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Blood scandal victims 'harmed further' by compensation delays

Thousands of victims of the infected blood scandal are being "harmed further" by long waits for compensation, the chair of the public inquiry into the disaster has said.

In a hard-hitting report, Sir Brian Langstaff said there were "obvious injustices" in the way the scheme had been devised.

It is thought 30,000 people were infected with HIV and hepatitis B or C in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s after being given contaminated blood products on the NHS.

The government has set aside £11.8bn to pay compensation and has said it is cutting red tape to speed up payments to victims.

The inquiry's main report into the scandal, published last year, found that the disaster could largely have been avoided if different decisions had been taken by the health authorities at the time.

It said too little was done to stop the importing of contaminated blood products from abroad in the 1970s and 80s, and there was evidence that elements of the scandal had been covered up.

In May of this year, Sir Brian took the unusual step of ordering two days of extra hearings after he received "letter after letter, email after email" expressing concerns about the way the government's compensation scheme for victims had been managed.

His extra 200-page report, published on Wednesday, was based on that evidence, and found that victims had been "harmed further" by the way they had been treated over the last 12 months.

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Source: BBC News, 9 July 2025

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US posts highest annual measles case tally in 33 years amid Texas outbreak

The annual tally of measles cases in the US is the highest in 33 years, as an ongoing outbreak in west Texas continues to drive cases.

The latest figures mean Americans will have to look back to 1992 to find a worse year with the vaccine preventable disease. The official tally very likely undercounts the scope of the outbreak, experts told the Guardian.

“When you talk to people on the ground, you get the sense that this outbreak has been severely underestimated,” said Dr Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Confirmed cases appear to be the “tip of a much bigger iceberg”, he said.

Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. However, as the pandemic disrupted routine childhood visits to the doctors and anti-vaccine organizations saw their coffers swell during the pandemic, measles vaccination rates have fallen below a critical threshold to prevent outbreaks in some communities.

“The number of new cases has slowed down, but I don’t think there’s any reason to suggest this will be our last,” said Dr Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert and dean for the national school of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

He later added: “It’s a very dark epidemic that never had to happen.”

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Source: The Guardian, 7 July 2025

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Wes Streeting warns doctors ‘the public will not forgive you’ as NHS strike chaos looms

Wes Streeting has warned doctors that “the public will not forgive you” as the NHS faces months of strike chaos.

The health secretary said that a pay rise is not an option after doctors in England voted in favour of industrial action, which could see walkouts last until January next year.

He also accused them of “squandering an opportunity by striking” instead of working with him to improve working conditions, warning: “You will not find another health and social care secretary as sympathetic to resident doctors as me”.

It comes after the British Medical Association (BMA) announced that resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, had backed strike action as part of demands to secure a 29% pay rise.

Warning that more walkouts will be a “disaster” for the BMA’s members and patients alike, “just as we are finally moving the NHS in the right direction”, Mr Streeting called on the union to reconsider.

He told The Times: “Patients do not support the proposed strike action and it doesn’t even command majority support among BMA resident doctors, less than half of whom actually voted for industrial action. There are no grounds for strike action now. Resident doctors have just received the highest pay award across the entire public sector.”

“I urge the BMA, even at this late stage, to reconsider this deeply damaging course of action”, he added.

Commenting on the announcement, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers – which is part of the NHS Confederation, said: “Resident doctors voting for more industrial action after the largest series of pay awards in the public sector is a troubling development.

“Further strikes are the last thing health leaders wanted and could result in tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of operations and procedures being delayed or cancelled, leaving patients in pain or discomfort.”

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Source: The Independent, 9 July 2025

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First anti-malaria drug for newborns approved

Switzerland's medical products authority has granted the first approval for a malaria medicine designed for small infants, touted as an advance against a disease that takes hundreds of thousands of lives — nearly all in Africa — each year.

Swissmedic gave a green light Tuesday for the medicine from Basel-based pharmaceutical company Novartis for the treatment of babies with body weights between 2 and 5kg, which could pave the way for hard-hit African nations to follow suit in the coming months.

The agency said that the decision is significant in part because it's only the third time it has approved a treatment under a fast-track authorisation process, in coordination with the World Health Organization, to help developing countries access needed treatment.

