Jump to content
  • articles
    9,853
  • comments
    83
  • views
    12,496,304

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

Cancer patients among dozens ‘harmed’ by delayed diagnosis and treatment at NHS trust

Cancer patients are among dozens of people found to have been “harmed” after their diagnosis and treatment were delayed due to administrative failures at an NHS trust, The Independent can reveal.

A review of hundreds of gynaecology patients under the care of consultant Dr Jim Wolfe at Salford Royal Hospital, in Greater Manchester, in 2024, was prompted by concerns that the necessary follow-ups were not carried out.

The months-long audit revealed that some women had not been sent letters about their treatment, or their results had not been acted on for conditions including cancer, and concluded many had been “harmed” as a result.

Northern Care Alliance Trust (NCA) NHS Trust, which manages the hospital, has apologised for the “distress we’ve caused” and said those affected had been offered support and ongoing treatment plans. Sources confirmed that Dr Wolfe is still working at the trust, but NCA said it would not comment on the status of its employees.

But the revelation comes amid wider staff unrest over the trust’s gynaecology services with concerns about patient safety, workforce pressures and unsafe workloads.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 17 May 2026

Read more
 

Cancer patients 'warned for years' about hospital water infections

The father of a woman whose death is being investigated by prosecutors said a health board was "warned for years" about issues with a major hospital's water system that it has now admitted probably caused infections in child cancer patients.

Molly Cuddihy - who died in August aged 23 - became seriously ill in 2018 with an infection potentially acquired at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had consistently denied bacteria in the water was responsible for causing some infections which led to the deaths of patients.

But in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, external it has now admitted "on the balance of probabilities", that there was a "causal connection" between some infections and the hospital environment.

The probe was launched to examine mistakes made in the planning, design and construction of the QEUH campus following concerns about unusual infections and the deaths of four patients.

Those included 10-year-old Milly Main, who died after contracting the stenotrophomonas bacteria while undergoing treatment for leukaemia in 2017.

A separate corporate homicide investigation into the deaths of Milly, two other children and 73-year-old Gail Armstrong was launched in 2021.

And last year prosecutors opened an investigation into Molly's death after it was reported by a consultant.

Molly's father, John, told BBC Scotland News the statement was "overdue recognition".

He added: "Molly's words and experience must continue to echo beyond her lifetime."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 18 January 2026

Read more

Cancer patients 'may starve' without vital drug

Cancer patients and others with debilitating conditions have highlighted shortages of a vital drug they say have had a "devastating" impact on their lives.

Creon, a pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (Pert), helps digestion, but has been hard to obtain for the last year and shortages are predicted to last until 2026.

It is thought more than 61,000 patients in the UK need it, including those with pancreatic cancer, cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis.

Some patients said through Your Voice, Your BBC News that they have had to cover long distances to find a pharmacist with supplies.

The Department of Health and Social care says it is working closely with the NHS, manufacturers and others in the supply chain to try to resolve the issues.

Without the drug, patients lose weight and strength, which means their ability to cope with treatment such as chemotherapy is reduced.

Diana Gibb, who is 74, and her husband Mick, 78, live in Tonbridge, Kent.

Mick had a major operation to treat pancreatic cancer in 2023. Diana wrote to BBC News explaining that it is impossible for Mick to digest food without creon. She says he was prescribed a high dose to enable him to regain weight after losing four stone in hospital, but it became increasingly difficult to get hold of the medicine.

"We started to have trouble getting them in the higher dosage, involving me traipsing round pharmacies to find one who could get them. Pharmacies cannot get hold of that dosage. He now has to take a lower dose doubling up on the number of tablets taken, one box now lasts less than a week.

"Pharmacies cannot get hold of lower dosage either and there is no alternative medication. I was worried that my husband would starve to death without them."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 28 February 2025

Related reading on the hub:

Read more

Cancer patients 'lack same protection' after first jab

Cancer patients are much less protected against COVID-19 than other people after one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, the first real-world study in this area suggests.

With a 12-week wait for the second dose this could leave them vulnerable, says the King's College London and Francis Crick Institute research team. An early second dose appeared to boost cancer patients' protection.

Cancer charities are calling for the vaccine strategy to be reviewed.

