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AHSN's 'Patient Safety in Partnership' plan

The Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) has published their plan for a safer future: 'Patient Safety in partnership: Our plan for a safer future 2019-2025' . Their plan supports the NHS Patient Safety Strategy and sets out how England’s 15 AHSNs, and the Patient Safety Collaboratives (PSCs) they host, will work more closely with their local health and care organisations to improve safety both in hospitals and community-based services such as care homes.

AHSN's "ambition is to support the delivery of the NHS Patient Safety Strategy and therefore our vision is aligned to the national strategy: ‘for the NHS to continuously improve patient safety'.’'

Patient Safety Learning is delighted to be working with The AHSN and Patient Safety Collaboratives and welcomes their Patient Safety in Partnership plan:

"We believe that it will make a difference for patient safety and represents a step forward from the good work that AHSNs are already doing. We believe that there is opportunity for even more to be achieved with the resources, scale and capability within the AHSN networks. We absolutely applaud the statement that patient safety is a central priority and guiding principle for all AHSNs, and we recognise the AHSNs’ distinct role as orchestrators across the healthcare system. We think that AHSNs, with PSCs, can reinforce this position by taking a powerful role in bringing, enabling and supporting systems thinking for patient safety across healthcare."

Patient Safety Learning will be sharing details of the innovation and improvement programmes on the hub.

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AHSN Network Innovate Awards 2022 finalists announced

The finalists for The Innovate Awards 2022 have been revealed following a rigorous round of judging over the summer, and Patient Safety Learning is a finalist in the 'Enabling Safer Systems of Care Through Innovation' category.

In its inaugural year, The Innovate Awards saw a grand total of 194 entries from health and care teams across the country covering ten award categories. The ten eventual winners will also compete for ‘Innovation Champion of the Year’ to be announced on the evening of the award ceremony in September.

Commenting on the awards, Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, NHS Confederation from NHS Confederation said: “Judges across all the award categories have remarked on how impressive and inspiring the work contained in these submissions has been. It has been a delight to see the wonderful efforts taking place in terms of innovation in the health and care sector and it is hugely important to recognise and celebrate this.”

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Source: AHSN Network (30 August 2022)

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AHCS Honorary Fellows 2025 now open - deadline 12 June 2025

The Academy for Healthcare Science (AHCS) has announced that Stage 1 of the Honorary Fellowships 2025 is now open.

The AHCS Honorary Fellowships set up in 2016 to recognise the work, vision, support and input individuals who have supported AHSC in theirdevelopment and growth, in one or more of the below key areas:

  • To the formation, development, running or ideals and standards of the AHCS.
  • To the promotion and development of key aspects of Healthcare Science.
  • In areas relating to Healthcare Science and your help in promoting the professions and raising public awareness of Healthcare Science
  • In providing excellence in UK healthcare in your capacity as Presidents of Royal Colleges, medical journalists, civil servants, manufacturers, etc.

Nominations are received and reviewed by the Honorary Fellows Nominations Group and their recommendations submitted to the Professional Council for approval.

Eligibility criteria for an individual to be considered for Honorary Fellowship are an outstanding contribution:

a) To the formation, development and operation of the AHCS and/or

b) To the development and delivery of Healthcare Science in the UK. International nominations can be considered if the contribution has influenced the delivery of healthcare science in the UK and/or

c) To the significant promotion within the profession and/or in raising public awareness of the contribution of Healthcare Science in the UK and/or

d) By individuals who have worked for the AHCS, either as staff members or in a voluntary capacity.

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Source: AHCS.

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AHA urges White House to align and simplify AI regulations in healthcare

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is urging the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to streamline and align federal regulations for artificial intelligence in healthcare, warning that overlapping policies threaten innovation and increase costs.

In a letter to OSTP Director Michael Kratsios, submitted in response to a federal request for information on regulatory reform for AI, AHA Senior Vice President of Public Policy Analysis and Development Ashley Thompson said the association’s nearly 5,000 member hospitals and health systems face growing administrative expenses from redundant rules. More than one-quarter of all U.S. healthcare spending — more than $1 trillion annually — goes toward administrative tasks, the group said, with nearly 40% of hospitals operating at negative margins.