The newly approved medication is a lower-dose version of a tablet previously approved for other age groups, including older children.

Dr. Quique Bassat, a malaria expert not affiliated with the Swiss review, said the burden of malaria in very young children is “relatively low” compared to older kids.

But access to such medicines is important to all, he said.

“There is no doubt that any child of whichever age — and particularly very, very young ones or very light-weighted ones — require a treatment,” said Bassat, the director general of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, known as ISGlobal.

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Source: The Independent, 8 July 2025

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ASA cracks down on online pharmacies advertising weight loss injections

Online pharmacies are no longer allowed to run adverts for weight loss injections, the advertising watchdog has ruled, as part of a crackdown on what has been described as a “wild west” culture of online selling.

In the UK, advertising prescription-only medications (POMs) – which includes all weight loss jabs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro – to the public is illegal. However, a Guardian investigation previously found some online pharmacies either breaking these rules outright, or exploiting grey areas to peddle the medications to the public.

Now the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has released nine new rulings that, it says, will set clear precedents for advertisers.

The ASA said the new rulings meant that while pharmacies could continue to mention weight loss injections on their websites, provided they were not shown on homepages or landing pages from other links, adverts were banned from using the phrases “weight loss injections” and “weight loss pen”, and the treatments must instead be marketed as part of a wider service, including a consultation and prescription.

Experts say the ban on the advertising of POMs protects the public by preventing people from being exposed to undue commercial pressure, ensuring safe prescribing, and avoiding over-medicalisation of everyday concerns.

“Part of our overall strategy is protecting vulnerable people from harm, and nothing’s so harmful as powerful prescription-only medicines,” said Nicky Morgan, chair of the ASA.

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Source: The Guardian, 9 July 2025

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Why is banned vaginal prolapse mesh still being used in India?

Sling The Mesh is deeply concerned to see a global organisation, the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA), publishing a glowing spotlight article featuring an Indian surgeon who continues to use transvaginal mesh for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) – despite its ban in many countries due to serious and well-documented harm.

In a recent IUGA article, Dr Karthik Gunasekaran describes how he not only continues to use transvaginal mesh for prolapse, but also:

  • Cuts his own mesh by hand from sheets of polypropylene – a practice that lacks standardisation and has been linked to erosion, chronic pain, and other complications.
  • Uses “reusable trocars”, increasing the risk of infection and cross-contamination.
  • Admits to off-label use, potentially without fully informed patient consent.
  • Shows no mention of disclosing these products are banned in many countries for safety reasons.

Transvaginal mesh for prolapse has been withdrawn or banned across much of the world.

These decisions were not taken lightly. They came in response to overwhelming evidence of complications – including mesh erosion, nerve damage, mobility problems, autoimmune reactions, chronic infections, inability to have sex due to pain.

Mesh manufacturers may have been forced to exit regulated Western markets, but some have shifted focus to countries with different regulatory oversight. This creates a dangerous double standard where women in lower-income or less-protected healthcare systems are exposed to high-risk procedures banned elsewhere.

Sling the Mesh are especially alarmed that IUGA, a global body, would platform a surgeon openly admitting to practices that would not be permitted in the US, UK, or Australia. This raises serious ethical and professional questions:

  • Why is IUGA showcasing a surgery that has been stopped in many Western countries
  • Are patients in India and elsewhere being fully informed that the mesh being used is off-label, manually cut, and banned in much of the developed world?
  • What safeguards exist to protect women from these outdated and dangerous practices?

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Source: Sling the Mesh, 3 July 2025

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USA: Medical groups sue HHS, RFK Jr. over 'unlawful' vaccine changes

Several major medical organizations filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday over what they are calling "unlawful, unilateral vaccine changes."

The six groups -- including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) -- as well as a pregnant woman filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The organizations, representing paediatricians, infectious disease physicians and public health professionals, accused the HHS and Kennedy of intentionally taking away vaccines, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, and unjustly replacing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) entire vaccine advisory panel.

The lawsuit seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions to enjoin Kennedy's new COVID vaccine recommendations and a declaratory judgment pronouncing the change as unlawful.

