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'I fear I'll die on hospital waiting list'

A man fears he will die before he reaches the top of a year-long waiting list to see a heart specialist.

John Crockford, 77, from Bridlington in East Yorkshire, has a history of cardiac problems and suffered three heart attacks in 2022.

He has had four stents fitted to open blocked arteries but said he had become so unwell he suspects another is needed.

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said its patients were "prioritised by doctors according to clinical need", but recognised some were waiting longer than it would like.

Mr Crockford said he asked his GP practice to refer him to a cardiologist at Scarborough Hospital before Christmas, when he started to feel so breathless he was unable to do any physical activity.

The retired foster carer and retail worker said his symptoms were the same as those he experienced before previous operations to fit a stent.

Mr Crockford needs a scan to establish if the procedure is needed, but said he was alarmed when he received a letter from the hospital stating "patients are waiting up to 52 weeks" for their cardiology appointments.

He said: "That's before I can go and see a cardiologist, let alone have the scan.

"I don't know whether I'm going to snuff it before I get this year over, because all the time they're not doing it, these arteries are getting clogged up."

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Source: BBC News, 20 January 2025

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'I fear being a forgotten casualty of pandemic'

At the age of 49, Sarah Fisher feels her life is on a knife-edge. She had a heart attack during lockdown and has subsequently been diagnosed with heart failure.

In July, she was told she needed to have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted, which can shock the heart back into rhythm when it detects a potential cardiac arrest. But 12 weeks on, she is still waiting. "I could have a cardiac arrest at any point," Sarah says.

"It is awful not knowing what is going to happen. "I am on the urgent list – but the infection rates are rising and the clinics are closing."

"I don't know when I will get it.

"There are so many people in my position – we don't have Covid but our lives are at risk too. We are the forgotten victims of this pandemic."

British Heart Foundation analysis of Office for National Statistics data for England and Wales found almost 800 extra deaths from heart disease among under-65s from March to July - 15% more than would be expected.

The rate of death was highest during the full lockdown - but, worryingly, the trend continued afterwards. The charity blames delays in people seeking care, as well as reduced access to routine tests and treatments.

And NHS England figures show a sharp rise in the numbers waiting over six weeks for a whole range of key tests, including echocardiograms for hearts.

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Source: BBC News, 15 October 2020

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'I don't want to be bullied': NHS and care workers on mandatory Covid jabs

NHS workers have raised concerns about the prospect of all health and social care staff in England being compelled by law to take the Covid vaccine.

The Downing Street review which is considering making it mandatory for NHS workers to have the jab, as a way of protecting patients, has led to questions about its moral and legal implications.

A consultant in a busy north-west hospital said they would feel “incredibly uncomfortable” with the idea of forcing NHS staff to have the vaccine. They said they would prefer a concerted high-profile campaign to encourage staff to have the vaccine, with a last-resort option of asking unvaccinated staff to take on different roles, away from the frontline.

“I would feel very uncomfortable with us forcing anyone to have it – you can’t force an injection into someone,” the consultant said.

Last week Care UK said it only wanted to hire new staff who had had the vaccine, while another care provider, Barchester, said it wanted all of its staff, including current workers, to have had the jab by 23 April, adding that if they did not they would not be considered for shifts.

The matron of a care home in Merseyside said there had been a lot of pressure put on her to have the vaccine, which was making her anxious.

“I don’t want to be bullied into a decision when I have legitimate concerns. I feel being told I am selfish and putting others at risk is insulting," she said.

However, a CBT therapist in her 30s, who also works in the north-west of England believed all NHS staff should be vaccinated, regardless of their role. She said her hospital trust’s values emphasised “care, compassion and commitment” and individuals who refused the vaccine could potentially harm others.

“If we’re going to be caring for people, it comes under that value and it’s a core part of what the NHS is about. So if someone is saying they don’t want the vaccine, it puts into question whether you are going against the values of the trust.”

