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ICBs can scrap chief nurse and medic, says NHSE

Integrated care boards can now scrap the roles of chief nurse and chief medical officer – despite previous guidance saying they are required – NHS England has indicated.

NHSE told HSJ it was “for each ICB to determine which specific roles they require at board level to deliver their core functions”, after saying systems should reduce executive headcounts as part of its “model ICB blueprint”.

It comes as North East London ICB announced to staff it was scrapping its chief nurse and chief medical officer roles from its executive management team. It is restructuring in order to cut its costs in half and focus on “strategic commissioning” (see below), as instructed by government and NHSE.

The Royal College of Nursing has criticised NEL ICB’s removal of the chief nurse role – and said other systems may follow suit.

Patricia Marquis, executive director of RCN England, said: “The decision to remove the chief nurse post by the North East London ICB shows poor insight into the importance of nursing in ensuring safe patient care. Worryingly, we are now hearing that other ICBs across England are planning to follow suit. The RCN is monitoring the situation and will be supporting members to challenge decisions locally.

“As the biggest and most trusted profession in the NHS workforce, it is vital that nursing continues to have leaders in place to influence decision-making. Failure to do so risks devaluing the nursing profession and undermining the delivery of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, which is so heavily dependent on the expertise and leadership of senior nursing staff.”

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Source: HSJ, 1 August 2025

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First NHS AI-run physio clinic in England halves back-pain waiting list

The first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic has halved the waiting list for back pain and musculoskeletal services, according to the NHS trust where the pilot has taken place.

More than 2,500 patients living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to access Flok Health, a physiotherapy platform run by AI, over a 12-week period starting in February.

The platform, which was created using video footage of a human physiotherapist, provides same-day automated video appointments with a digital physiotherapist via an app that responds to information given by a patient in real time.

When the clinic was first launched in Cambridgeshire, waiting times for elective community musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the region were about 18 weeks.

The waiting times for all MSK conditions decreased by 44% over the course of the 12-week period due to the use of Flok combined with other initiatives such as community assessment days, according to Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS trust (CCS), which deployed the services in those areas of England.

Anna-Marie Cooper, from Cambridge, had a positive experience using Flok despite being initially sceptical when she was referred to the AI physio for her back pain.

“I have used private physiotherapy services in the past, but I found my experience with the AI physio as good as, if not better than any care I’ve received before,” she said. “Flok’s service was so intuitive, and having the flexibility to schedule and rearrange appointments whenever I wanted really suited me.”

But the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said that although AI holds great potential for the future of healthcare treatments, it was concerned about widening health inequalities for other patients who couldn’t or didn’t want to access physiotherapy care via an app.

John Cowman, the chief executive of the CSP, said: “When tackling the problem of waiting times, it is important to address the root causes, one of which is the recruitment freezes currently stopping graduate physiotherapists from finding work in the NHS. We have a workforce ready to provide proven, safe care which will help cut waiting times and ensure people get the appointments they need.

“AI will certainly play an increasing role in healthcare in the coming years as a tool to support services, but should be run in conjunction with increasing the physiotherapy workforce.”

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Source: The Guardian, 31 July 2025

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Review uncovers misogyny and paternalistic culture at major trust

An independent review of a major trust has uncovered claims of misogyny and a failure to deal with “unwanted romantic advances”, HSJ can reveal. 

The damning report into University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust found that multiple women reported eye-rolling and dismissiveness in meetings. Female surgeons in particular felt “constantly excluded” by their male colleagues.

The review team also learnt that no action was taken after a female staff member reported unwanted romantic advances and inappropriate comments from senior male colleagues.

The report was written by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting, which specialises in independent investigations. It was commissioned after a poor Care Quality Commission report and “undertakings” from NHS England. It was based around interviews and focus groups with staff, governors and leaders, a survey of board members and a wider survey of more than 1,000 staff members.