But Cancer Research UK said the small study had not yet been reviewed by other scientists and people undergoing cancer treatment should continue to follow the advice of their doctors.

The government said it was focused on "saving lives" and the antibody response "was only part of the protection provided by the vaccine".

About 1.2 million people at very high risk of being seriously ill with COVID-19 were prioritised for a first vaccine dose in the first phase of the UK rollout, which includes people with specific cancers.

The UK government decided to extend the gap between first and second jabs from three to 12 weeks in late December to give more people some protection as soon as possible.

Dr Sheeba Irshad, oncologist and senior study author from King's College London, said the findings were "really worrying" and recommended an urgent review of the timing of doses for people in clinically extremely vulnerable groups.

"Until then, it is important that cancer patients continue to observe all public health measures in place such as social distancing and shielding when attending hospitals, even after vaccination," she said.

The study, which recruited 205 people, included 151 with solid cancers, such as lung, breast and bowel, or blood cancers. The researchers tested volunteers for antibodies and T-cells in their blood, which signals that the immune system can protect against illness from the virus in the future.

Three weeks after one dose, an antibody response was found in 39% of people with solid cancers, 13% of people with blood cancer and 97% of people with no cancer.

Following a second dose three weeks after the first, which some cancer patients received, there was a sharp rise in their antibody response against the coronavirus, to 95%. However, among those who had to wait longer for their second dose, there was no real improvement in protection.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 11 March 2021

Read more

Cancer patient's 31-hour 'cattle market' A&E wait

A cancer sufferer who says she faced a wait of 31 hours in A&E has compared the emergency department to "a cattle market".

Tracy Summerson, who had nausea and a fever, was eventually admitted to Lincoln County Hospital last week. Ms Summerson said there were more than 30 other patients who waited a similar amount of time.

The hospital said despite long waits, those who needed immediate care were "able to be seen and looked after".

Ms Summerson, from Scopwick near Metheringham, described the scene as "just crammed, you were like cattle in a market".

Ms Summerson, who has stage four malignant melanoma, said: "There was people coming with sick bowls being sick next to you.

"When you are immune-suppressed you're supposed to go in a side room out of germs way, but they needed all the rooms for consultations."

The family of an 83-year-old woman also contacted the BBC to say she waited more than 40 hours in a wheelchair in her nightdress after being taken to the hospital with a suspected brain bleed.

The trust added: "We continue to see an increasing demand on our urgent and emergency care services coupled with patients staying much longer in our hospitals than previously experienced."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 1 August 2022

Read more

Cancer patient went year without check-up, inquest told

A prostate cancer patient went a year without a check-up because his referral to a consultant was lost.

An inquest into the death of Thomas Ithell also heard that when the error was spotted it was not recorded because staff at Wrexham Maelor Hospital were too busy.

The 77-year-old from Wrexham died in November 2022 after being admitted to hospital with shortness of breath.

Assistant Coroner for North Wales East and Central, Kate Robertson, has submitted a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the health board in relation to Mr Ithell's case.

As well as concerns over the lack of an investigation, she also questioned how the patient's follow-up appointment was missed.

"There have been no assurances as to what, if any, changes and learning have been identified other than a tracking system for PSA monitoring," she wrote, referring to a type of blood test that helps diagnose prostate cancer.

She was also concerned to learn that the hospital's Datix system - used for reporting incidents such as Mr Ithell's - had been described as "not user-friendly".

Time constraints also sometimes prevented staff from completing these reports, thereby failing to trigger subsequent investigations by the board, the assistant coroner added.

"I remain incredibly concerned that where matters are not raised in accordance with internal health board processes that assurances given to me in previous Prevention of Future Deaths reports cannot be supported," Ms Robertson added.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 27 January 2024

Read more
 

Cancer patient says 'it's terrifying' as doctors walk out during heatwave and cyber attack fallout

A cancer patient has told Sky News it's "terrifying" for her health that junior doctors are striking again from Thursday.

The NHS is expecting "major disruption" during the five-day strike as medics in England walk out over pay amid a yellow health alert heatwave and ongoing disruption to some services because of a ransomware cyber attack earlier this month.

Major hospitals Guys' and St Thomas' and King's in London are still running at reduced capacity after the incident.

Cancer survivor Donia Youssef has annual colonoscopies but her last was cancelled because of previous industrial action by junior doctors.