The AHA said tools like ambient documentation assistants, chatbots for scheduling and triage, and imaging algorithms are already reducing burdens for clinicians, but regulatory fragmentation continues to slow progress. The association outlined four recommendations to balance innovation with patient safety:

  1. Synchronise and leverage existing policy frameworks: AI oversight should align with established regulations — such as HIPAA, FDA software requirements, and HHS cybersecurity goals — rather than creating new, duplicative frameworks.
  2. Remove regulatory barriers: The AHA urged Congress to strengthen HIPAA’s federal preemption to eliminate conflicting state privacy laws and to update or repeal portions of 42 CFR Part 2 that limit data sharing for patients with substance use disorders.
  3. Ensure safe and effective AI use: The group called for clinicians to remain in the decision loop for algorithms that could affect coverage or care decisions and for third-party AI vendors handling patient data to be held to the same privacy and security standards as covered entities.
  4. Address organisational and infrastructural challenges: The letter cited inadequate reimbursement, limited broadband access, and digital literacy gaps as barriers to AI adoption, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

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Source: Becker's Health IT, 27 October 2025

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Aggressive breast cancer hits black women harder

Researchers in the US have found a genetic link between people with African ancestry and the aggressive type of breast cancer. They hope their findings will encourage more black people to get involved in clinical trials in a bid to improve survival rates for people with the disease.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is more common in women under 40 and disproportionately affects black women.

A study published in the journal JAMA Oncology found that black women diagnosed with TNBC are 28% more likely to die from it than white women with the same diagnosis.

Now a new study has confirmed a definitive genetic link between African ancestry and TNBC. Lisa Newman, of Weill Cornell Medicine, has been part of an international project studying breast cancer in women in different regions of Africa for 20 years.

She says representation of women with diverse backgrounds on clinical trials is absolutely critical.

"Unfortunately, African-American women are disproportionately under-represented in cancer clinical trials and we see this in the breast cancer clinical trials as well," says Dr Newman.

"If you don't have diverse representation, you don't understand how to apply these advances in treatment.

"Part of it is because there is some historic mistrust of the healthcare system.

"We do continue to see systemic racism in the healthcare delivery system where it has been documented, tragically, that many cancer care providers are less likely to offer clinical trials to their black patients compared with their white patients."

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Agency profits growing due to ‘acute shortage of staff’

Two companies supplying staff to the NHS saw large growth in income and profits last year, annual accounts reveal.

Independent Clinical Services, owned by a Canadian private equity firm, saw a growth in turnover of more than 40%, with income growing from £273m to £399m, year on year.

A smaller company specialising in recruiting overseas healthcare staff to the UK also saw a bumper year, according to data released last month.

Your World Recruitment Ltd’s income increased by nearly a third, going from £50.5m to £66.8m (up 32%), with a similar rise in profits.

The company’s strategic report said: “Demand for agency staff and healthcare services in the first half of 2023 has remained strong principally due to staff shortages in the NHS and high waiting lists.

“The board expects the challenging market conditions to continue for the remainder of 2023, although demand is expected to remain due to an acute shortage of healthcare workers in the UK and worldwide.” The NHS has been pushing hard for increased overseas recruitment in recent years, to fill domestic gaps."

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Source: HSJ, 10 October 2023

 

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Agency is criticised over its investigation into baby’s death from hypoxia

The coroner investigating the botched birth of a baby boy who died from hypoxia has strongly criticised the Healthcare Service Investigation Branch (HSIB) over its report on his death.

Karen Henderson, who conducted the inquest into the death of baby Theo Young in May 2018 at East Surrey Hospital said that the HSIB had asked Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust not to undertake its own investigation, “effectively preventing the recognition of causes of concern and therefore being unable to undertake any immediate and necessary remedial action at the earliest opportunity to prevent future deaths.”

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Source: BMJ, 19 May 2020

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Agency charging hospitals nearly £2,000 for specialist nurse shift

An agency providing last-minute freelance nurses to NHS hospitals is routinely charging up to £2,000 a shift, BBC News has discovered.