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Source: The Guardian, 3 March 2021

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'I don't ever trust Epic to be correct'. Nurses in the US raise more AI concerns

Nurses in the United States continue to voice concerns about artificial intelligence and its integration into electronic health records (EHR), saying the technology is ineffective and interferes with patient care.

Nurses from health systems around the country spoke to National Nurses United, their largest labor union, about issues with such programmes as automated nurse handoffs, patient classification systems and sepsis alerts.

Multiple nurses cited problems with EHR-based programs from Epic and Oracle Health that use algorithms to determine patient acuity and nurse staffing levels.

"I don't ever trust Epic to be correct," Craig Cedotal, RN, a paediatric oncology nurse at Kaiser Permanente Oakland (Calif.) Medical Center, told the nurses' union. "It's never a reflection of what we need, but more a snapshot of what we've done."

He said the technology does not account for the hours of preparing and double-checking the accuracy of chemotherapy treatments before a pediatric patient even arrives at the hospital.

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Source: Becker's Health IT, 14 June 2024

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'I didn't expect to be broken' says mum given £100K payout after surgery left her in constant pain

Twenty-five women have received compensation from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board following gynaecological surgery carried out by a single surgeon - with one saying the ongoing pain is like someone "twisting a knife" inside them.

S4C’s current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar has been investigating the work of gynaecological surgeon Derek Klazinga.

He was employed by Betsi health board and the previous North Wales health trusts between 2002 and 2016. Originally from South Africa, he worked at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and Ysbyty Gwynedd.

Mr Klazinga said he had "sincerest sympathy" that the women have had to endure such physical and psychological pain but said this had been down to "what we now know to be, defective medical products".

One patient, who was not named, said the daily pain was like someone "twisting a knife" inside them.

"It's horrific. He has destroyed my body," they added.

Y Byd ar Bedwar has spoken to seven women in north Wales who have received compensation since 2015 after undergoing surgery by Mr Klazinga. Between them, they say they have received more than £600,000. Several said they did not consent to the procedures they received, while most described chronic pain that has had a profound impact on their lives.

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Source: North Wales Live, 10 February 2026

 

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'I couldn't hold my baby': how Covid hit the families of very ill children

Parents and professionals have been devastated by the impact of the pandemic on some of the UK’s most vulnerable patients

Kelly Stoor gave birth to her daughter, Kaia, 14 weeks early. On 12 March, the midwife held her up for Kelly to see before whisking Kaia off to the neonatal unit for critical care. Kaia became seriously ill and was transferred to a hospital in Southampton, 50 miles away from home, for specialist treatment just before lockdown was imposed on 23 March. While there, she teetered on the edge of life and death for weeks and underwent life-saving surgery twice.

The impact on Kelly, her husband, Max, and their other three children has been enormous. Hospital restrictions in April dictated that only one parent was allowed to visit. Both parents were not able not hold their daughter for the first time until 88 days after she was born.

“It was extremely difficult,” says Kelly. “I wasn’t allowed to hold her because of Covid. I had to wear gloves if I was going to touch her. We didn’t know if she was going to make it, and Max and I weren’t allowed in together to be with her. There was one time I was with her for three hours and I couldn’t cope any more. I wanted to break.”

Kelly is not alone. In the UK, at least 25,000 children are living with conditions that require palliative care support and their lives, along with those of their families, have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying restrictions.

A report by Rainbow Trust found that lockdown was a distressing experience for many; 80% of those surveyed by the charity in April said their situation was worse or much worse than before lockdown. Nearly 60% of parents, meanwhile, say that their mental health is worse than before the pandemic.

Families have had to take on the strain of caring full-time for a child with a life-limiting illness, such as cancer or neurological conditions, with little to no support. There has been no respite, explains Dr Jon Rabbs, a consultant paediatrician and trustee for Rainbow Trust. When lockdown was announced, many community healthcare services had to stop face to face contact and special schools which supported children were also closed. “One of my families is at breaking point, they are so exhausted and worried,” he says.