Donia, from Grays in Essex, said: "It's a worry as a mum with two young children and I was on the list. It got cancelled. First time because of the strikes. And after that I didn't hear from them. So I kept pushing. Nothing. It was just more delays. I was just kept waiting.

"[They said]: 'There's a backlog. We'll get back to you. There's a backlog, they're getting through. We'll let you know if there's any cancellations.'"

"It's like months later. Nothing. So eventually, because the symptoms are getting worse, I decided to pay."

Donia was so scared of her health worsening she paid for private treatment, a cost she could barely afford. And now, as a cancer survivor, every time there's a fresh round of strikes she is filled with dread.

"I get scared. I can't get [treatment] on the private and a lot of it's really expensive. So, yeah, it's terrifying. So you're constantly aware," she said.

Read full story

Source: Sky News, 27 June 2024

Read more
 

Cancer patient gets coronavirus after sharing ward with Covid sufferer

A hospital has apologised after an elderly cancer patient tested positive for coronavirus, having been left in a ward with another patient suffering from COVID-19 for several days.

The Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which serves the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, Wales, has confirmed that it is dealing with an outbreak of the virus at the hospital.

It comes after Lesley Pook accused the hospital of “locking” her father James ‘Jim’ Pook and others in a ward with a coronavirus patient and “waiting for them all to develop symptoms”.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 9 December 2020

Read more
 

Cancer operations down 800 in first two weeks of January

There were 800 fewer cancer surgeries in the first two weeks of January than usually take place during the period, according to provisional data seen by HSJ.

The bulk of this reduction came in London and the surrounding counties such as Essex, Bedfordshire, and Surrey.

London and the south east have been severely hit by coronavirus pressures, causing widely reported mass cancellations of non-urgent elective surgery. However, the impact on cancer cases has, so far, been less clear.

NHS England has insisted in the last week that urgent cancer cases should be given the same priority as coronavirus patients.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 25 January 2021

Read more

Cancer drug leaflets for patients in Europe omit important facts

Cancer drug information leaflets for patients in Europe frequently omit important facts, while some are “potentially misleading” when it comes to treatment benefits and related uncertainties, researchers have found.

Cancer is the biggest killer in Europe after heart conditions, with more than 3.7m new cases and 1.9m deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization.

Medicines are a vital weapon against the disease. But critical facts about them are often missing from official sources of information provided to patients, clinicians and the public, according to a study led by researchers from King’s College London, Harvard Medical School and the University of Sydney, among others.

“Regulated information sources for anticancer drugs in Europe fail to address the information needs of patients,” the study’s authors wrote in The BMJ journal. “If patients lack access to such information, clinical decisions may not align with their preferences and needs.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 29 March 2023

Read more
 

Cancer drug developed over 20 years ago ‘could help patients living with chronic pain’

A drug developed over 20 years ago to treat cancer could help patients living with crippling pain, according to new research.

Kenpaullone switches on a gene that douses chronic inflammation, say scientists.

Experiments on mice and humans found it was remarkably successful at alleviating nerve injury and bone tumour symptoms.

The US team is hopeful clinical trials will see equally successful results in humans suffering a host of conditions.

Up to 8 million people in the UK live with chronic pain. Major causes include arthritis and spine damage.

Lead author Professor Wolfgang Liedtke said: “New drugs and other therapies against chronic pain need to be safe, i.e., the fewer side effects the better.

“It’s especially important they be non-addictive and non-sedative, while being effective against nerve injury pain and cancer pain, preferably with a minimal time to official approval."

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 27 October 2021

Read more

Cancer diagnosis delayed by skin colour, say patients

People from ethnic backgrounds have said they believe their cancer diagnoses are being delayed due to a breakdown in communication across the healthcare system.

Israel Eguaogia who speaks on behalf of iAssist-NI, said he was advocating for nine people who felt their colour, religion and language had hampered their access to healthcare.

The most serious cases involve delays in detecting the spread of cancer, with some patients now facing a terminal illness.

The Department of Health said while there was support to aid accessibility for those from ethnic minority backgrounds, it acknowledged some patients may "still find it challenging".

Israel Eguaogia highlighted two cases of patients who have died after finding out their cancer had spread and it was too late for medical intervention.