Kennedy "has been on a warpath. It's gotten to the point that we are going to ... ask the court to put a stop to it," Richard H. Hughes IV, a partner at Epstein Becker Green and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told ABC News. "This decision to unilaterally overturn the COVID recommendation based on a history of bias -- it was an arbitrary, capricious decision. They didn't make any effort to follow any ordinary processes."

Hughes said the HHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act, a U.S. federal law that establishes procedures federal agencies must follow when making rules.

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Source: ABC News, 7 July 2025

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New ‘sponge’ cancer test to be trialled in high-street pharmacies

Hundreds of people experiencing persistent heartburn or acid reflux will soon be offered a “sponge on a string” test in high-street pharmacies.

NHS England is piloting a new way of preventing oesophageal cancer by identifying individuals with a condition called Barrett’s oesophagus, which occurs when stomach acid damages the lining of the oesophagus or food pipe.

Some cells may grow abnormally and then develop into oesophageal cancer.

From early next year, around 1,500 people in London and the East Midlands will participate in these new "heartburn health checks" to test for Barrett’s oesophagus.

During the test, the patient swallows a small capsule attached to a string. The capsule dissolves in the stomach and leaves a small sponge about the size of a 1p coin.

The sponge is then pulled out via the string by NHS staff after a few minutes, during which time it collects cells from the oesophageal lining for analysis in the lab.

This test is already used in hospitals and community diagnostic centres to help reduce the need for invasive endoscopies in Barrett’s patients.

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Source: The Independent, 9 July 2025

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Number of patients in UK waiting for lifesaving organ transplant at record high

The number of patients waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant in the UK has increased to a record high while there has been a sharp drop in donors, official figures show.

More than 8,000 people, including almost 300 children, are on the transplant waiting list, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). With nearly another 4,000 in need of an organ but temporarily off the list because they are too sick or unavailable for an operation, it means almost 12,000 people are living in limbo, waiting for the call that can mean the difference between life and death.

In the past year, the NHS performed fewer transplants, and fewer people donated organs than the previous year. One senior official at NHSBT said the situation was “incredibly concerning”.

Anthony Clarkson, NHSBT’s director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation, said there was an urgent need for more Britons to save lives by registering their decision on the NHS organ donor register and telling their loved ones about their wishes.

“We are facing an incredibly concerning situation where more people than ever are waiting for transplants, but fewer donations are taking place. Tragically, someone will die today waiting for a transplant – we urgently need more people to register their decision to donate and to have these vital conversations with their families.

“Last year, 60% of people who donated after death were on the NHS organ donor register, which made those conversations with families so much easier. People are far more likely to support donation when they know it’s what their relative wanted.”

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Source: The Guardian, 9 July 2025

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Forty-two areas to pioneer neighbourhood health

The government and NHS England will select 42 places to lead the rollout of neighbourhood health and shape how it will be operationalised.

Officials are writing to integrated care boards (ICBS) and councils today to call for applications to join the first wave of the national neighbourhood health implementation programme.

The first cohort of the programme, which will use an improvement network approach, is expected to be selected by September. A “co-design day” in August will help design implementation.

Applications must be from “places” (which often match a borough, town or district) and will be judged based on promising early evidence of joint working on care for multiple and complex conditions. CEOs of trusts, councils, GPs, primary care network directors, and VCSE organisations must together support and submit applications, rather than ICBs.

There can be multiple applications from several places within a single ICB.

The 42 will include representation from all regions, but there will not necessarily be one NH in each of the 42 current ICBs.

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Source: HSJ, 9 July 2025

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90,000 three-year waiters revealed in unpublished data

The huge numbers of very long waits for NHS mental health care have been exposed in new data – revealing figures much larger than those waiting for physical health treatment.

The previously unpublished figures show one million adults and children are waiting for a mental health “first contact” appointment in England. 

Of those, about 90,000 – nearly one in ten – have already been waiting more than three years. 

Some 420,000 (42%) have been waiting longer than a year.

That is more than double the 198,868 year-long waiters on the “referral to treatment” list at the same point - in January this year - which is almost entirely for help with physical health problems. There is no directly comparable measure for “first contact” in physical health services.