In child healthcare there have been delays, he says. Urgent treatment is always available but follow-up care has been cancelled or delayed in some places. “In my practice we have not missed any significant relapses,” he adds. “But imagine the worry not knowing whether things were going to be OK or not.”

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Source: The Guardian, 22 October 2020

 

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'I am very angry at the way I have been treated due to COVID-19': Horrendous toll on non-virus patients is emerging

As the death toll from the virus soars above 40,000, slowly the horrendous toll on non-Covid patients is emerging.

These are patients who are not afflicted by coronavirus, but who have had their treatment or diagnosis for other potentially deadly conditions postponed or cancelled, as hospitals scrambled to make way for an overwhelming burden of COVID-19 patients.

Sherwin Hall, a 27-year-old from Leeds, had tried 13 times in one month during the lockdown to get a proper diagnosis for the crippling pain in his groin. He was initially told it might be a sexually transmitted disease. Eventually he was given the all clear of any STD after multiple blood tests and begged for an MRI scan. But he claims he was told no scans would be available because of the COVID-19 emergency.

Finally he got a scan which confirmed a 14 cm tumour near his pelvis. He clams his consultant confirmed the delay in diagnosis and therefore cancer treatment may have serious consequences on his chances of survival.

He told ITV news "I am very angry at the way I have been treated due to COVID-19 and the delay on my cancer treatment and now I am fighting for my life."

His lawyer, Mary Smith, who specialises in medical negligence at Novum Law in Bristol, says she is worried there will be a spike in cases involving delayed diagnosis or treatment coming across her desk.

She wants an urgent overhaul of the management of this crisis, now its peak appears to have passed. 

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Source: ITV News, 9 June 2020

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'Hospital's failures led to woman's death'

An inquest has found a woman, who died while trying to abscond from a psychiatric ward, did not intend to take her own life.

Jessica Powell, from Yeovil, Somerset, became trapped in a therapy room window in an apparent attempt to escape from Summerlands Hospital in August 2020.

A jury investigating the death of the 20-year-old ruled that staff failed to adequately supervise and secure the room.

Jane Yeandle, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust's service group director for mental health, said: "We are very sorry that she died as a result of an incident in our care."

Her father John Powell told the BBC: "It was just an error of judgement and unfortunately for Jess she just took her chance and that was the way it happened."

The hospital's failures included not updating a faulty alarm system which sent staff to the wrong room. Workers were also unable to release Miss Powell because of a lack of access from exterior and interior doors, the inquest ruled.

The jury ruled that staff "failed to adequately supervise and secure the therapy room which was fitted with windows that Miss Powell, a frequent absconder, might reasonably believe she could escape through".

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Source: BBC News, 17 December 2024

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'Horrendous' ambulance delays at West Midlands hospitals

An ambulance crew had to wait seven hours to hand over a patient in the West Midlands, it has been revealed.

The case on 11 December was highlighted in the West Midlands Ambulance Service's in-house magazine, which said average waits had "ballooned".

It said average waits at one hospital were running at nearly three hours in early December.

The ambulance service said it hoped to put another 40 crews on the road by January.

Delays in hospitals taking over care of patients is considered "risky", NHS England said, because it not only delayed patients receiving specialist assessment and treatment, but also reduced the number of ambulances available to respond to emergencies.

The West Midlands trust's weekly briefing magazine, published on 17 December, said only the East of England trust had experienced a similar level of "horrendous" delays. It added that another four hospitals in the West Midlands had average delays of about two hours.

The "knock-on" effect it said was some high-risk patients were waiting longer for an ambulance than they should.

Meanwhile, some staff had to work late beyond their shifts and missed meal breaks.

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Source: BBC News, 23 December 2020

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'High risk' list misses off thousands of people

Thousands of people have been missed off the government's high risk list for Covid-19 despite meeting the criteria.