Glen Burley, chief executive of an NHS trust, said that Thornbury Nursing Services is targeting areas in England where nurses are in short supply. He says it is "profiteering" from an overstretched NHS, but Thornbury says it offers a valuable, flexible service.

The government says new measures will end the use of expensive agencies. However, Labour has said the high costs are a result of the "Conservatives' failure to train enough nurses over the past 14 years".

Under NHS rules, hospital managers are obliged to use staffing agencies that work within an agreed framework, with a limit or cap on how much should be paid. But when last-minute essential cover is needed, trusts may use off-framework agencies, such as Thornbury. These are not legally obliged to abide by pre-agreed pay scales.

Workload pressures in the NHS and a desire for more flexibility over shifts are thought to be driving more nurses to work for such agencies, which tend to pay the people on their books more while also taking a payment for themselves.

BBC News has discovered Thornbury charges almost £2,000 for a 12-hour bank holiday shift by a specialist paediatric nurse - an area of expertise where there are known staff shortages. Of that, BBC News calculates the nurse receives about £1,050 - meaning nearly £800 goes to the agency. 

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Source: BBC News, 8 May 2024

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Ageing NHS hospitals hit by sewage leaks, power failures and rat infestations

Raw sewage flooding wards, power failures, and rat infestations were just some of more than 1,200 critical incidents at NHS trusts in the past year caused by ageing equipment and crumbling infrastructure.

NHS leaders have said more investment is needed to reverse a backlog in buildings maintenance across the health service which has now reached an unprecedented £9bn. The situation is getting worse, with the backlog costs rising by 60 per cent in four years.

In some hospitals the problems have become so severe they are affecting patient care leading to wards being closed, operations delayed and in some cases posing genuine risks to safety.

Hampshire Hospitals was forced to suspend some services because of an uncontrollable rat infestation, while at East Cheshire NHS trust a power failure led to a back-up generator causing a fire triggering a second blackout. Patients had to be transferred to neighbouring hospitals and given blankets while others were given blankets to keep them warm.

In another incident at Great Western Hospitals Trust, a patient having a hip operation was left under anaesthetic “open and exposed” while staff struggled to find a vital part needed for the operation which was in a storeroom that couldn’t be opened.

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Source: The Independent, 20 April 2021

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Age discrimination leading to avoidable eating disorder deaths, government warned

The government must end “age discrimination” against eating disorder patients that is causing avoidable deaths, experts have warned.

A cross-party parliamentary group and the Royal College of Psychiatrists are calling for access targets to make sure adults with eating disorders get treated within a set time. The demands come after the healthcare watchdog said patients were dying while waiting to be seen.

Wera Hobhouse, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group, and Agnes Ayton, chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ eating disorder committee, said the targets must be equal to those for children, which were set in 2016.

According to the Health Service Journal, 19 patients under the care of inpatient and community eating disorder services have died since 2017.

A senior coroner in Norfolk also highlighted failings in 2019 and sent a warning to both NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care, over the deaths of five young women.

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Source: The Independent, 1 March 2023

To support Eating Disorders Awareness Week, we have pulled together eight useful resources to help healthcare professionals, friends and family support people with eating disorders:

 

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After scandals like Winterbourne View, why is basic decency still remarkable?

In late July 2019, Sara Ryan tweeted asking families with autistic or learning disabled children to share their experience of “sparkling” actions by health and social care professionals. She was writing a book about how professionals could make a difference in the lives of children and their families.

"These tweets generated a visceral feeling in me, in part because of the simplicity of the actions captured. Why would you not ring someone after a particularly difficult appointment to check on them? Isn’t remembering what children like and engaging with their interests an obvious way to generate good relationships? Telling a parent their child has been a pleasure to support is commonplace, surely?"

Sara's own son, Connor, was left to drown in an NHS hospital bath while nearby staff finished an online Tesco order. "Certain people, children and adults, in our society are consistently and routinely positioned outside of 'being human', leading to an erasure of love, care and thought by social and healthcare professionals. They become disposable."

