief executive of Surrey Heartlands ICB before joining NHSE, said: “The way you increase your voice is by coming together with a single message… the more we connect you through the national [neighbourhood health] pilots, the national programmes that are going on, the stronger it gets.

“But you have to remember: as passionate as the people are in this room, there are probably twelve other rooms meeting around the country today [that are] equally passionate about what they care about and [concerned about] causing harm because we are getting it wrong…

“The more we can not lobby as individual groups, and the more we can lobby for the things that make care better because we know that is true, the more we will get to… reducing the inequalities that go around.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 25 March 2026

Read more
 

Don't ignore cancer signs, says new NHS England boss

The new head of NHS England has urged people not to ignore the signs of cancer and encourages people to get checked out if symptoms emerge, such a cough or stomach pain that won't go away.

Experts believe certain cancers such as abdominal cancers - throat, stomach, bowel, pancreatic, ovarian - and urological cancers - prostate, kidney and bladder - are the most likely to go unrecognised and suggest anyone with symptoms to tell their GP. 

"People should not feel like they cannot trouble the NHS, which is open and ready to treat people." NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard has said.

Read full story.

Source: BBC News, 15 August 2021

Read more

Domestic abuse is ‘public health emergency’, experts say after critical NHS report

Domestic abuse is a public health emergency, experts have claimed, after a report concluded that the NHS is failing victims by not training staff to spot and respond to the signs of domestic violence.

About one in four people (21.6%) in England and Wales aged 16 years and over have experienced domestic abuse, affecting 12.6 million people, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Analysis shows that the NHS has more contact with victims and perpetrators than any other public service.

But new research by the charity Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse (Stada) claims the health service is missing vital opportunities to save lives. It examined all the official reviews of domestic abuse-related homicides and suicides published in 2024 and found that about 90% cited safeguarding failings by the NHS.

Lack of domestic abuse training was the most frequent criticism identified. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance advises mandatory training for frontline NHS staff in identifying and properly caring for domestic abuse victims. But Stada’s analysis found that such training was “sporadic and inconsistent”.

The report also highlights repeated failures by the NHS to record risks, share information and get victims help from other specialists such as alcohol and mental health services, and independent domestic violence advisers.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 22 June 2025

Read more
 

Doing nothing on social care 'untenable', MPs warn

A failure to fix England's social care system is costing the country in financial and human terms, cross-party MPs have warned.

Doing nothing to reform social care for older and disabled adults is an "active" and "untenable" decision, according to a report from Health and Social Care Select Committee.

It says successive governments have put too much emphasis on the cost of reforming the system, and future plans will be doomed to fail unless the government understands and measures the "cost of inaction".

The government, which has set up an independent commission which has just started work, said it had "hit the ground running" but acknowledged there was "much more to do".

"Taxpayers are currently paying £32 billion a year for a broken system" propped up by contributions from unpaid carers "equivalent to a second NHS", the report said.

The committee found that social care is consuming an increasing proportion of councils' budgets, crowding out spending on other services.

It added that social care makes up an integral part of the government's NHS reforms and cannot be a separate process.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 5 May 2025

Read more
 

Doctors’ leaders criticise GMC advice allowing resident doctors to supervise PAs

The Royal College of Physicians has said it is “disappointing” that new General Medical Council guidance does not state that physician associates (PAs) must be supervised by a senior doctor.

The BMA has also criticised the GMC’s new good practice advice for doctors who supervise and work with PAs and anaesthesia associates (AAs), calling it an “unhelpful contribution.”

Both the RCP and BMA argue that PAs should be supervised only by senior doctors such as consultants, GPs, and autonomously practising specialist or associate specialist doctors and never by doctors in training. But the GMC’s new guidance suggests that other healthcare professionals or resident doctors could take on this responsibility.

Dr Hilary Williams, RCP clinical vice president elect and chair of the RCP PA oversight group (PAOG) said: 

"The RCP published interim guidance for the supervision of physician associates (PAs) in December 2024. In our guidance, we were clear that PAs working in the medical specialties must be supervised by a senior doctor (a consultant, specialist or associate specialist doctor) and never by a resident. 