Among them have been transplant patients, people with asthma and some with rare lung diseases.

Many are worried it will affect their ability to access food and medical supplies as they shield from the virus, unable to leave their homes for at least 12 weeks.

"It's like she's been forgotten," said Bev Pearson, mother of 20-year-old heart transplant patient Lucy Pearson.

Miss Pearson, from Whitsbury in Fordingbridge, Hampshire, had her transplant 14 years ago and still visits hospital for regular check-ups. She has been shielding in the home she shares with her mother, brother and sister - none of whom have been venturing out in an attempt to protect her.

Despite registering her daughter on the government list herself, she said she had received no confirmation.

When she asked her GP she was told it had "nothing to do with the surgery", she added.

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Source: BBC News, 7 April 2020

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'Hidden' rise in blood clot deaths 'breaking families' warns charity

Thrombosis UK has warned that deaths involving blood clots are higher than expected as it called for more transparency over the work hospitals are doing to reduce the risk for patients.

Before the pandemic hit, hospitals were regularly publishing data on the number of patients who had been risk assessed for blood clots. In March 2020, the NHS in England took the decision to suspend the data collection on venous thromboembolism (also known as VTE) risk assessments to “release capacity in providers and commissioners to manage the Covid-19 pandemic”.

But the data collection and publication is yet to resume. The charity said the data shows how many VTE cases are missed in hospitals.

One bereaved man described how his mother died last year after the condition was missed. Tim Edwards, 42, said healthcare workers missed signs of the condition while Jennifer Edwards, 74, was in hospital on the south coast.

Despite having many symptoms of a pulmonary embolism she was discharged home and died three days later. Mr Edwards said: ““My mother’s symptoms were missed from her admission to hospital right up to her time in the cardiology department.

“She was discharged and passed away three days after phoning the NHS with shortness of breath. She should not have died. I took it upon myself to enquire about the circumstances surrounding her death and was overwhelmed by the lack of care taken.

“Sadly, I know this is not an isolated case.”

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Source: Wales Online, 12 May 2023

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'He'll be dead by then' - fears over drug shortage

A pancreatic cancer patient says he is "living day-to-day", as he struggles to get hold of medication which keeps him out of hospital.

RAF veteran David Allen, from Marton near Gainsborough, is unable to digest food without the enzyme replacement therapy Creon.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the drug was in short supply due to "ongoing global supply problems".

Mr Allen's wife, Maureen Allen, said one local pharmacy told them it would not have Creon in stock until 2026, prompting her to reply: "He'll be dead by then."

Mr Allen has to take four high-strength capsules with every meal, and two with a snack or milky drink, which means a box of 100 lasts less than a week.

He described the current shortage as "depressing" and "quite frightening", adding "it can get fraught when your tablets start running out and you haven't got a clue where the next supply is going to come from."

Mr and Mrs Allen said they start every day by scouring the internet and phoning pharmacists within an hour's drive of their home, trying to track down Creon, or its alternatives Pancrex and Nutrizym.

Last week, Mr Allen made a two-hour round trip to collect a 19-day supply he had found in Doncaster.

Without Creon, patients can suffer pain, extreme bloating and severe diarrhoea. Ultimately, they can become severely underweight and malnourished.

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Source: BBC News, 13 August 2024

Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy? 

Are you a pharmacists working in community or hospital settings?

To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in our Community conversation on medication shortages.

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'He was there four hours begging for help'

An 86-year-old man died after lying in the road waiting more than four hours for an ambulance, his family have said.

George Ian Stevenson was hit by a car near his home in Johnstown, Wrexham county, last Wednesday. His family said the first 999 call was made at 19:31 GMT, and the ambulance did not arrive until 23:37 GMT.

The Welsh Ambulance Service is looking into the incident, but said that at the time of the call, all its vehicles were already committed to other patients.

Two off-duty paramedics stopped to help, but were reluctant to move him in case they caused further injury.