"A big challenge is the language barrier, and we are asking for more interpreters so we can mitigate these challenges," he said.

One recurring theme among those he represents is a sense of not being taken seriously or a feeling of being "prejudiced".

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 15 August 2024

Read more

Cancer detection fell in Scotland during pandemic

About 1,600 fewer people than expected were diagnosed with the three most common cancers during the first nine months of the Covid pandemic.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) has attempted to work out how restrictions put in place at the start of coronavirus affected diagnosis of the disease. The statistics show that breast cancer diagnosis was down by 19%, bowel cancer by 25% and lung cancer by 9%.

The data also showed cancer was not being diagnosed at the earliest stages. This is when treatment is most successful.

Cancer Research UK called for urgent action to prevent progress on cancer survival going backwards.

David Ferguson, from Cancer Research UK in Scotland, said the PHS report reinforced fears that opportunities to diagnose cancer at an early stage were missed during the pandemic.

He said: "Urgent action is needed. Cancer survival wasn't good enough before the pandemic. Too many people are waiting far too long for diagnosis and treatment so this must be addressed."

He called for a "road map" to tackle staff shortages and backlogs.

"If swift action isn't taken, our fear is that cancer survival in Scotland could go backwards," he said.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 3 November 2021

Read more

Cancer deaths in UK set to rise by more than 50% by 2050, experts warn

Deaths from cancer in the UK are set to rise by more than 50% in the next 26 years, stark new estimates suggest.

Experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have found there were 454,954 new cases of cancer in the UK in 2022 and warned this is expected to rise to 624,582 by 2050.

In 2022, 181,807 people died in Britain from cancer, but researchers warned this is expected to rise to 279,004 by 2050 – a 53% increase.

The estimates suggest the rising rates of cancer will be driven by the UK’s growing and ageing population. However, researchers have also called for new policies to tackle levels of smoking, unhealthy diets, obesity and alcohol to help lower the expected surge in cases.

The study examined cancer data from 115 different countries and estimated global cases would rise by 77 per cent, from 20 million in 2022 to 35 million in 2050.

The organisations estimate that cancer deaths around the world will almost double from 9.7 million to 18.5 million in that time.

Dr Panagiota Mitrou, director of research, policy and innovation at the World Cancer Research Fund, said the new estimates “show the increased burden that cancer will have in the years to come”.

“UK governments’ failure to prioritise prevention and address key cancer risk factors like smoking, unhealthy diets, obesity, alcohol and physical inactivity has in part widened health inequalities,” she added.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 1 February 2024

Read more

Cancer death rates hit historic new low across the UK, study shows

Cancer death rates in the UK have hit a historic new low, according to data.

The charity Cancer Research UK, which analysed the figures and shared them with the Press Association, said death rates have fallen by 11% in the last decade.

Around 247 in every 100,000 people in the UK are thought to die from cancer in any given year, which is a 29 per cent drop on the peak in 1989 (around 355 per 100,000).

The data shows that ovarian cancer death rates have fallen by 19% in the last decade (2012-2014 to 2022-2024), while stomach cancer has dropped by 34% and lung cancer by 22%.

Bowel cancer is down 6%, breast cancer by 14%, cervical cancer by 11% and leukaemia by 9%. Oesophageal cancer is also down 12%.

When it comes to cervical cancer, there has been a 75% drop in death rates since the 1970s, with the NHS cervical screening programme having a huge impact.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which is given to schoolchildren, is also driving down cervical cancers.

At least 6.5 million people have received the vaccine in the UK since it was introduced in 2008.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 9 March 2026

Read more

Cancer checks: Record number of patients referred in England

A record 2.7 million people were referred for cancer checks in the last year, NHS England has said.

It comes after figures suggested the Covid pandemic saw numbers dramatically decline in 2020. But at least 30,000 people are still waiting to start treatment.

Charities have welcomed the increase in referrals but warned of the "devastating" impact the pandemic has had on cancer care.

Referrals for suspected cancer remain at about 16% higher than pre-pandemic levels and rose overall from 2.4 million to 2,65m in the past 12 months.

Dame Cally Palmer, national cancer director for NHS England, said there were still 30,000 people who had not started treatment due to the pandemic but that the new figures suggested some progress.