'It is therefore disappointing that this new resource from the GMC allows for the supervision of PAs by other healthcare professionals and doctors in training – we drew a firm boundary in our guidance to protect the training opportunities and role of resident doctors.

'Patient safety is our priority. This is why we've repeatedly called for a national scope of practice for PAs. They should not work autonomously, prescribe medications, or request ionising radiation. The RCP interim guidance is overall more detailed, structured and explicit about scope of practice, supervision and how PAs should explain their role and responsibilities. We would expect and encourage trusts and health boards to follow this guidance where PAs are being employed to work in medical specialities."

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: BMJ, 28 April 2025

Read more

Doctors' strike fallout could take weeks to resolve, NHS bosses say

The disruption caused by the junior doctors' strike in England could take weeks to resolve, health bosses say.

Tens of thousands of appointments and treatments, including cancer care, had to be cancelled during the three-day walkout.

Patients with appointments coming up may see them cancelled to make room for high-priority cases hit by the strike.

Hospitals are also reporting problems discharging patients from wards, as consultants were sent to cover A&E.

Saffron Cordery, of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said the scale and length of the walkout, coupled with the fact it started on a Monday - traditionally the busiest day of the week - had made it more difficult than previous strikes by nurses and ambulance staff.

"It will take weeks to recover - just rebooking patients who have treatments and appointments cancelled is a big job," she said.

"Patients have to be individually prioritised - it may mean some patients with bookings in the coming weeks being pushed further back."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 16 March 2023

Read more

Doctors' concern over reduced mention of women in NHS advice

Leading doctors say they have concerns about the NHS reducing mentions of the word "women" in ovarian cancer guidance.

They say "it may cause confusion" and create barriers to care.

But NHS Digital, which writes the online advice, said they wanted to make it relevant for everyone who needs it.

The updated guidance now says that people with ovaries, such as trans men, can also be affected.

Until February, the NHS guidance began by explaining ovarian cancer was "one of the most common types of cancer for women". Now, the only specific mention of women comes on the third page with the explanation that ovarian cancer can affect "women, trans men, non-binary people and intersex people with ovaries".

NHS Digital said the changes were introduced to make the advice more relevant and inclusive. 

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which represents thousands of women's health specialists and pregnancy doctors, said the language used "does need to be appropriate, inclusive and sensitive to the needs of individuals whose gender identity does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth".

But it added: "Limiting the term 'woman' to one mention may cause confusion and create further barriers for some women and people trying to make an informed choice about their care.

"We would therefore support the use of the word 'woman' alongside inclusive language."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 8 June 2022

Read more

Doctors' A&E safety warnings snubbed by watchdog

An NHS watchdog has apologised to 29 doctors at Scotland's biggest hospital for not fully investigating their concerns about patient safety.

A&E consultants at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital wrote to Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to warn patient safety was being "seriously compromised".

They offered 18 months' worth of evidence of overcrowding and staff shortages to back their claims.

But HIS did not ask for this evidence.

The watchdog also did not meet any of the 29 doctors - which is almost every consultant in the hospital's emergency department - to discuss the concerns after it received the letter last year.

Instead, it carried out an investigation where it only spoke to senior executives at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde before then closing down the probe.

HIS has now issued a "sincere and unreserved apology" to the consultants and upheld two complaints about the way it handled their whistleblowing letter about patient safety.

One consultant who signed the letter told BBC Scotland: "We'd exhausted all our options and thought HIS was a credible organisation.

"We offered to share evidence of patient harm. We were shocked that they ignored this and didn't engage with us as the consultant group raising concerns."

Another consultant added they were "shocked at their negligence."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 25 March 2024

Read more

Doctors who treat trans patients say threats worsened after Trump’s orders

Panic buttons, security cameras and active-shooter drills: Those are some of the ways doctors who treat transgender children have armed themselves when facing violent threats over the years. Now, they’re warning the president’s actions could make things more dangerous.