Similarly, 195,887 (19% of the total) have been waiting for longer than two years for a mental health first contact, according to the figures, which is thousands of times bigger than the just 139 RTT two-year waits.

Centre for Mental Health chief executive Andy Bell said the data was of “major concern”. He stressed the NHS must “put mental health access and waiting time standards on a par with those for elective physical health care”.

“They are just as pressing, just as serious,” Mr Bell said. “They must be placed on the same level, with the resources, transparency and accountability we need to bring the long waits down.

“Delays of months or even years can cause deep and prolonged distress as well as affecting people’s work, education, and relationships.”

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Source: HSJ, 8 July 2025

Source: HSJ, 8 July 2025

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NHS set for months of strike chaos after doctors vote to walk out over 29% pay rise demand

The NHS is facing months of disruption after doctors in England voted in favour of strike action which could see walkouts last until January next year.

The British Medical Association announced that resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, had backed strike action as part of demands to secure a 29%

The dates of the strikes have not yet been confirmed but the NHS will huge disruption with hundreds of thousands of appointments at risk of being cancelled if the action goes ahead.

The move would threaten to undermine Sir Keir Starmer’s key ambition to cut waiting lists and could leave the government’s new ten-year plan for the NHS, unveiled last week, in tatters.

The BMA said there is “still time to avert strike action” as it urged Health Secretary Wes Streeting to “come forward as soon as possible with a credible path to pay restoration”.

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Source: The Independent, 8 July 2025

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Doctors against Palantir’s NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest’

Doctors who oppose the use of software developed by Palantir in the NHS have “chosen ideology over patient interest”, the UK boss of the tech giant has told MPs.

Louis Mosley appeared in front of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Tuesday as part of its innovation showcase.

The shared software system will aim to make it easier for health and care organisations to work together and provide better services to patients, but Palantir’s involvement sparked concerns about how patient data will be used.

When asked by MPs about how the company protects patient privacy, and if data would be processed outside of the UK, or be accessible by any foreign government, Mr Mosley said: “The critical thing to bear in mind about the way our software works and the way it’s deployed in the NHS, is that the data controllers – so those organisations that have that legal responsibility, in the NHS those are trusts, typically – they maintain control over their data.

“So each of them gets their own instance of our software, and they control who has access to it, they control what data is integrated into it, and they, in effect, implement and enforce the data protection policies that they deem appropriate.”

It comes after the British Medical Association (BMA) passed a motion stating the company is an “unacceptable choice” for the FDP at its annual representative meeting in Liverpool last month.

The union’s members voted in favour of the BMA lobbying against the introduction of Palantir software in the health service, and called for the Department of Health and Social Care to create an audit of the progress of the uptake of the systems throughout the NHS.

When asked about this, Mr Mosley said: “I was very disappointed to see that. I think the accusation that we lack transparency or this is secretive is wrong.

“I think the BMA has, if I may be frank, chosen ideology over patient interest.

“I think our software is going to make patient lives better; so making their treatment quicker, more effective, and ultimately the healthcare system more efficient.

“And I, as a patient, and a user of the NHS, I want it to be as quick and efficient as possible.

“I’m very sad, frankly, that the ideology seems to have taken precedence over those interests.”

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Source: The Independent, 8 July 2025

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Persistent and widespread medicine shortages putting patients at risk

Patients are facing serious harm due to persistent and widespread medicine shortages, MPs and peers have warned in a new report.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on pharmacy called for urgent action to prevent critical shortfalls from becoming the "new normal", highlighting the impact that shortages are having on patients with ADHD, menopause and diabetes.

Steve Race, chairman of the APPG on pharmacy, said many MPs “have received a growing volume of correspondence from constituents who are understandably anxious about the availability of their medicines”.

“Whether it is a parent unable to access antibiotics for a sick child, an elderly patient facing delays in obtaining life-sustaining medication, or a pharmacist overwhelmed by the need to source alternatives, the human impact is both visible and deeply troubling,” he wrote in the report.

The report said that while medicine shortages are “not a new phenomenon”, they have “become increasingly severe, persistent, and disruptive” in recent years – leading to consequences for patients, staff and the wider health service.