Mr Stevenson's granddaughter, Ellie Williams said on the night of the accident it was raining, freezing and foggy.

She said: "Left there for four hours, begging for help, waiting for help. And that makes us so sad.

"A hard-working man who has paid his taxes all his life and paid into the system has been let down when he's needed them the most, and I just can't quite comprehend what has happened to him."

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Source: BBC News, 8 March 2022

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'Gross failure in care' of baby starved of oxygen

There was a "gross failure in basic care" which led to a baby being starved of oxygen during birth, a coroner said.

Zak Ezra Carter died at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, two days after being born in July 2018 at Ystrad Fawr Hospital in Caerphilly county.

Gwent coroner Caroline Saunders said the monitoring of Zak and his mother Adele Thomas fell "well below the standards expected". She said she was reassured the health board had taken steps to improve care.

Ms Thomas told the Newport hearing she felt "scared" and staff "didn't care" when she arrived to give birth on 20 July 2018. In a statement to the inquest she described being turned away from the centre after going into labour on three occasions, before being admitted on the fourth.

Ms Thomas said she was initially offered paracetamol as pain relief at the midwife-led centre.

She described "a lot of arguing between nurses", one of whom was "bolshie and rude and rough handled me", adding the midwives "did not appear to be in any rush". 

When Zak was born, he was described as being "white and pale" and without a heartbeat. He did not cry and was taken away to a room for resuscitation. Zak was transferred to the Royal Gwent Hospital where he died two days later.

During the first stage of labour, Prof Sanders said "everything was progressing at a normal healthy rate and the fetal heart rate was recorded as completely normal". But she said it was "highly unusual" for the heart rate to not be documented contemporaneously, and the midwives had not been able to explain why they had not done so.

Recording a narrative conclusion, Ms Saunders said the monitoring of Ms Thomas and her baby had "fallen well below the standards expected", leading to a "gross failure in basic care" of them in the later stages of labour.

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Source: BBC News, 18 March 2021

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'Great day for safety': Patients harmed by drugs and devices back commissioner role

An Independent Patients' Commissioner is set to be appointed to act as champion for people who have been harmed by medicines or medical devices.   

Baroness Cumberlege, who recommended the new role in a landmark report earlier this year, announced that the government had budged on the issue after initial resistance.

She welcomed the move saying: "Had there been a patient safety commissioner before now, much of the suffering we have witnessed could have been avoided."

But she added "the risk still remains" and further urgent action is needed to protect patients from potentially harmful drugs."

At an online meeting of parliamentarians, the baroness described the testimony of a victim of the medical device vaginal mesh, which has left some patients in chronic pain.

The woman had told her review team: "This device took everything from me. My health, my life, my job, my dignity, my marriage, my freedom."

Reflecting on this the baroness added: "The scale of suffering we witnessed means nothing short of profound change is necessary. Not necessary in a couple or three years, but necessary now."

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Source: Sky News, 16 December 2020

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'Generation X' adults from poorer families more likely to have multiple long-term conditions

More than one in three middle-aged British adults are suffering from at least two chronic health conditions, including recurrent back problems, poor mental health, high blood pressure, diabetes and high-risk drinking, according to research that warned that health in midlife is on the decline.

The study of “generation X” adults born in 1970 found that those who grew up in poorer families were 43% more likely to have multiple long-term health conditions than their peers from wealthier households. Those who had been overweight or obese as children, who had lower birthweight and who had experienced mental ill-health as teenagers were also at increased risk of poor health in midlife.

Dawid Gondek, the UCL researcher who authored the paper, said: “This study provides concerning new evidence about the state of the nation’s health in midlife. It shows that a substantial proportion of the population are already suffering from multiple long-term physical and mental health problems in their late 40s, and also points to stark health inequalities, which appear to begin early in childhood.”