Even before President Donald Trump attempted to ban gender transition care nationwide for young people, protesters routinely demonstrated outside clinics that treat trans youths. Some carried signs with violent messages and the names of doctors who treat trans children. One entered a Seattle clinic with a weapon, according to court records.

Now doctors say threats of violence are rising — along with fears of legal action — in the wake of Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order that labeled gender transition care for minors a “dangerous trend” and “a stain on our Nation’s history.” Dozens of providers gave sworn affidavits as part of a lawsuit four states filed challenging the legality of Trump’s executive order.

Providers in those Democratic-led states remain so afraid, many agreed to file affidavits challenging the order only if they could do so anonymously. Washington’s state attorney general led the legal effort.

“I am scared, not just for myself, but for my family,” one Seattle-based physician and professor wrote in court documents. “It is a terrifying time to be a doctor providing gender-affirming care.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: Washington Post, 9 March 2025

Read more

Doctors warn Truss over NHS ‘fantasy’

Liz Truss has been warned against “fantasy predictions” that the NHS can return to normal without radical change and was told that “unacceptable standards” are being normalised.

In a rare political intervention, the professional standards body for the UK’s 220,000 doctors agreed that the NHS was routinely letting down patients. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said politicians must be prepared for radical changes to save the health service. Closing smaller hospitals, accepting that routine dentistry cannot be free for everyone and a return of Covid volunteers to allow doctors to treat more patients were all suggested by the head of the academy.

The academy released a report that declared the NHS was in crisis, writing: “The system is providing increasing proportions of care or services which are sub-standard, threaten patient safety, and should not be acceptable in a country with the resources that we have in the United Kingdom. If we do not act with urgency, we risk permanently normalising the unacceptable standards we now witness daily.”

The report sets out a series of recommendations for reform, including boosting staff numbers, reforming social care and spending more on technology.

Helen Stokes-Lampard, the academy’s chairwoman, said patients were facing a “dismal winter” and that politicians must take difficult decisions. “If we don’t make changes it will inevitably deteriorate further,” she said. “The demand isn’t going away, the pressure isn’t going away, which is why the challenge for our government and for our whole society is to confront these issues and have a difficult conversation.”

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 9 September 2022

Read more

Doctors warn of ‘massive’ winter crisis in UK’s overstretched A&E departments

Emergency doctors have sounded the alarm over an approaching winter crisis that they say is already putting patients in overstretched A&E departments at risk.

Nearly all medics (94%) fear patients are coming to harm because of the conditions in A&E departments around the UK, according to a snapshot survey of 83 medics from emergency departments from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). Most (87%) are not confident their departments will cope well over the winter months, while 41% feel less prepared for this winter compared with last year.

More than four-fifths (83%) of the emergency doctors surveyed between 7 and 13 November said patients were being cared for in corridors, which can leave people stranded for hours on trolleys or chairs, while more than half (51%) had seen patients forced to wait outside emergency departments in ambulances.

The president of the RCEM, Dr Adrian Boyle, said: “This is a stark warning from those on the frontline. Clinicians are worried and patients are unsafe. Winter is coming and it looks like we are facing a massive crisis is every part of the UK. We cannot just ignore winter and our patients.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 18 November 2024

Read more

Doctors warn of 'horrific' impact of tech and devices on children and young people's health

Doctors and medical experts have warned of the growing evidence of "health harms" from tech and devices on children and young people in the UK.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) said frontline clinicians have given personal testimony about "horrific cases they have treated in primary, secondary and community settings throughout the NHS and across most medical specialities".

The body, which represents 23 medical royal colleges and faculties, plans to gather evidence to establish the issues healthcare professionals and specialists are seeing repeatedly that may be attributed to tech and devices.

It intends to highlight the sometimes-hidden risks of unrestricted content and screen time to children and young people and provide guidance to the medical profession about how to identify and manage the harm being done.

The academy said it already had "evidence of the impact on children and young people's physical and mental health both from excessive screen time as well as exposure to harmful online content".

It says the work is due to be completed within three months.