The review team found senior leaders said there was a “paternalistic culture” in the organisation, with all decisions passed through the executive.

It called on the trust to build “psychological safety” in the organisation, which was also described as having a “medically dominated culture”, where doctors were “pandered” to.

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Source: HSJ, 31 July 2025

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'It makes me sad and angry': Bereaved mother urges parents to get their children vaccinated

The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died from complications of measles has urged parents to have their children vaccinated amid a surge of cases.

Renae Archer was too young to have the MMR vaccine when she caught the infection at just five months old.

A decade later, she was diagnosed with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a very rare brain disease. She died in 2023.

Her mother Becky believes Renae might not have caught measles if more people had inoculated their children.

The warning comes as rates of vaccine uptake continue to fall. The recent death of a child with measles at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool put the focus on a surge of cases in a city with low levels of vaccination.

It has left communities with rates of vaccination below the 95% level seen to provide herd immunity, where enough people are protected to prevent the virus spreading.

Becky Archer said: "It does make me quite sad and angry because they are potentially putting their children at risk.

"We just want people to open their eyes to someone that's actually been through it and not the nonsense that's being spread out on social media or on telly.

"I just want people to be knowledgeable of how serious a situation can be."

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Source: Sky News, 31 July 2025

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Yusuf Nazir: New report examines death of boy who was sent home from hospital due to a 'lack of beds'

The mother of a five-year-old boy who died after being sent home from hospital because of a "lack of beds" has told Sky News that the second report into his death "has not brought closure for the family". 

Yusuf Nazir died in November 2022. His mother Soniya had rushed her son to Rotherham Hospital's A&E, only to be told "there were no beds available".

Yusuf was eventually seen by a doctor but then sent home. Soniya says the doctor told her that "Yusuf had the worst case of tonsillitis he had ever seen".

But the child's health continued to deteriorate, and his desperately worried mother called an ambulance to rush him to the nearby specialist children's hospital in Sheffield.

It was here, the report says, that a number of critical interventions were missed. Yusuf's family say that, if doctors had acted sooner, he would still be alive.

Speaking in her first interview since Yusuf's death, Soniya described the panic she felt as a mother watching her son "dying in front of her eyes".

"I carried Yusuf to the nurse, floppy with his eyes rolled back, struggling to breathe, myself to the nurse," Soniya said.

"She said: 'We're too busy, we can't get a doctor, you'll have to wait.'"

This second independent report was backed by Wes Streeting when he was shadow health secretary.

A previous internal NHS report found no wrongdoing on the part of Rotherham Hospital. The family have described that report as a "whitewash".

Their claim will be supported by this second report, which says: "It's clear that across all settings - primary care, pre-hospital, emergency and inpatient - the healthcare system failed to truly hear the family's voice."

It also says staff should have listened to the "mother's instinct".

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Source: Sky News, 31 July 2025

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Major healthcare equipment firm on brink of failure

A major supplier of healthcare equipment to people who are being discharged from hospital or need support in their own homes, is on the brink of going bust.

NRS Healthcare, which works with the NHS and about 40 councils in England and Northern Ireland, is expected to run out of cash by the end of the week, the BBC understands.

The government said it was working with local authorities to minimise "any potential disruption" and find alternative suppliers.

In a letter, sent to the government early in July and seen by the BBC, councils warned of "a devastating impact" and "risk to life" and asked for a short-term loan for NRS while new arrangements were put in place.

It is believed no loan was offered, but most councils have now managed to get plans in place to keep services running.

Council leaders and social services bosses have since confirmed they are "exploring all options to maintain services, including alternative providers and local solutions".

"We are committed to ensuring that services remain as reliable as possible, especially to those people with the highest levels of need during this period of uncertainty," said the Local Government Association, which represents councils in England, in a joint statement with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.

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Source: BBC News, 30 July 2025

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'I'm utterly lost': Patients' anger over doctors strike cancellations

The resident doctors strike in England begun after a dispute over pay between the government and the British Medical Association (BMA).