What has become clear to Sara is how much the treatment of people and their families remains on a failing loop, despite extensive research, legislative and policy change to make their lives better, and potentially transformative moments like the exposure of the Winterbourne View scandal. At the heart of this loop are loving families and a diverse range of allies, surrounded by a large cast of bystanders who, instead of fresh eyes, have vision clouded by ignorance and sometimes prejudice.

"To rehumanise society, we need more people with guts and integrity who are prepared to step up and call out poor practice, and to look afresh at how we could do things so much better with a focus on love and brilliance."

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Source: The Guardian, 27 October 2020

Sara Ryan's book: Love, learning disabilities and pockets of brilliance: How practitioners can make a difference to the lives of children, families and adults

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After Roe v Wade: US doctors are harassed, confused, and fearful, and maternal morbidity is increasing

On 24 June the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 decision that legalised abortion and left the regulation of abortion to the states.4 At present, about half of the 50 states ban or severely limit abortions, but the picture is changing daily as century old bans go into place in some states, bans are challenged in courts, and state legislatures debate changes to their laws.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) said, “Each piece of legislation is different, using different language and rationales. State legislators are taking it upon themselves to define complex medical concepts without reference to medical evidence. Some of the penalties for violating these vague, unscientific laws include criminal sentences.”

Doctors report being confused and fearful about how they can continue to practise in states where abortion laws are changing day by day and sometimes hour by hour.

Katie McHugh, an obstetrician and gynaecologist in Indianapolis, where abortion until 20 weeks is legal for the moment, told The BMJ about a patient who arrived from another state (around 200 miles away) with a miscarriage.

“A fetal heartbeat could still be detected. The local hospital sent her home and told her to come back if she became very sick.” Instead she travelled two and a half hours by car to McHugh.

“I don’t blame the physicians in [the other state]. I don’t know if abortion is legal now a trigger law is in effect. They could face lawsuits. As a physician, it’s unacceptable to have to watch the news to know what’s legal and how to practise,” said McHugh.

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Source: BMJ, 1 August 2022

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After coronavirus, we may not recognise changed NHS

In many ways it is wrong to talk about the NHS restarting non-coronavirus care. A lot of it never stopped — births, for instance, cannot be delayed because of a pandemic.

However, exactly what that care looks like is likely to be very different from what came before. There are more video and telephone consultations and staff treat patients from behind masks and visors.

That is likely to be the case for some time, experts have told The Times.

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Source: The Times, 6 June 2020

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After blasting WHO costs, Trump officials propose more expensive alternative

After pulling out of the World Health Organization, the Trump administration is proposing spending $2 billion a year to replicate the global disease surveillance and outbreak functions the United States once helped build and accessed at a fraction of the cost, according to three administration officials briefed on the proposal.

The effort to build a U.S.-run alternative would re-create systems such as laboratories, data-sharing networks and rapid-response systems the U.S. abandoned when it announced its withdrawal from the WHO last year and dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations.

While President Donald Trump accused the WHO of demanding “unfairly onerous payments,” the alternative his administration is considering carries a price tag about three times what the U.S. contributed annually to the U.N. health agency. The U.S. would build on bilateral agreements with countries and expand the presence of its health agencies to dozens of additional nations, the officials said.

“This $2 billion in funding to HHS is to build the systems and capacities to do what the WHO did for us,” one official said.

Public health experts said the effort would be costly and unlikely to match the WHO’s reach.

“Spending two to three times the cost to create what we already had access to makes absolutely no sense in terms of fiscal stewardship,” said Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who served as a senior covid-19 adviser during the Biden administration. “We’re not going to get the same quality or breadth of information we would have by being in the WHO, or have anywhere the influence we had.”

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Source: Washington Post, 19 February 2026

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African American children three times more likely to die after surgery than white peers

African American children are three times more likely than their white peers to die after surgery despite arriving at hospitals without serious underlying conditions, the latest evidence of unequal outcomes in health care, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics,

“We know that traditionally, African Americans have poorer health outcomes across every age strata you can look at,” said Olubukola Nafiu, the lead researcher and an anaesthesiologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. “One of the explanations that’s usually given for that, among many, is that African American patients tend to have higher comorbidities. They tend to be sicker.”

