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Last minute offer may avert strike by resident doctors

Next week's strike by resident doctors in England may be averted after ministers offered the British Medical Association a fresh deal.

The doctors' union has agreed to put the offer to members over the coming days - if they support it, the five-day walkout starting on Wednesday 17 December could be called off.

The offer includes a rapid expansion of specialist training posts as well as covering out-of-pocket expenses such as exam fees.

But it does not include any promises of extra pay. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been adamant he will not negotiate on that, given resident doctors - the new name for junior doctors - have had pay rises of nearly 30% over the past three years.

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Source: BBC News, 10 December 2025

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Patients being told serious diagnoses via NHS App, says charity

A charity has called for systematic changes to stop patients from discovering their disease diagnoses through the NHS App without proper support. 

Kidney Care UK says that thousands of patients are learning that they have chronic kidney disease (CKD) through the app, despite NHS guidelines stating that serious diagnoses should not be received through digital channels “without adequate support or context”.

In the report ‘Falling through the G-App’, the charity says that around 10% of calls to its support line are from people who have recently discovered they have CKD without any explanation from their doctor, either through medical notes, the NHS App or other healthcare professionals.

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Source: Digital Health, 10 December 2025

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Corridor care ‘endemic’ in UK, doctors say as study reveals scale of problem

Corridor care is “endemic” in the UK, doctors have said, as a major study found one in five patients were treated in hallways, offices and cupboards.

Millions of patients are enduring undignified and unsafe care, with almost every A&E department in the country deploying the approach routinely, contravening national guidance, research reveals.

The study, by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s (RCEM) trainee emergency research network (Tern), analysed five snapshots taken from 165 A&E departments in March this year. It found 17.7% of patients were receiving care in escalation areas, classed as anywhere not routinely used for care unless capacity in emergency departments is breached. This included corridors, waiting rooms, doubled-up cubicles, offices, cupboards and ambulances waiting outside to offload for more than 15 minutes.

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Source: The Guardian, 9 December 2025.

Related Reading: Corridor care and patient safety

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Popular blood pressure medication recalled amid fears of cross-contamination with another drug

A commonly used blood pressure medication has been recalled over fears that it may be cross-contaminated with another drug.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc. has recalled more than 11,100 bottles of bisoprolol fumarate and hydrochlorothiazide tablets under the brand name Ziac, as the tablets may have been cross-contaminated with other products, according to a recall notice published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The recall notice stated that testing of reserve samples “showed presence of ezetimibe,” a drug used to treat high cholesterol.

The December 1 recall was listed as Class III, meaning the use or exposure to the product is “not likely to cause adverse health consequences,” the FDA said.

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Source: The Independent, 9 December 2025

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Patient and staff data stolen in Barts Health cyber attack

Personal patient and staff information has been posted on the dark web after hackers exploited a software vulnerability at Barts Health NHS Trust.

The criminal group, known as Cl0p, stole files from the trust’s database in August 2025, including names, addresses, and invoices of patients and staff who had paid for treatment or services over several years.

It also included files relating to accounting services provided since April 2024 to Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust.

In a statement, Barts Health said that its electronic patient record and clinical systems have not been affected by the attack and it is “confident” that its core IT infrastructure is secure.

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Source: Digital Health, 9 December 2025

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Partial victory for nurse in NHS trans changing room row

A nurse who objected to sharing a female changing room with a transgender doctor has won a claim for harassment against NHS Fife but other allegations of discrimination and victimisation were dismissed.

Sandie Peggie was suspended from her job in a hospital's A&E department after she complained about Dr Beth Upton - a biological male who identifies as a woman - using a female changing room.

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Source: BBC News, 8 December 2025

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NHSE director vows to ‘turn off’ funding for wasteful IT systems

NHS England will intensify its crackdown on wasteful technology spending next year as part of “radically different” approach to funding, a national director has said.

Alex Crossley, NHSE’s director of transformation, finance and delivery, said the NHS needs to be “more disciplined” with its approach to technology funding and that he would be “turning funding off” when productivity gains are not achieved.

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Source: HSJ, 5 December 2025

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Millions offered no choice of provider

Millions of patients are being offered no choice of provider when referred for secondary care and tests, contrary to national guidance, according to NHS England information.

By law, patients are allowed to choose their provider when referred for a first appointment for consultant-led treatment.

The NHS e-Referral Service is the NHS’s national digital system for booking and managing elective appointments and is used in primary care consultations to book appointments; as well as directly by patients via the “manage your referral” website or the NHS App.

It was introduced in an effort to make referrals faster and more transparent, and it was claimed it would also lead to patients being offered more choice.

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Source: HSJ 9 December 2025

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Maternity care failings 'much worse' than anticipated, says head of national review

Hungry mothers, dirty wards and poor care are blighting England's maternity services while staff receive death threats for working in some units, according to a new report.

Baroness Amos, who is chairing a review into maternity care, said that what she has seen so far "has been much worse" than she'd anticipated.