Thousands of doctors walked out over five days, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting insisting that disruption would be kept to a minimum.

But several NHS patients have told the BBC they fear their conditions could become worse after delays to scheduled procedures, while some have also expressed sympathy over the concerns the doctors are raising.

Peter Plant, 58, of Tamworth, who has kidney cancer, said his surgery to remove the organ on Friday was cancelled on Thursday morning. The operation has been rescheduled for 20 August, but he fears the delay could be a "death sentence".

"Resident doctors do not care that delaying operations like mine are very likely a death sentence," he said.

"I'm absolutely angry and frustrated. It is not just about me, it's about our whole family.

"You try and gear yourself up for it and then it's utter deflation."

Mr Plant said he and his family had been living in "limbo" and that he felt "utterly lost".

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Source: BBC News, 25 July 2025

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Parents 'horrified' by maternity services report

There are "significant'' concerns about the safety and quality of maternity services at an NHS trust, a report has revealed.

Issues with staffing, a "challenging'' culture and a lack of learning from previous incidents were identified at Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTH) NHS Trust.

NHS England published its findings following a visit to the trust in March this year. It made 101 recommendations to improve the quality of care and ensure the "wellbeing'' of mothers and babies.

NHS England placed the trust under its national Maternity Safety Support Programme (MSSP). Its teams work to improve services where serious concerns have been identified.

Areas of concerns the MSSP report highlighted included:

  • Staff describe safety concerns being de-escalated without resolution, and learning from incidents was not robust which meant there was a continuation on previously identified themes.
  • Lack of cardiotocography (CTG) machines to enable women to be effectively and safely monitored.
  • Issues with escalation process especially out of hours with no clinical or midwifery management on call.
  • Challenge in responding to families who have experienced harm and poor outcomes.
  • Poor communication and staffing issues with maternity leadership needing improvement.

A group of Leeds bereaved families said the MSSP report, which also highlights good practices, is "truly shocking and horrifying reading".

"As bereaved and harmed families this most recent report, yet again, totally vindicates what we have been saying for years. The culture of denial, the failure to listen and the absence of real accountability are systemic and persistent," a spokesperson said.

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Source: BBC News, 29 July 2025

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I've stopped life-saving medication says man exhausted by fight for NHS care

Tim Hull can point to many achievements during his 56 years. But it is a life Tim has decided to end. His quality of life, he says, is "very, very low". Tim has a medical condition that weakens his muscles, and his health has declined rapidly over the past two years.

It is the battles to get the health and care support he needs which have driven him to make the desperate decision, says Tim. He feels abandoned by health professionals, has been moved from one waiting list to another, has not been provided with the right equipment to help him and has been bed-bound for nearly seven months.

In February, he stopped taking the medication that prevents his kidneys from failing. They are now beginning to give up and he knows he has months, if not weeks, to live.

"I don't feel that things are going to get any better than this," he tells BBC News. "I just feel [ending my life] would be a better option than lying in bed 24 hours a day."

Tim's neurological condition is rare, however, many of the difficulties he has faced feel familiar to many.

Over the past two years, BBC News has been contacted by the families of more than 250 people with serious disabilities or illnesses about their struggles to access health and care services.

Many described the impact of very long waits for assessments, appointments, and for vital equipment that can help them cope at home.

They also highlighted the frustrations of trying to get someone to signpost the right services, being passed from department to department, and the feeling that they were only listened to when they reached a crisis.

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Source: BBC News, 30 July 2025

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GPs urged to join forces to avoid ‘imposition’ of neighbourhood providers

GPs should rapidly start “collaborative discussions” with peers about developing joint “models” to fit in with the government’s proposed development of “neighbourhood health”, the British Medical Association’s GP committee has said.