“Medicines shortages have moved from isolated incidents to a chronic structural challenge for both the NHS and pharmacy sector,” he said.

“As the government continues to recognise and invest in the expanded clinical role of community pharmacy, we must ensure the medicines supply chain underpinning that care is equally robust, resilient and patient-focused.

“Pharmacy is central to NHS recovery and transformation, but frontline teams cannot safely expand clinical services while daily supply disruptions continue to impact the health of patients.”

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Source: The Independent, 8 July2025

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Several children ‘seriously unwell’ amid rise in measles cases as alert issued by NHS

A measles outbreak on Merseyside has left several children “seriously unwell”, a top NHS hospital has warned as it urged people to get vaccinated to help combat the spread of the disease.

The rise in cases, according to an alert on Alder Hey Children’s Hospital websites, is also driving an increase in patients attending its A&E.

The news comes amid falling coverage of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine across England, with the most recent data showing an 88 per cent coverage compared to a high of 95 per cent in 2016-17.

In an open letter, published on Monday, the trust’s senior directors warned: “Measles is putting children and young people at risk within our communities and our hospital. Several children are seriously unwell and receiving treatment at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

“Measles is on the rise amongst our children. We can all help stop it. Get vaccinated now.”

It warned that the reason there are more cases of the virus is because fewer people are having the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The most recent annual report for 2023-24 showed London had the lowest coverage rates at 81.8 per cent, while the North West had 88.8 per cent. The target set by the World Health Organisation for MMR vaccine coverage is 95 per cent.

The trust said the number of children being treated at Alder Hey hospital over measles is increasing and warned “children in hospital who are very poorly for another reason, are at higher risk of catching the virus.”

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Source: The Independent, 7 July 2025

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Charity prepares legal challenge after NHS board pauses ADHD referrals for over-25s

A charity supporting people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is preparing a legal challenge against a regional NHS board that has temporarily stopped accepting referrals for adults over 25.

Coventry and Warwickshire integrated care board said any new referrals for people over 25 would be paused from 21 May to reduce waiting lists for children.

Several other ICBs, including Herefordshire and Worcestershire and some in London, have previously paused ADHD referrals but have accredited other providers for GPs to send referrals to under “right to choose” legislation.

ADHD UK understands that this is the first time that local people aged over 25 will be able to obtain an assessment only by paying privately, which one former patient did at a cost of £1,500.

The charity is beginning the process to mount a legal challenge under the right to choose legislation, which allows patients to choose their provider for certain healthcare services when referred by their GP.

Henry Shelford, the chief executive of ADHD UK, said: “It’s ridiculous. We know one in 10 men and boys and one in four women and girls with ADHD will at some point try to take their own life, so we know there’s a danger.

“We also know that ADHD medication can have a significant positive effect and you can’t get it unless you have a diagnosis. It’s part of the discrimination and a lack of taking ADHD seriously that we face every day.”

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Source: The Guardian, 7 July 2025

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DHSC board will block unfunded safety recommendations

A “revamped, revitalised and reinforced” National Quality Board will decide what safety and quality recommendations the NHS will adopt, with an eye to their cost-effectiveness, the long-awaited Dash Review has said.

Penny Dash’s review into patient safety suggests the NQB – which has existed since 2009 – should be co-chaired by herself as chair of NHS England, with Care Quality Commission chair Sir Mike Richards. When NHSE is abolished it will be co-chaired by the Department of Health and Social Care’s lead non-executive director for quality.

The new board will act as a “clearing house” to coordinate and prioritise recommendations, avoiding “unfunded mandates being imposed on the system without due consideration”, Dr Dash recommended. It cites “those arising from reports, reviews, inquiries, investigations, guidance and activities of various bodies” being “imposed on providers without due diligence”.

The NQB should have a role in monitoring the implementation and impact of recommendations from previous reviews and inquiries, the report added. 

Dr Dash’s report, which had been widely trailed, is highly critical of what health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has described as a “labyrinth” of regulators and patient bodies and the “mission creep” pursued by some of them.

The report says that, over the last decade, there has been a shift towards patient safety over other areas of quality of care, but “relatively small improvements have been seen” in safety.