But his research challenges that explanation, he said, by finding a racial disparity even among otherwise healthy children who came to hospitals for mostly elective surgeries.

Out of 172,549 children, 36 died within a month of their operation. But of those children, nearly half were black – even though African Americans made up 11% of the patients overall. Black children had a 0.07% chance of dying after surgery, compared with 0.02% for white children.

Postoperative complications and serious adverse events were also more likely among the black patients and they were more likely to require a blood transfusion, experience sepsis, have an unplanned second operation or be unexpectedly intubated.

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Source: The Independent, 20 July 2020

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AfPP launches new clinical audit tool to enhance patient safety

The Association for Perioperative Practice (AfPP), has launched the AfPP Perioperative Audit Tool; 2019 Edition, a robust audit tool that will assist both private sector and NHS theatre practitioners in creating a safer perioperative environment.

The tool comprises peer-reviewed standards and recommendations for safe perioperative practice and forms a ‘gold standard’ framework for operating theatre departments to examine service performance and identify potential improvements in patient care.

As the UK’s leading membership organization for operating theatre practitioners who put patient safety at the heart of all they do, AfPP created the tool for the theatre practitioners to review their current policies and processes to invest in the safety of their patients.

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Source: News Medical Life Sciences, 19 July 2019

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Advisor to Government Agency demands police investigation into ‘criminal’ healthcare worker COVID deaths

A formal complaint accuses the British Government of facilitating ‘the largest single health and safety disaster to befall the United Kingdom workforce since the introduction of asbestos products’.

An expert letter to the UK Government’s Health & Safety Executive (HSE) from one of its own advisors accuses the agency of failing to use its statutory authority to correct “seriously flawed” guidance on infection protection and control (IPC), imperilling “the health and safety of healthcare workers by failing to provide for suitable respiratory protection”.

The continued failure to protect healthcare workers by ensuring they are wearing the appropriate form of PPE (personal protective equipment) to minimise the risk of infection from COVID-19 airborne transmission, the letter says, has led to thousands of avoidable deaths. The failures amount both to “gross negligence” and serious “criminal offences”, claims the letter seen by Byline Times.

The letter addressed to HSE chief executive Sarah Albon is authored by 27-year chartered health and safety consultant David Osborn, who is a ‘consultee member’ of the HSE’s COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) Essentials Working Group, where he has helped HSE to prepare guidance for employers and employees. 

Written in his own personal capacity, the letter is a formal complaint accusing the members of the Government’s “IPC Cell” – a group of experts behind official guidance on infection protection and control – along with other senior Government officials of committing a “criminal offence… ultimately punishable by fine and/or imprisonment” by breaching Section 36 of the Health and Safety at Work Act. The letter argues that a police investigation is needed.

The guidance, Osborn writes in his letter, has failed to ensure that healthcare workers understand that they should wear and have access to respiratory protection equipment (RPE) designed to protect from COVID-19 airborne transmission. 

“There is sufficient prima-facie evidence to suggest that the offence has led to the potentially avoidable deaths of hundreds of healthcare workers and the debilitating disease known as Long COVID in thousands of other healthcare workers,” the letter says.

“I firmly believe that the primary source of infection was the inhalation of aerosols whilst caring for infected patients at close quarter,” says Osborn in his letter.

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Source: Byline Times, 10 February 2022

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Advice and guidance ‘adding to backlogs’, say consultants

Many medical consultants report a “mixed” experience with the advice and guidance model, saying it is “under-resourced and adding to existing backlogs”, according to research by an integrated care board.

Cheshire and Merseyside ICB surveyed around 300 GPs and medical consultants about their views on the A&G model, which NHS England has said must be significantly expanded this year.

A&G allows GPs to seek pre-referral advice from specialist clinicians working in secondary care, and is designed in part to reduce referrals.

The ramping up of the model in recent months has been controversial among GPs, but the ICB’s survey found 54% said A&G worked “mostly well” or “very well” for them. 36% said their experience was mixed, and 10% “bad”.