The GPC has previously issued strong criticism of the government’s 10-Year Health Plan, because it does not commit to a new core GP contract, and opens the door to trusts running more GP practices.

However, a document issued by the committee on Friday says GPs should “quickly” begin talks with other practices, federations and primary care networks, with a view to “develop[ing] collaborative models”. They should “think about how they may operate” in neighbourhood systems.

The 10YHP proposes the introduction of two new “neighbourhood” contracts from next year to coordinate and provide local services, which it says will also encourage GPs to work across larger areas.

Some believe there are few parts of the country where large-scale GP providers are mature enough to take on these roles, meaning NHS trusts and foundation trusts are likely to step in.

The BMA’s GPC England appears to be encouraging GP practices to accelerate “collaboration” – such as creating or developing larger providers and federations – with a view to taking on neighbourhood contracts. 

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Source: HSJ, 30 July 2025

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Coroners reveal concerns over trust safety investigations

Trusts are beginning to run parallel safety investigations because a compulsory new national process does not meet the demands of coroners, HSJ has learned.

One provider said it had already established a separate process for deaths likely to result in an inquest, while others confirmed they were reviewing how they carry out investigations.

National officials admitted separate investigations might be required.

It follows the rollout in recent years of NHS England’s new “patient safety incident response framework” (PSIRF) for all NHS trusts, as well as other providers on the NHS standard contract.

It is meant to be a more “proportionate” process than the previous “serious incident framework”, with a focus on learning and engaging with those affected, rather than attributing blame. One consequence is that fewer incidents – including some deaths – are likely to receive a full investigation.

HSJ has uncovered seven cases – covering nine people – where coroners have issued Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) reports which raised concerns that the PSIRF is producing inadequate reports or there had been no safety investigation at all.

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust has reverted to using root cause analysis as a parallel process for all cases that may be subject to a coroner inquest. This was required “to ensure the coroner received the necessary information, while maintaining the integrity of the PSIRF investigation”, the trust’s board heard last month. Chief medical officer Andrew Deaner said: “Nationally coroners were finding some issues with the PSIRF process.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Under the [PSIRF], all deaths thought likely to be down to problems in care must be subject to a patient safety incident investigation.” However, they added: “It is vital that NHS trusts continue to engage with coroners and work with them to ensure that coroners get the information they need.”

NHS England has also said it is aware some coroners had raised concerns, although it consulted the chief coroners’ office in developing the PSIRF. It acknowledged the methodology may differ from a coroner’s remit, and said NHS organisations could use other methods in addition.

The judiciary office and the Coroners’ Society did not want to comment.

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Source: HSJ, 29 July 2025

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Lifestyle changes and vaccination ‘could prevent most liver cancer cases’

Three in five liver cancer cases globally could be prevented by reducing obesity and alcohol consumption and increasing uptake of the hepatitis vaccine, a study has found.

The Lancet Commission on liver cancer found that most cases were preventable if alcohol consumption, fatty liver disease and levels of viral hepatitis B and C were reduced.

The commission set out several recommendations for policymakers, which it estimated could reduce the incidence of liver cancer cases by 2% to 5% each year by 2050, preventing 9m to 17m new cases of liver cancer and saving 8 million to 15 million lives.

Prof Jian Zhou at Fudan University in China, who led the research, said: “Liver cancer is a growing health issue around the world. It is one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with five-year survival rates ranging from approximately 5% to 30%. We risk seeing close to a doubling of cases and deaths from liver cancer over the next quarter of a century without urgent action to reverse this trend.”

The commission author Prof Hashem B El-Serag of Baylor College of Medicine in the US said: “Liver cancer was once thought to occur mainly in patients with viral hepatitis or alcohol-related liver disease. However, today, rising rates of obesity are an increasing risk factor for liver cancer, primarily due to the increase in cases of excess fat around the liver.”

The commission’s recommendations included that governments boost HBV vaccination and implement universal screening for adults; introduce minimum alcohol unit pricing and sugar taxes along with warning labels; invest in early detection of liver damage and cancer; and improve palliative care for sufferers.