Some women had felt blamed for their baby's death, while others suffered from a lack of empathy, care or apology when things had gone wrong, with poor and black mothers often at the end of discriminatory services.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who set up the review, external, said "the systemic failures causing preventable tragedies cannot be ignored".

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Source: BBC News, 9 December 2025

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Resident doctor charged with sexual assaults of 38 patients

A former resident doctor has been charged with sexually assaulting 38 patients who were in his care.

The Crown Prosecution Service today announced charges against Nathaniel Spencer, 38, of Quinton, Birmingham for alleged offences at The Dudley Group Foundation Trust and the University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust.

He faces 15 counts of sexual assault, 17 counts of assault by penetration, nine counts of sexual assault of a child under 13. Mr Spencer has also been charged with three counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, and one count of attempting to assault by penetration.

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Source: HSJ, 5 December 2025

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Baby’s death linked to EPR disruption

A trust has linked the stillbirth of a baby to the disruption that followed the launch of an electronic patient record.

A report to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust’s board said that in September, reduced “oversight” in its Jessop Wing maternity unit meant a woman in labour was not triaged within the recommended time.

An initial assessment – itself delayed – when she arrived, found a normal heartbeat, but by the time she was re-examined, no heartbeat could be detected, the paper said. It was later discovered the umbilical cord had become entangled around the baby’s body.

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Source: HSJ, 8 December 2025

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‘It’s absolute anarchy’: Oxygen therapy chambers have led to horrific deaths. Why are Maha elite raving about them?

The FDA has approved hyperbaric oxygen therapy to be marketed as a treatment for only 13 conditions – but some clinics are claiming that it can be used for more than 100.

Touted as a cure for everything from wrinkles to autism, the treatment has been hyped by Robert F Kennedy Jr and various celebrities. Experts say it needs to be regulated.

Warning: this article contains distressing content.

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Source: Guardian, 4 December 2025

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Over 1,000 patients occupying hospital beds despite being medically fit to leave

More than 1,000 patients across Kent, Sussex and Surrey are occupying hospital beds despite being medically fit to leave, according to the latest NHS figures.

"Bed blocking" affects the availability of space for incoming patients, which leads to delays in A&E departments and delayed ambulance handovers.

On 30 November, NHS data showed 462 patients in Kent and Medway, 118 in Surrey and 614 in Sussex were ready for discharge.

The NHS said patients who wait longer to leave often have "complex" health and care needs. Kent and Sussex branches said they work with trusts and partners to find the right support.

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Source: BBC, 8 December 2025

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Change in direction and leadership needed to save Scotland's NHS, report warns

Serious change in direction and leadership is needed to save Scotland’s NHS, a report has found.

The review by Mike McKirdy, a retired consultant surgeon from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the former president of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, warned “more of the same will not be enough”.

Mr McKirdy said the founding principles of the NHS were “becoming strained and frayed” and that current trends risk “entrenching a two-tier system where access depends increasingly on ability to pay rather than clinical need”.

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Source: Grampian Online, 8 December 2025

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New immersive room in A&E will 'change so many lives'

The parents of an autistic boy say a new immersive room in their local hospital's children's A&E will "change so many lives".

Robert and Gemma Cummings spent the past year fundraising to open the room, which is the first of its kind in Wales, at the paediatric department of Prince Charles Hospital in their hometown of Merthyr Tydfil.

The project was inspired by their own "distressing" experiences with their six-year-old son Ellis, who struggles with "sensory overload".

They hope the room, officially opened on Thursday, will allow children to receive emergency care without parents reaching a "crossroads" in deciding whether or not hospital visits are worth the potential of trauma.

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Source: BBC News, 7 December 2025

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Thousands of patients in England at risk as GP referrals vanish into NHS ‘black hole’

One in seven people in England who need hospital care are not receiving it because their GP referral is lost, rejected or delayed, the NHS’s patient watchdog has found.

Three-quarters (75%) of those trapped in this “referrals black hole” suffer harm to their physical or mental health as a result of not being added to the waiting list for tests or treatment.

Communication with patients is so unreliable that seven in 10 (70%) only discover they have not been put on a waiting list after chasing up the NHS because they have not been told a hold-up has occurred. In some cases referrals that GPs have agreed to make do not even get sent from their surgery to the hospital, Healthwatch England’s findings show.

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Source: Guardian, 7 December 2025

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Six-fold variation in staff vaccination rates revealed

Fewer than one in 10 frontline NHS staff have been vaccinated at some trusts, despite public appeals from NHS England ahead of this winter.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency says that fewer than a third – 29.7 per cent – of frontline NHS staff in England have received this year’s flu vaccination.

Flu vaccination rates are fewer than one in five at 21 English NHS trusts, and at West London Trust, Croydon Health Services Trust, and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust – uptake was at just one in 10 or fewer. Lewisham and Greenwich Trust had a similarly low uptake according to the UKHSA data, but the trust has said its rates are in fact much higher.