The letter was sent to Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.

Read full story

Source: Sky News, 18 January 2026

Read more

Doctors warn NHS private sector plans risk patient safety

Healthcare leaders have been warned by nearly 200 doctors that plans to give more work to private hospitals will “drain” money and staff away from NHS services, leaving the most ill patients at risk.

In a letter, seen by The Independent, almost 200 ophthalmologists urged NHS leaders to rethink plans to contact cataract services to private sector hospitals as it “drains money away from patient care into private pockets as well as poaching staff trained in the NHS.”

The doctors have called for “urgent action” to stop a new contract from being released which would allow private sector hospitals to take over more cataract services.

They raised concerns NHS ophthalmology services would fall into the same crisis at NHS dentistry which would have “blinding consequences” for patients.

One of the lead authors of the letter told The Independent the plans would mean there are not enough NHS staff available to carry out more complex surgeries where patients are at risk of losing their eyesight.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 10 February 2022

Read more
 

Doctors warn intensive care units still face months of extra pressure

Hospitals across the UK opened more than 2,250 extra intensive care beds to cope with the demand from coronavirus patients during the last 12 months – the equivalent of 140 new intensive care units.

In a new report, the Intensive Care Society (ICS) warned pressure on hospitals could last for many more months with makeshift beds for critical care patients having to stay open, hampering efforts to restart more routine services.

The ICS said that 20,675 patients had been admitted to intensive care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by 5 February. It said patients had a median length of stay in the first wave of 12 days, a lot longer than normal with 2,251 extra beds occupied in January 2021 compared to last year.

The ICS warned thousands of extra staff drafted in to look after critical care patients would be needed for months to come and this was despite staffing levels been stretched to dangerous levels.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 10 February 2021

Read more

Doctors warn hospitals under pressure as NHS waiting lists rise

Doctors say the NHS is struggling to meet demand in England as new data shows the waiting list for routine treatment increasing for the second month in a row.

An estimated 7.4m planned procedures were waiting to be carried out in July, up 34,000 on the previous month and the highest level since March.

NHS England said many more patients were coming forward for treatment and a doctors' strike in July left 50,000 appointments cancelled.

The Royal College of Surgeons said the system was coming under severe strain and called for more money for new operating theatres in the autumn budget.

"Crumbling hospital buildings are leading surgeons to have to compete for space, directly contributing to delays and leaving patients waiting for the care they need," said the organisation's vice president Prof Frank Smith.

The latest monthly data also showed the number facing very long waits to start routine treatment had increased.

There were 1,429 patients waiting more than 18 months in July, up from 1,103 in June, though down sharply compared to last year.

Routine treatment includes anything booked in advance, from a consultation with a specialist to minor operations or major surgery.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 11 September 2025

Read more

Doctors warn hospitals ‘not coping’ as study links A&E waits to deaths

Hospitals are not able to cope with current pressures, senior doctors have warned, as a new study links long A&E waits to an increased risk of death.

Patients waiting more than five hours within an emergency department are at an increased risk of dying, according to a study published in the Emergency Medicine Journal (EMJ).

The study’s findings come as emergency care performance across England continues to deteriorate, and as pressures across hospitals mean that more patients are waiting for more than four hours in A&E departments than ever before.

According to the research, death rates for patients waiting between six and eight hours before admission to hospital were 8% higher, and they were 10% higher for those waiting eight to 12 hours. The study was based on data collected prior to the pandemic, and national A&E waiting times have since deteriorated further.

In November last year, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) warned that long delays and overcrowding in A&Es may have caused thousands of deaths during the pandemic.

Researchers said that although cause and effect could not be established between longer waits and deaths after 30 days of hospital admission, they recognised a statistically significant trend.

The paper said: “Long stays in the emergency department are associated with exit block and crowding, which can delay access to vital treatments. And they are associated with an increase in subsequent hospital length of stay, especially for older patients.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 19 January 2022

Read more

Doctors warn failing NHS IT systems ‘undermining’ patient safety

“Failing” IT systems in the NHS are a threat to patient safety. medics have warned.