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Source: The Guardian, 28 July 2025

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New study says self-test could prevent up to 1,000 cervical cancer cases a year

About a third of women are overdue for their appointment for life-saving cervical cancer screening – due to embarrassment, discomfort or simply not having enough time to attend.

But offering women an at-home self-test could prevent as many as 1,000 cases of cervical cancer every year, a study led by Queen Mary University of London with King’s College London found.

More than 3,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year in the UK. It has been estimated that the number would be 5,000 higher if it weren’t for cervical screening.

The number of women participating in cervical screening has been falling, and in 2024, only 66% of those eligible for screening were up to date.

In the study, published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, researchers recruited 13 GP practices in West London to find out the benefits of offering women a take-home test.

One group of GP practices made in-person kit offers to women who were at least six months overdue for their cervical screening, the other group did not. For the first group, when women attended their GP practice for any reason, their doctor or nurse was encouraged to offer them a self-sampling kit.

In the study, people who were 15 months overdue for cervical screening were randomised each month. Half received no special communication, a quarter were mailed a self-sampling kit, and a quarter were sent a letter offering a kit.

Of the 449 women opportunistically offered a kit in a GP appointment, 234 (52%) accepted and returned a sample.

However, the uptake of self-sampling after a postal offer was lower: 12% among those sent a kit, and just 5% for women sent a letter offering a kit.

Researchers estimate that if this approach were adopted across the NHS, 1,000 cases of cervical cancer could be prevented.

dings are directly relevant to current efforts to modernise cervical screening in England. Self-sampling gives women greater control over how and when they get screened.

“This study reinforces that many women welcome the option - particularly when it’s offered in person by a trusted healthcare professional. A simple change like this could have a major impact on preventing cervical cancer.”

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Source: The Guardian, 29 July 2025

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Children’s heart unit in ‘very precarious state’

A surgeon at one of England’s largest teaching trusts has had their practice restricted following the deaths of two children, amid a “worrying and significant deterioration” in mortality rates for its children’s heart service.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust commissioned a review of its paediatric congenital cardiac service after the clinical team raised concerns about the surgeon’s performance as well as overall mortality rates, waiting lists, patient flow and culture.

The review found mortality rates at LTH were around three times the national average and had shown a “worrying and significant deterioration” over the past two years.

The findings have been published in the trust’s papers for its board meeting this week. It comes as its chair and CEO are leaving, and major problems have emerged in its maternity services. 

The service review was carried out by consultant cardiothoracic surgeon Massimo Caputo and paediatric intensive care consultant James Fraser, both of whom work at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. They found that rates of significant complications, reoperation and protracted length of stay after surgery had increased since April 2023.

A separate review, by Andrew Parry, a paediatric cardiac surgeon in Bristol, looked into seven specific cases of particular concern that all involved the same surgeon – who the trust has declined to name. Two of the children died, and the remaining five continue to receive care from various specialities including congenital cardiac surgery.

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Source: HSJ, 29 July 2025

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'My dad started spying on my mum' - the drugs causing sexual urges

When "Sarah" climbed up into the attic of her father's house - she was completely unprepared for what she would find.

Her father, "James", was a modest man who worked most of his life for the same company. He retired about 20 years ago when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's.

He had managed the tremors and balance difficulties caused by the disorder by taking a prescription drug called Ropinirole.

But during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarah had grown increasingly alarmed about her father's secrecy and wanted to see what he had been spending his time doing.

In the loft, she discovered reams of handwritten notes and a dozen recording devices he had been using to bug his own home.

In writing and on tape he had documented innocent sounds his wife had made as she moved around the house, and while she slept, to try to prove she was having an affair. He had also catalogued details of numerous chat lines and porn websites he had been obsessively using.