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Source: The Guardian, 28 July 2021

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'Full and prompt access': Trump orders entry to sensitive government data systems

President Donald Trump signed an executive order 20 March to give more latitude to federal agency heads seeking access to government data systems.

The order, titled 'Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos, is written to promote “inter-agency data sharing” to root out inefficiencies.

The Department of Health and Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of the Treasury and other federal agencies will be required to rescind or modify guidance that restricts access to unclassified records, data, software systems and information technology systems.

It is the latest red flag for privacy experts concerned over the Trump administration’s seeming disregard for privacy norms and personal data.

“This is the loudest signal yet to federal agencies that they’re expected to ignore privacy and security safeguards and give the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] full control over the data they hold,” said John Davisson, director of litigation and senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “Nominally limiting DOGE access to what is ‘consistent with law’ is meaningless when the administration is already systematically violating federal privacy laws.”

Musk and the DOGE have previously accessed sensitive systems at the Treasury and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Media reports indicate they have been interested in contracting data at the CMS Acquisition Lifecycle Management system, as well as data at the Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System (HIGLAS), which contains personally identifiable information on health program beneficiaries.

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Source: Fierce Healthcare, 21 March 2025

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'Frail' people like me should not be denied lifesaving Covid care

A frailty index is rationing treatment for older and disabled people who catch coronavirus, says Patience Owen. Patience has has a debilitating connective tissue disorder and, like thousands of others with rare conditions, is already in a minority within a minority, marginalised by our NHS, battling increasing disability day by day.

Back in March, without consultation and days before the first lockdown, the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), a worldwide tool used to swiftly identify frailty in older patients to improve acute care, was adapted by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). It asked NHS staff in England to score the frailty of Covid patients. Rather than aiming to improve care, it seems the CFS – a fitness-to-frailty sheet using scores from one to nine – was used to work out which patients should be denied acute care. Nice’s new guidelines advised NHS trusts to “sensitively discuss a possible ‘do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ decision with all adults with capacity and an assessment suggestive of increased frailty”.

"Checking the scale, I found I would score five, the 'mildly frail' category, and therefore should I get Covid I could be steered towards end-of-life care. Bluntly, if I catch the virus, the NHS may help me to die, not live," says Patience.

By early April, there was a proliferation of illegal “do not resuscitate” (DNR) notices in care homes for people with learning disabilities, and for older people in care homes and in hospitals. Many acutely ill patients stayed at home with Covid symptoms in the belief that they risked being denied care in hospital. Following warnings by the healthcare regulator, the Care Quality Commission, and other medical bodies, that the blanket application of the notices must stop, and legal challenges by charities, exclusions were made to the NICE guidelines.

These included “younger people, people with stable long-term disabilities, learning disabilities or autism”. Yet the guidelines remain in place, in spite of the fact that they appear to contravene the Human Rights Act (including the right to life, article 2, and the right to non-discrimination, article 14). 

A spokeswoman for NICE says it is “very aware of the concerns of some patient groups about access to critical care, and we understand how difficult this feels. Our COVID-19 rapid guideline on critical care was developed to support critical care teams in their management of patients during a very difficult period of intense pressure."

“'Difficult' is a hollow word for the feeling of being selected to die," says Patience. "It’s difficult not to conclude that those with long-term conditions and disabilities, like myself, have become viewed as a sacrificial herd."

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Source: The Guardian, 29 September 2020

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'Fit and well' surgery waitlist details to be revealed in Wales

More details on plans to only add people who are "fit and well" to surgery waiting lists and crack down on missed appointments are expected to be revealed on Monday.

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles will give a speech to health leaders on the Welsh government's bid to cut waiting lists by around one quarter by March 2026.

Hospital volunteer John Timmons, 70, said he saw "a ridiculous number" of patients not turning up for appointments and would support the plans.

But health equality charity, Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales (FTWW), said "fear of weight stigma" could delay some people from seeking help.

The proposed changes are part of a number of Welsh government ideas being discussed to improve the NHS, which has recently seen small reductions in record waiting lists.