However, consultants were more wary: the majority – 51% – said their experience was “mixed”; 18% said it was “bad”; while 31% said it worked “well”.

The ICB’s feedback report says consultants complained about having “no job-planned time” to provide the A&G, as well as “growing volumes, limited admin support, and difficulty accessing GP records”. This was “leaving A&G under-resourced and adding to existing backlogs”.

Consultants also complained of “inappropriate use”, with A&G “sometimes used by [allied health professionals], trainees, and PAs for queries that should go via a GP first”. The findings added: “Many requests lack adequate history or a clear clinical question.”

Although GPs were more positive, they also highlighted problems. They said A&G responses from secondary care could be “brief, contradictory, dismissive, or written by non-consultants, with some specialties slow or unresponsive”.

They also highlighted that “consultants may advise referral but cannot convert A&G directly, forcing GPs to re-refer – sometimes only to be rejected again, creating duplication and patient frustration”.

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Source: HSJ, 1 May 2026

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Advertising regulator launches nine investigations into weight loss jab ads

Nine investigations into weight loss jab adverts have been launched by the UK advertising regulator, which has raised concerns about the sheer volume of law-breaking involved in targeting the public with the drugs.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) told The Independent it now has nine high-priority investigations underway into whether ads in various online media are promoting prescription-only medicines (POMs) in breach of its rules and the law.

Issues being probed include the use of unbranded injection or pen images, as well as claims such as “weight loss injections” and “Obesity Treatment Jab".

The ASA described the number of investigations running in parallel on the same topic as “significant” and said that tackling the issue is a “priority”.

Health secretary Wes Streeting has warned that the drugs “should not be taken to help get a body beautiful picture for Instagram” and must be treated as “serious medicines”. Drugs for weight management “should only be used by those tackling obesity,” he added.

The pharmacy regulator has now tightened prescription rules to prevent weight-loss medicines from being supplied “inappropriately”, with people now no longer able to get the drugs after completing a simple online questionnaire.

Groups including the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) had been calling for tougher rules after they learnt of people being wrongly prescribed the drugs without thorough checks, including some who already had a low body weight or who previously had eating disorders.

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Source: The Independent, 12 February 2025

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Adults with learning disabilities die 20 years early, report finds

People with learning disabilities and autism in England are dying almost 20 years younger than the rest of the population, a long-awaited report has said.

The annual mortality review commissioned by NHS England, external was originally meant to be published last year but faced repeated delays.

It found 39% of deaths of people with learning disabilities and autism were classed as avoidable in 2023, almost twice as high as the general population.

NHS England said it was rolling out more training for staff and identifying patients with learning disabilities earlier so they can be given more appropriate care.

The charity Mencap says about 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability which it defines as a lifelong reduced intellectual ability, usually identified soon after birth or in the early years.

The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) was created in 2015 to try to understand why so many in that group were dying younger than the wider population and from avoidable causes.

The latest research, led by a team at King's College London, looked at data from the deaths of 3,556 adults in 2023 and compared it to previous years.

It found that while there had been some improvements, with life expectancy increasing slightly to 62.5 years old, those with learning disabilities and autism were still experiencing significant inequalities.

"These stark new figures show people with a learning disability are dying a shocking 19.5 years younger than the general population," said Mencap's chief executive Jon Sparkes.

"People with a learning disability and their families deserve better. In this day and age, no one should die early because they don't get the right treatment."

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Source: BBC News, 2 September 2025

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Adults diagnosed with ADHD have shorter life expectancy, UK study shows

Men with a diagnosis of ADHD die seven years sooner, on average, than similar people without, while for women the life expectancy gap is almost nine years, the first study of its kind has revealed.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can cause difficulties in concentration and problems with impulsiveness, although people with ADHD do not necessarily experience both. While estimates vary, studies suggest 3-4% of adults worldwide have ADHD.