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Source: HSJ, 8 July 2025

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USA: Patients with ultra-rare diseases worry new FDA rules will leave them without treatment

US drug regulators have increasingly signalled a focus on faster approvals and rare diseases, but patients with ultra-rare ailments fear they are falling through the cracks, especially given challenges to conducting clinical trials.

One drug, elamipretide, garnered a narrow recommendation from independent advisers for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the agency rejected the drug’s application in May and recommended another potential pathway for approval.

Patients and advocates worry about new rules on who may receive the medication during this process, and whether the drug will reach approval before the pharmaceutical company runs out of funding for it.

It underscores the challenges of making progress on rare and ultra-rare diseases while also making sure treatments are safe and effective.

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Source: The Guardian, 6 July 2025

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The deadlines and targets in the 10-Year Plan

A private funding business case for health centres, and publishing minimum employment standards, are among the first dated objectives in the 10-Year Health Plan. 

The plan was published without a chapter which had been expected to set out delivery details. However, HSJ has analysed the document and presented many of the significant dated targets and deadlines below.

This year, patients can expect publication of league tables of NHS trusts and foundation trusts. Officials must prepare a business case ahead of the autumn Budget to get permission to start agreeing private funding deals for new “neighbourhood health centres”.

Over the next three years, targets include 2% year-on-year productivity gains in the NHS; introduction of new minimum employment standards for staff; making the first integrated health organisations (IHOs) “fully operational”, and growth of the NHS App.

After that, the aim is to address doctor training bottlenecks, grow the nursing workforce and ensure the majority of NHS providers are operating in a surplus.

For 2035, the end of the 10-Year Health Plan, there are a slew of ambitious goals: every trust is expected to achieve foundation status, the majority of outpatient care will take place outside hospitals, patient and hospital care will be transformed by the use of AI and wearable tech, and health system geography will be aligned with local government.

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Source: HSJ, 4 July 2025

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Waste of time and money in hospitals makes you want to cry, NHS England chief says

NHS England’s new chief has lamented the waste of time and money within the health service and said it makes her “want to cry”.

Dr Penny Dash, chair for NHS England, said there is poor management in hospitals which means the NHS “absolutely” wastes too much money.

The former hospital doctor and management consultant, who was appointed in March to help Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s reform of the NHS and oversee the abolishment of NHS England, also said that erratic care across England – which leads to the poorest people receiving some of the worst treatment – is a “stain on our country”.

Speaking two days after the publication of the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS, she told The Sunday Times: “We’ve got some GP practices where less than 2 per cent of people with diabetes get the right care but in other GP practices it’s 80 per cent. That cannot be right.

“I think it is a stain on our country that we have some of the poorest communities receiving the poorest care. We’ve got fewer GPs per head of population in the parts of the country that need them most than we do in the parts of the country that need them least.”

According to the paper, Dr Dash will use an upcoming report on patient safety, due to be published on Monday, to highlight that £6 billion a year is being lost due to poor disease management where best practice is not followed.

Addressing stories of patients suffering and missing appointments due to admin errors, Dr Dash said “you just want to cry”. She added: “There is poor management — we have operating theatres that don’t start on time and that has a really high cost.”

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Source: The Independent, 6 July 2025

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Consultancy called in to review trust's staff 'experience'

A trust grappling with concerns over culture has commissioned an independent review into staff experience.

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust has brought in consultancy The Value Circle to carry out the work.

In a message to staff seen by HSJ, trust CEO Richard Parker said: “We are undertaking an independent review of what it feels like to work at DBTH to help us understand what’s working well, and what could be improved to make it even better for all of us.

“For this to really make a difference, it’s important that the independent team hears from as many colleagues as possible… everything you share will be treated in complete confidence.”

The trust confirmed it was broadening a mandatory well-led review to also look at “colleague experience”.

HSJ previously reported that the trust is in a row with the British Medical Association over the circumstances surrounding a senior clinician being off work. It has also faced criticism from a departing governor and consultants.

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Source: HSJ, 7 July 2025

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Pregnant patients received ‘inappropriate’ medication due to pharmacy coding errors

GP practices have been asked to review records after pregnant patients at some pharmacies were ‘incorrectly coded’, receiving ‘inappropriate supplies’ of medications as a result.