Doctors and nurses should not “tolerate problems with IT infrastructure as the norm”, according to a new editorial, published in The BMJ.

Experts from Imperial College London and University College London point to an incident in which IT systems at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – one of the largest hospital trusts in the country – went down for 10 days.

The outage, caused by the July heatwave, led to procedures and appointments being postponed for a number of patients.

The new editorial highlights how IT failures can restrict services as doctors are unable to access records and are prevented from ordering diagnostic tests.

This can “bring a halt to the everyday business of healthcare”, they said.

The authors suggest that the NHS IT infrastructure is “crumbling” and leads to “poor user experiences” as well as patient safety incidents.

“Increasing digital transformation means such failures are no longer mere inconvenience but fundamentally affect our ability to deliver safe and effective care – they result in patient harm and increased costs,” they wrote.

Read full story

Source: 10 November 2022

Read more

Doctors warn against over-medicalising menopause after UK criticism

Doctors have hit back at critics saying they are failing menopausal women, and said that treating menopause as a hormone deficiency that requires medical treatment could fuel negative expectations and make matters worse.

Writing in the British Medical Journal they said there was an urgent need for a more realistic and balanced narrative which actively challenges the idea that menopause is synonymous with an inevitable decline in women’s health and wellbeing, and called for continued efforts to improve awareness about the symptoms and how to deal with them.

“Menopause is a natural event for half of humankind. While media attention in the UK may give the impression that growing numbers of women are struggling to cope with menopausal symptoms and are seeking hormonal treatment, there is no universal experience and most women prefer not to take medication unless their symptoms are severe,” wrote Martha Hickey, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues.

They added that over-medicalisation of the menopause risked collapsing this wide range of experiences into a narrowly defined disease requiring treatment.

“It tends to emphasise the negative aspects of menopause and, while effective treatments are important for those with troublesome symptoms, medicalisation may increase women’s anxiety and apprehension about this natural life stage.”

Women’s experiences of menopause were strongly influenced by personal, family and social factors, they said. For instance, a recent review found that negative attitudes and expectations before menopause predicted the likelihood of women experiencing distressing symptoms.

“Changing the narrative by normalising menopause and emphasising positive or neutral aspects such as freedom from menstruation, pregnancy and contraception, together with information about managing troublesome symptoms might empower women to manage menopause with greater confidence,” Hickey said.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 15 June 2022

Read more
 

Doctors warn ‘culture of fear’ in NHS could prevent whistleblowing

Doctors have warned that a “culture of fear” in the NHS may prevent life-saving lessons being learned about COVID-19 after a leading hospital consultant emailed scores of staff saying those responsible for “leaks” would be found and fired.

Dr Daniel Martin OBE, head of intensive care for serious infectious diseases at the Royal Free hospital, emailed a report to colleagues at the peak of the pandemic with a note claiming that the trust would “track any leaks to the media” and then “offer you the chance to post your P45 on Facebook for all to see.”

The email, which described journalists at one respected newspaper as “parasites”, was sent to dozens of nurses and junior doctors. It has been examined by Liberty Investigates, the investigative journalism unit of the civil rights group Liberty, and the Guardian, after being shared by a recipient who said they found the language “intimidating”.

 Whistleblowers UK, the non-profit group, said it had been made aware of the email by a separate individual who was also concerned about its contents.

The Royal Free London trust said the email was “badly worded” and did not reflect trust policy. However, the trust said it was an open and transparent organisation that “does everything it can to encourage our staff to raise concerns and, if necessary, whistleblow”.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 22 June 2020

Read more
 

Doctors want some Covid measures to remain after 19 July

A doctors union has said some Covid measures should remain after the 19th July. 

The British Medical Association has said use of face masks should continue in addition to new ventilation standards. The call to protect the NHS comes after a rise in cases has been observed.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he hopes restrictions can be lifted in England on 19th July but that there may be a need to take extra precautions. 

Read full story.

Source: BBC News, 3 July 2021

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.