Now researchers have revealed people diagnosed with the disorder tend to have shorter lives. The new study used primary care data from more than 9 million adults across the UK, from 2000 to 2019, to explore whether ADHD was indeed associated with a shorter life. The results reveal that men with a diagnosis of ADHD had a life expectancy 6.8 years shorter on average than those without, while females with a diagnosis of ADHD had a life expectancy 8.6 years shorter on average than those without.

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Source: The Guardian, 23 January 2025

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Adult transgender clinics in England face inquiry into patient care

Adult transgender clinics in England are facing a Cass-style inquiry into how they treat patients after whistleblowers raised concerns about the care they provide.

NHS England has announced that it is setting up a review of how the seven specialist services operate and deliver care after past and present staff shared misgivings privately during a previous investigation.

As a first step, NHS England will send “external quality improvement experts” into each of the clinics to gather evidence about how they care for patients, to help guide the inquiry’s direction.

The move follows the publication on Wednesday of a landmark review by Dr Hilary Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, which recommended sweeping changes in the way that the health service treats under-18s who are unsure about their gender identity.

In a letter responding to Cass’s report, which NHS England sent on Tuesday to the seven trusts that host adult gender dysphoria clinics (GDCs), it told them: “We will be launching a review into the operation and delivery of the adult GDCs, alongside the planned review of the adult gender dysphoria service specification.”

Robbie de Santos, director of campaigns and human rights at Stonewall, an LGBT rights charity, said: “Gender healthcare for adults in the UK is, simply put, not fit for purpose. Many trans adults are being forced to go private at great personal expense to avoid waiting lists in excess of half a decade. We would welcome a review aimed at tackling this unacceptable state of affairs and building capacity into the system.”

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Source: Guardian, 10 April 2024

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Adult social care in England is in crisis, say Tory council leaders

Adult social care in England is in serious crisis, Tory council leaders have warned the government, as it faces a £3.7bn funding gap and a growing staffing shortage that has brought many local care providers to the brink of collapse.

The intervention by the County Councils Network, which represents 36 mainly Tory-run authorities, comes amid widespread local government concern over the increasing fragile state of social care. Care costs have accelerated recently, fuelled by unexpected wage and energy inflation.

“We face the perfect storm of staffing shortages, fewer care beds, and higher costs – all of which will impact on individuals waiting for care and discharges from hospital,” said Martin Tett, the Tory leader of Buckinghamshire county council.

Cathie Williams, the chief executive of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, said: “Too many people are missing out on vital care and support – we estimate that over half a million people are waiting for assessments, care, or reviews. With over 165,000 staff vacancies, this is only set to get worse. ”

A government spokesperson said: “The health and social care secretary is focused on delivering for patients and has set out her four priorities of A, B, C, D – reducing ambulance delays, busting the Covid backlogs, improving care, and increasing the number of doctors and dentists.

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Source: The Guardian, 21 September 2022

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Adult inpatient survey 2020

This survey looks at the experiences of people who stayed at least one night in hospital as an inpatient.

The results show that, generally, people’s experiences of inpatient care were positive and overall differences between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients were small, suggesting that care provided was consistent. Most people said they were treated with respect and dignity, had confidence and trust in the doctors and nurses that treated them and observed high levels of cleanliness.

Survey findings were less positive, however, for areas of care including people’s experiences of receiving emotional support, information sharing and hospital discharge.

For the detailed findings, click here
Original source: Care Quality Commission

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Adoption of AI in the NHS should be faster, experts say

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by the NHS should be faster, and more frameworks should be in place to get emerging technologies to as many patients as possible, experts have told MPs.

A number of senior figures from medicine and biotechnology gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee as part of its inquiry into cancer technology.

Stephen Duffy, a professor of cancer screening at the Wolfson Institute of Population Health at Queen Mary University of London, told MPs there is “strong potential” for AI, particularly in areas such as reading mammograms for the breast screening programme.

However, he warned that there will be “staff issues in terms of the number of staff needed to double-read mammograms”.

He added: “Those issues aren’t going away. It seems to me that AI systems have already been shown to be very good in terms of detection of cancer on from mammograms, so they’re safe in that respect.

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Source: The Independent, 19 July 2023

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