It was only when Sarah took him to see his specialist nurse five years ago that she learned the medication her father was on could have such extreme side effects.

James lives in a specialist care home and Sarah says she has been told that he has sexually assaulted staff there.

"This medication has torn my family apart," says Sarah - whose name we have changed along with her father's.

James's case is one of 50 the BBC has now been contacted about, the majority concerning men being treated for movement disorders whose behaviour changed dramatically after being prescribed medication from a specific family of drugs.

The risk of impulsive behaviour side effects of dopamine agonist medication have long been known - but the BBC has discovered that doctors are still not warning all patients who have been prescribed the drugs for a variety of conditions.

In March we revealed how British drug company GSK had found a link between Ropinirole and what it called "deviant" sexual behaviour - including paedophilia - in 2003.

GSK told the BBC it had shared these findings with health authorities, included this safety advice in medication leaflets, and conducted extensive trials for the drug which has been prescribed for 17 million treatments.

But warnings about such behaviour were not included in leaflets until 2007 - and, even now, only specify "altered" sexual interest and "excessive" or "increased" libido as risks.

Safety advice about the medication's "toxic" side-effects needs to be strengthened immediately because their impact can be "devastating", according to the acting chair of the Health Select Committee, Labour MP Paulette Hamilton.

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Source: BBC News, 26 July 2025

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Demand for weight loss drugs is becoming unsustainable, say pharmacists

Demand for weight loss drugs is becoming so “unsustainable” that demand may soon outstrip supply, pharmacists have warned.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said supply problems could encourage people to turn to unregulated online sources, despite the risks involved.

The number of people in the UK using drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro has soared to well above a million, with most patients paying to get them privately.

During April, 1.6m packs of Mounjaro and Wegovy were bought in Britain, with the number thought to correlate closely with the number of people using them.

“Spiralling demand for weight loss medication risks going far beyond what is clinically deliverable”, the NPA said.

“Weight loss jabs are one of the biggest drug innovations this century but growing demand for weight loss treatment highlights the need to make sure this is appropriate for those who want it,” said Olivier Picard, the NPA’s chair.

“It’s clear from this polling that more people are interested in getting weight loss jabs than can benefit from weight loss medication.”

Supply of the medicines has been hit by shortages in some parts of the UK, including for higher doses of Mounjaro, the NPA said. Supply has been restricted to some pharmacies, which has stopped some new patients from going on to the drugs.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the UK’s drugs watchdog, has warned patients to obtain the drugs only with a doctor’s prescription, and not from beauty parlours or websites.

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Source: The Guardian, 28 July 2025

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Staff left “vulnerable” after concerns “ignored” by trust leadership

A culture in which staff felt “done to” and not able to raise concerns safely to a disconnected leadership have all contributed to “a longstanding sense of dissatisfaction” and “continuing” fears over care quality at one of the NHS’s largest teaching trusts, an NHS England review has discovered.

The review was undertaken by NHSE’s Maternity Safety Support Programme into care delivered by Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust. Its publication comes a month after the Care Quality Commission downgraded maternity services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James University Hospital from “good” to “inadequate”.

The publication of the NHSE review in the trust’s board papers led to the trust chief executive Phil Wood to write to the organisation’s 20,000 staff, warning them that it and another investigation into the organisation’s paediatric congenital cardiac service would prove “challenging”.

The report describes the culture at LTH as “challenging” and exhibiting “a degree of negativity”. It was not viewed as “supportive”, and a “lack of communication” was a common theme. Many staff felt “they were ‘being done to’”.

The combination of these factors “led to escalation fatigue from the staff as they did not feel that their safety concerns were responded to in a productive and supportive way”.

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Source: HSJ, 28 July 2025

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Trusts blaming cyber-attack risk for failing to share information

Four trusts have been warned by the UK’s information regulator over their failure to respond to freedom of information requests.