These include:

  • Patients who miss hospital appointments twice or more being referred back to their GP, in effect placing them at the back of the queue.
  • An improved Welsh NHS app, allowing patients to track their progress through the system and make or amend appointments.
  • Increased levels of intervention to get patients fit for surgery, such as people being asked to lose weight or exercise more before they are placed on a waiting list.

The Welsh government said patients who were fit and well before surgery were more likely to recover quickly and support would be given to get them "in the best possible shape" for treatment.

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Source: BBC News, 6 April 2025

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'Families have lost trust over maternity inquiry'

Families failed by maternity care at an NHS trust have "lost trust" in the health secretary to oversee an independent inquiry, MPs have said.

Wes Streeting announced an inquiry into "repeated failures" after a BBC investigation revealed the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTH) over the past five years may have been prevented.

MPs have written a letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling on him to intervene and appoint senior midwife Donna Ockenden to chair the investigation.

Ockenden is currently leading the inquiry into Nottingham maternity services - which is examining about 2,500 cases of failings - and she previously investigated failures at the Shrewsbury and Telford Trust.

Streeting said in October 2025 a thorough "Nottingham-style" investigation was required to understand what had "gone so catastrophically wrong" at Leeds' two maternity units.

But he subsequently announced publicly on a BBC Radio interview that Ockenden would not chair the inquiry at Leeds.

The letter, seen by the BBC, has been signed by three Labour MPs including Fabian Hamilton, Richard Burgon and Michelle Welsh – who is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for maternity - as well as the Conservative MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke and the independent MP Iqbal Mohamed.

It says Leeds bereaved and harmed families feel the public announcement "is nothing less than a complete betrayal of their trust" because families say Streeting had promised he would speak with Ockenden, and them first, before any news would be made public.

The letter adds it would be "unacceptable" to appoint a chair who has "an untested and unrefined methodology".

The MPs call on Starmer to "intervene and appoint Donna Ockenden to head the Leeds Maternity Inquiry, with immediate effect".

The letter also states that "Leeds families have lost faith and confidence in the Secretary of State for Health's handling of this inquiry".

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Source: BBC News, 11 February 2026

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'Exhausted and broken' midwives at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds speak out about 'substandard care' in whistleblowing letter

Midwives at Suffolk Hospital have spoken out in a whistleblowing letter describing problems in their department as ‘demoralising and heartbreaking’.

In the letter, written by midwives who declined to give their names "for fear of retribution", describe constant staff shortages, a culture of blame and fear, a high pressure environment and substandard care, saying " We entered midwifery to be able to give women centred, holistic care. Instead it feels like we are being overwhelmed by the unmanageable and relentless workload, and as a result are giving substandard care which is demoralising and heartbreaking. We are all feeling like we are now desperate for change. This change is beyond what we can achieve ourselves so we urge you to please help us to generate it. It should not be accepted or tolerated for us to be forced into giving unsafe care entirely due to unsafe staffing". 

In response, Karen Newbury, head of midwifery at the trust, said: “We are working exceptionally hard to recruit additional midwives and we are very grateful for the flexibility and dedication of our staff in ensuring that we provide a safe and caring service – this was recognised by our Care Quality Commission inspection in April which found we managed safety well. We have recently completed recruitment so there will be at least two senior midwives on every shift to provide flexible and experienced support to our maternity teams, and we are working with colleagues regionally to recruit staff both locally and internationally as well as running a full student training programme.”

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Source: Suffolk News, 20 August 2021

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'Ethnic bias' delayed care before Liverpool woman's death

"Cultural and ethnic bias" delayed diagnosing and treating a pregnant black woman before her death in hospital, an investigation found.

The probe was launched when the 31-year-old Liverpool Women's Hospital patient died on 16 March, 2023.

Investigators from the national body the Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MSNI) were called in after the woman died.