Read full article (paywalled).

Source: Health Service Journal, 5 December 2025.

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Managers ‘defensive and frustrated’ in response to staff concerns

Staff at an ambulance trust fear their managers will “retaliate” if they report concerns to the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian, a board report reveals.

South Central Ambulance Service Foundation Trust’s board was told of staff reports that some managers “actively identify and challenge” those who raise concerns or suggestions, “contributing to a culture of apprehension and mistrust”. 

The points were reported to a board meeting last week by its FTSU Guardian Christine McParland. Guardians are meant to act as an independent and confidential channel for employees to raise problems at work, and to support them to do so. 

Read full article (paywalled).

Source: Health Service Journal, 3 December 2025.

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Chris Whitty on the infections we should take ‘much more seriously’

England’s chief medical officer says infections in older people must be taken “much more seriously”.

Professor Sir Chris Whitty said older people are “under-served” when it comes to care and research into the illnesses affecting them, adding that doctors should have a lower threshold for prescribing antibiotics than they do for younger adults.

He suggested the medical community has been “nihilistic” about infections in older people historically, adding that “people have assumed it’s one of those things that happen in old age – in fact, we can do a lot about it”.

Discussing his new annual report, which focuses on infections, Sir Chris said: “Whilst we are very systematic about reducing infections and preventing infections in children and in young adults, in older adults it is often a lot more hit and miss.”

Read full article.

Source: The Independent, 4 December 2025

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Hospitals facing unprecedented flu season, say NHS bosses

The number of flu patients in hospital has hit a record high in England for this time of year with NHS leaders warning the country is facing an unprecedented flu season.

NHS figures show there were an average of 1,700 patients in hospital with flu last week - that is more than 50% higher than the same time last year - and early indications from this week are that hospitalisations have continued climbing sharply since.

It comes as the flu season hit a month earlier than normal this year, with experts warning there appears to be a more severe strain of the virus circulating.

England's chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty has warned the NHS must take diseases like pneumonia and flu in older people much more seriously to save lives.

Read full article.

Source: BBC News, 4 December 2025

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Director excluded for a year by his trust

The British Medical Association has claimed the exclusion of a medical director from his trust role for more than a year reflects a “toxic culture” and “disturbing pattern” when concerns are raised.

Tim Noble has been excluded from his director role at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust since September 2024, his union confirmed to HSJ this week. The British Medical Association claims the exclusion is unlawful as he has been prevented from returning to work.

It is thought Dr Noble’s case is due to proceed to a formal disciplinary hearing at the trust this month, but the details, including any allegations, are not known. He has continued one session a week for the trust in his consultant medical role.

Read full article (paywalled).

Source: Health Service Journal, 4 December 2025

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Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soar

The health secretary, Wes Streeting, has ordered a clinical review of the diagnosis of mental health conditions, according to reports.

Streeting is understood to be concerned about a sharp rise in the number of people making sickness benefits claims because of diagnoses for mental illness, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the Times reported.

He has asked leading experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become “over-pathologised”, the newspaper said, as he seeks to grapple with the 4.4 million working-age people now claiming sickness or incapacity benefit.

The figure has risen by 1.2 million since 2019, while the number of 16 to 34-year-olds off work with long-term sickness because of a mental health condition is said to have grown rapidly in the same period.

Read full article.

Source: The Guardian, 3 December 2025

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Doctors failed to tell father of seven he was terminally ill, investigation finds

A father of seven was not told he was terminally ill by doctors, who instead said he would be okay, an investigation has found.

William Chapman, known as Syd, only found out he had deadly pulmonary fibrosis when his GP, who thought he already knew the prognosis, mentioned it during a phone call.

He died eight months later.

An investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has found doctors at the Countess of Chester Hospital showed a "worrying lack of accountability" and failed to keep proper records, engage fully with Mr Chapman's family or learn from mistakes.

Read full article.

Source: Sky News, 4 December 2025.

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Nearly 1 million ‘corridor care’ cases in past year

About one million A&E patients have been placed in corridors or similar “temporary” spaces over the past year, information obtained by HSJ reveals.

Sixty-six of England’s 118 acute trusts with accident and emergency departments responded to freedom of information requests for their record of how many times an A&E patient had been placed in a corridor or “temporary escalation space”.

The data released by hospital trusts gives the clearest picture yet of the scale of “corridor care” in crowded emergency departments – a practice labelled “unacceptable” by the government amid deep concerns over patient safety.

Read full article (paywalled).

Source: Health Service Journal, 4 December 2025

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‘Sexual misconduct and blame culture’ found at hospital

Specialist medics in training have been removed from a hospital department after an NHS England investigation uncovered concerns about sexually inappropriate, undermining and aggressive behaviours.

Anaesthetic residents were removed from Basildon University Hospital — part of Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust — after NHS England’s workforce, training and education quality team inspected the trust and provided feedback to senior management over the summer.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 3 November 2025

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