NHS England undertook an investigation into the recording of pregnancy status in the Optum PharmOutcomes IT system for the Pharmacy Contraception and Pharmacy First Services, after receiving incident reports.

It found that ‘multiple records’ were found where a patient ‘has been incorrectly coded as pregnant’. It also found that some patients received ‘an inappropriate supply of medication’, including where patients have been coded correctly as pregnant and should have been excluded from the supply of medication.

In a message to practices in Essex, seen by Pulse, NHS England said that a clinical advisory group confirmed that this is a patient safety incident that ‘requires action to prevent potential harm’ to impacted patients, and that patients ‘must be informed in line with duty of candour guidance’.

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can now add updates from Pharmacy First, blood pressure and contraception consultations to GP patient records via the GP Connect Update Record functionality, which means that the coding errors transferred to the GP record although the functionality is not yet contractual.

NHS England told Pulse that GP practices were asked to review their records and take ‘any other action as appropriate’, but the commissioner did not confirm to Pulse how many patients have been affected by the coding errors.

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Source: Pulse, 2 July 2025

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‘Irrelevant’ training will stop next year, vows 10-Year Plan

The government’s 10-Year Health Plan has vowed to stop “repetitive” and “irrelevant” training that takes up NHS staff time.

The document said: “Our first step will be to reverse the accumulation of centrally dictated training requirements, which irritate staff and add unnecessary burdens to their working day.

“It is often repetitive, irrelevant to the work that staff do and has little or no impact on the quality of care that patients receive. By April 2026, we will have completely reformed mandatory training.

“As we transform the centre and push power out to staff and citizens, we will work with providers and professionals to identify more opportunities to ease the burden on frontline workers, remove central edicts, and allow a more flexible approach to workforce development.”

The plan also commits to using technology to increase clinical capacity, including through UK-registered health professionals working abroad to provide remote services to NHS patients.

NHS England has estimated that unnecessary mandatory training is wasting more than 100,000 days of staff time every year.

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Source: HSJ, 3 July 2025

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'Pictures of health' cut skin cancer check waits

Digital imaging of suspected skin cancers has dramatically cut waiting times for diagnosis and treatment in Nottinghamshire.

Clinical photographers in parts of the county now see patients referred by GPs typically within a couple of days, rather than them having to wait what used to be sometimes weeks to see a consultant for just an initial appointment.

The imaging includes using artificial intelligence (AI) smartphone software, which then sees pictures sent to a consultant dermatologist to assess, without needing to meet the patient.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said the approach was freeing up specialists' time to focus on surgery.

Fiona Hayward-Lyon, from Farndon in Nottinghamshire, is one of nearly 2,000 patients seen by the trust with suspected skin cancer who have benefitted from faster access to diagnosis.

The service was fully introduced in June 2024 and one year on, has been described as a "big success" by the trust.

Consultant dermatologist Dr Ritu Singla said the photography service allowed medics to reassure patients sooner if they did not have cancer.

"We can rule out lots of benign [non-cancerous] lesions, which are the bulk of cases," she said.

"It also enables us to start treatment sooner for those patients where cancer has been diagnosed."

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Source: BBC News, 3 July 2025

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National virtual ward system promised in 10-Year Plan

The government will procure a single virtual ward system to underpin its promised “neighbourhood health service”, the 10-Year Health Plan has said.

The document said: “We will undertake national procurement for a new platform available to all NHS provider organisations. This will include the ability to remotely monitor patients, with data flowing through to the NHS App and Single Patient Record – enabling proactive management of patients to become the new normal.”

Virtual wards, also known as hospital at home, have been widely trialled across the NHS already, with some research pointing to reduced hospital admissions and financial savings.

There was no date given for when this would be launched.

The news clarifies the digital underpinning of “neighbourhood health services” and which bodies would commission it, following the downgrading of integrated care boards.

The plan said the new system would enable “proactive management of patients to become the new normal, reaching out at the first signs of deterioration to prevent an emergency admission to hospital”.

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Source: HSJ, 3 July 2025

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