She said: "We are going further and faster than ever before in our ambitions to diagnose more cancers at an earlier stage so that we can save more lives."

It is "vital that we keep these referral rates high", she added.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 2 May 2022

Read more
 

Cancer charities fear 18,000 extra deaths a year due to test delays

Almost half a million people are waiting at least six weeks for tests which could diagnose cancer – up from just 30,000 before lockdown, new analysis shows.

Ministers have been urged to urgently bring forward plans to tackle the backlog of patients waiting for care, with calls for weekly testing of staff to keep coronavirus infections off the wards.

Cancer charities fear there will be an extra 18,000 deaths a year because those with symptoms are not receiving prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Telegraph, 23 June 2020

Read more

Cancer charities call for earlier diagnosis as cases projected to surge in England by 2040

Cancer cases are projected to surge in England by 2040, with a person diagnosed every two minutes, up from one every four minutes in the 1970s.

More than 6 million new cases of the disease are predicted to be diagnosed over the next 15 years, with the NHS at risk of being unable to cope unless action is taken to prevent more cases and diagnose the disease earlier, when it is more treatable.

One Cancer Voice, the coalition of 60 cancer charities that published the projections on Tuesday, called on ministers to set early diagnosis targets and introduce strong prevention policies to save lives and transform cancer outcomes.

The projected increase in cases is likely to be due to a range of factors, including a rapidly expanding and ageing population, improvements in detection and diagnosis, and a higher prevalence of known risk factors for the disease.

Despite progress in survival – which has doubled since the 1970s – the surge in cases threatens to pile pressure on an already overstretched NHS. Without decisive action, England risks falling behind comparable countries in cancer outcomes, the analysis warns.

The projections come after the Department of Health and Social Care launched a call in February for evidence to help shape a national cancer plan.

Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK and a One Cancer Voice representative, said: “Nearly one in two of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime – everyone will be impacted by the disease, whether they receive a diagnosis themselves, or have a friend, family member or loved one who does.

“The national cancer plan for England could be a defining moment. If the UK government delivers an ambitious, fully funded strategy, we could save more lives and transform cancer outcomes, propelling England from world-lagging to among world-leading when it comes to tackling this disease.

“We’ve seen progress before – now is the time to act again and make a difference for cancer patients.”

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 27 August 2025

Read more
 

Cancer care under threat as NHS loses covid private sector back-up

Cancer surgery in London is under threat as rising covid admissions put pressure on services that no longer have back-up capacity from the independent sector, HSJ has learned.

Research by HSJ has discovered that NHS England ended contracts with HCA, The London Clinic and the Cromwell Hospital at the end of August, after concerns about underutilisation.

Under the previous deal with the private sector, rules were in place to make sure low-priority private patients were not treated ahead of NHS patients who needed surgery urgently.

HCA and The Cromwell have confirmed the contracts were ended in August and were not renewed. The London Clinic did not respond to a request for comment.

As of 19 December, there were 2,909 covid inpatients being treated in London hospitals, a rise of 39% over the previous seven days. Barts Health Trust and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Trust in the east of the city are under particular pressure.

Should the number of covid patients reach a level that requires the capital to instigate surge protocols, theatre space set aside for cancer operations is likely to be commandeered. Under this scenario, the NHS in the capital would no longer have the option to transfer cancer patients to private facilities as it did during the first wave of the pandemic.

A senior London-based source said: “This is a real and imminent threat to London’s ability to perform cancer surgery."

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 21 December 2020

Read more

Cancer care in the UK ‘at breaking point’, experts warn

Cancer care in the UK is at a “critical breaking point,” several experts have warned, calling for radical action to tackle deepening financial pressures.

The group says that a National Cancer Director with a dedicated office should be introduced to take a data-driven approach to improving cancer care systems in the UK. Writing for The Lancet Oncology, the group of authors criticises the previous Conservative government for “14 years of gross mismanagement.” Responding, Labour says it is determined to drive down waiting times for cancer patients, pointing to its upcoming National Cancer Plan to improve the current care system.