A report prepared for the hospital's board said that the MSNI had concluded that "ethnicity and health inequalities impacted on the care provided to the patient, suggesting that an unconscious cultural bias delayed the timing of diagnosis and response to her clinical deterioration".

"This was evident in discussions with staff involved in the direct care of the patient".

The hospital's response to the report also said: "The approach presented by some staff, and information gathered from staff interviews, gives the impression that cultural bias and stereotyping may sometimes go unchallenged and be perceived as culturally acceptable within the Trust."

Liverpool Riverside Labour MP Kim Johnson said it was "deeply troubling" that "the colour of a mother's skin still has a significant impact on her own and her baby's health outcomes".

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Source: BBC News, 16 February 2024

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'Don't be too kind': Stories from the maternity unit where mums were failed

The midwife's notes were short and to the point.

The three letters - "FOH" - that she had written on a whiteboard next to names of heavily pregnant women were not there to alert colleagues to women having a specific medical condition or requiring a certain type of care.

Instead, they were an acronym for a three-word offensive statement signalling they wanted the women to leave the maternity unit run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).

The "F", a swear word. The "O", standing for "OFF". The "H", short for "HOME".

The acronym was described in a 2018 resignation letter from another member of staff, now seen by BBC Panorama, raising concerns about attitudes within the unit.

In the same letter, another midwife was reported to have advised colleagues to get pregnant women, who had arrived worried they were going into labour, to go home with the advice: "Don't be too kind, she'll keep coming back."

The Nottingham trust is currently at the centre of the largest maternity inquiry in the history of the NHS - looking at care provided to about 2,500 families between 2012 and 2025.

Led by senior midwife, Donna Ockenden, the inquiry is due to publish its findings on 24 June.

"Nottingham thought that there was a Nottingham way, that they were some kind of superior NHS trust compared to others," Ockenden tells Panorama.

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Source: BBC News, 1 June 2026

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'Doing my cancer treatments alone was scary'

A campaign has started to prevent children and young people receiving cancer treatment alone in the pandemic.

Charities behind the #Hand2Hold campaign want to enable all young people aged 16 to 25 to be allowed a chaperone, instead of only some.

Mikaela Forrester, 18, from Somerset had some of her cancer treatments alone and said she did not want other young people to have that experience.

She said without her mother she found it "scary" and "lonely".

Miss Forrester lives in Frome and was diagnosed in July 2019 with Stage 2 Hodgkin Lymphoma, an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system. In March 2020 she was told she had relapsed and would need to undergo a further round of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and a stem cell transplant.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, she was told she had to have those treatments on her own, without immediate support from her family or friends.

She said: "When I had my transplant and my cells harvested with three weeks in hospital, with no visitors, it was just so scary. It was quite lonely."

"Even if I could hug my parents, or if they could stand two metres away with a mask on, just knowing they were there during the most difficult times would have made me feel comfortable because it was so overwhelming."

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Source: BBC News, 16 February 2021

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'Distressing' 999 wait highlights South West Ambulance delays

South West Ambulance has the longest waits in the country for people to get through to the operator. It takes almost a minute on average for ambulance control to answer 999 calls compared with just five seconds for the West Midlands service.

Jean and Claire Iles called 999 six times to request an ambulance for Steven Iles' internal bleeding and two of their calls were unanswered for 10 minutes

"He just looked at me and he just passed away before they could even get to him," 41-year-old Claire Iles said.

"I rang about 4pm and said he has gone grey, and I said if you don't come now he is going to die, and it was still 20 minutes before the ambulance turned up."

She was at home with her parents in Yate, near Bristol, when her father, Steve, 63, fell ill.

It took 11 hours for a South West Ambulance crew to arrive, but Jean said by that time it was too late.

Mr Iles died at 17:10 GMT on 19 March from a strangulated hernia that cut off the blood supply to his heart.

The trust has apologised for the distress and anxiety caused but said it remained under "enormous pressure".

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Source: 4 November 2022

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