The comment article highlights several policy recommendations which the authors state will improve survival and quality of life for people with cancer. The authors warn that the “greatest risk lies in reactive, short-term, ill-informed decision-making” by the Government, which they state could further reduce UK cancer survival rates, deepen health inequalities and escalate inefficiencies.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 15 April 2025

Read more
 

Cancer care backlog may cost 30,000 lives, Boris Johnson told

Scores of MPs and former ministers have urged the prime minister to tackle a backlog in NHS cancer care that threatens to lead to thousands of early deaths over the next decade.

More than 100 MPs have written to Boris Johnson after the coronavirus lockdown caused severe disruption to cancer diagnoses and treatments. They have called on him to deliver an emergency boost to treatment capacity.

One senior oncologist has claimed that in a worst-case scenario the effects of the pandemic could result in 30,000 excess cancer deaths over the next decade.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 22 August 2020

Read more

Cancer backlog could take a decade to clear

It could take more than a decade to clear the cancer-treatment backlog in England, a report suggests.

Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) estimated 19,500 people who should have been diagnosed had not been, because of missed referrals. 

If hospitals could achieve a 5% increase in the number of treatments over pre-pandemic levels, it would take until 2033 to clear the backlog. However, if 15% more could be completed, backlogs could be cleared by next year.

Between March 2020 and February 2021, the number of referrals to see a specialist dropped by nearly 370,000 on the year before, a fall of 15%.

Behind these figures are thousands of people for whom it will now be too late to cure their cancer, the report, with the CF health consultancy, warns.

And it estimates the proportion of cancers diagnosed while they are still highly curable - classed as stage one and two - has fallen from 44% before to pandemic to 41%.

IPPR research fellow Dr Parth Patel said: "The pandemic has severely disrupted cancer services in England, undoing years of progress in improving cancer survival rates.

"Now, the health service faces an enormous backlog of care, that threatens to disrupt services for well over a decade. We know every delay poses risks to patients' chances of survival."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 24 September 2021

Read more

Cancer and maternity patients at risk if junior doctors strike in January, NHS bosses warn

Patients have been harmed as a result of doctors striking this year, and others needing time-critical treatment will be at risk during next month’s walkout in England, hospital bosses have said.

Cancer patients and women having induced or caesarean section births will be in danger of damage to their health unless junior doctors in those areas of care abandon their plans to strike for six days in January, they said.

People awaiting urgent eye surgery risk permanent sight loss unless the British Medical Association (BMA) lets junior doctors keep working in that area, according to NHS Employers, which represents health service trusts in England.

Its intervention comes amid mounting concern in the NHS that it may prove impossible to maintain patient safety in high-risk, time-sensitive areas of treatment when tens of thousands of junior doctors stage what will be the longest strike in NHS history from 3 January, when hospitals are facing what is often the service’s busiest week of the year.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 21 December 2023

Read more
 

Canadian university lab taps new tech to train surgeons

Unlike many research lab, the Surgical Simulation Research Lab (SSRL) at the University of Alberta in Canada  is focusing on healthcare providers; specifically, they aim to know capacities and limitations of physicians and surgeons, and design a system to support them. 

"Our goal is to create a simulation system for young physicians and surgeons to practice surgical skills without harming the patient..." said Bin Zheng, Associate Professor and the Director of SSRL. "This includes a better simulation programme for their skills training. We do everything to create a simulation model to replace patients being used as a training model".

Read full story

Source: Xinhua News, 21 July 2019

Read more
 

Canadian teen in critical condition with what is believed to be human case of bird flu

A Canadian teen is hospitalised in critical condition with what is believed to be bird flu, a British Columbia health official said Tuesday.

It’s not clear how the teenager picked up the virus, which has been detected recently in wild birds and poultry in the province, said Dr Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's health officer. The teen is not known to have any contact with infected animals, she said.

Officials have released few details about the patient. Henry said the teen was healthy before developing symptoms more than a week ago – initially eye redness, cough and fever – and has been hospitalised with a respiratory illness since Friday in Vancouver.

Initial testing indicated the infection is from bird flu. Officials believe it is the Type A H5N1 bird flu but are awaiting confirmation. H5N1 has been spreading widely in the US among wild birds, poultry, cows and a number of other animals. This year, 46 people in the US – mostly farmworkers – have tested positive with mostly mild symptoms.

In Canada, testing has been done on about three dozen people who were in contact with the teen. None of them have evidence of infection, Henry said.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 13 November 2024

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.