The Information Commissioner’s Office said it carried out an assessment across the NHS provider sector after receiving regular complaints over delays and backlogs. The review focused on compliance with the FOI Act, which grants the right to access information held by public authorities. 

The review has resulted in Nottingham University Hospitals Trust being served an enforcement notice over a “significantly low compliance rate” and a backlog of nearly 200 requests that were over a year old. The formal order is issued when an authority is considered as failing to comply with obligations.

The ICO said NUH had answered only 17% of requests within the statutory deadline compared to an average of 82%. 

ICO director of FOI Warren Seddon said most trusts were treating the laws with the “seriousness that is required”. But he added: “A small number still show significant room for improvement and that’s where we step in.”

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Source: HSJ, 28 July 2025

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Mum who blames mesh implant for crippling pain blasts Government for continued use

A mum who blames a controversial plastic implant for her crippling pain has blasted the Scottish Government for continuing to use the products.

Roseanna Clarkin is one of a number of women who blame mesh products for life-changing complications.

In her case, it was used to treat an umbilical hernia in 2015.

Three years later, while the Scottish Government banned the use of trans vaginal mesh products, surgical mesh is still used for other procedures.

Studies suggest 5 to 20% of hernia operations result in mesh failure. A study in the British Medical Journal, said the rate could be 12 to 30%.

Campaigners have been calling for an independent review and patients including Roseanna want a ban on all surgical mesh and fixation devices.

Roseanna, 41, of Clydebank, said: “Vaginal mesh is banned but mesh is still used for other procedures. Ultimately, it’s the same mesh that can cause the same problems.”

In 2023, then First Minister Humza Yousaf said to suspend the use of hernia mesh would leave some people with limited or no treatment options.

Last year, Roseanna was diagnosed with a rectocele – a prolapse of the wall between the rectum and vagina – but was shocked doctors wanted to use mesh.

She said: “I was outraged. Mesh has caused ­devastating effects to my life and body. There was no way I was having any more.” 

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Source: The Sun, 23 July 2025

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Top medical body concerned over RFK Jr’s reported plans to cut preventive health panel

A top US medical body has expressed “deep concern” to Robert F Kennedy Jr over news reports that the health secretary plans to overhaul a panel that determines which preventive health measures including cancer screenings should be covered by insurance companies.

The letter from the the American Medical Association comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Kennedy plans to overhaul the 40-year old US Preventive Services Task Force because he regards them as too “woke”, according to sources familiar with the matter.

During his second term, Donald Trump has frequently raged against organisations and government departments that he considers too liberal – often without any evidence. The US president, and his cabinet members such as Kennedy, have also overseen huge cuts and job losses across the US government.

The taskforce is made up of a 16-member panel appointed by health and human services secretaries to serve four-year terms. In addition to cancer screenings, the taskforce issues recommendations for a variety of other screenings including osteoporosis, intimate partner violence, HIV prevention, as well as depression in children.

Writing in its letter to Kennedy on Sunday, the AMA defended the panel, saying: “As you know, USPSTF plays a critical, non-partisan role in guiding physicians’ efforts to prevent disease and improve the health of patients by helping to ensure access to evidence-based clinical preventive services.”

“As such, we urge you to retain the previously appointed members of the USPSTF and commit to the long-standing process of regular meetings to ensure their important work can be continued without disruption,” it added.

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Source: The Guardian, 27 July 2025

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Impact of long NHS waits on patients revealed, plus who waits longest

People who wait longer for NHS treatment are significantly more likely to seek emergency care in the months after eventually receiving it, compared with those who are seen quickly.

People treated within 18 weeks of being on the waiting list made 18% fewer A&E visits per week in the three months following their treatment, compared to how often they visited A&E while waiting for treatment.

In contrast, people who waited over a year ended up making 31% more A&E visits in the three months following their care.

The Health Foundation, which carried out the research and shared the findings with the Sky News Data and Forensics Unit, say that the fact people need more emergency care after long waits for treatment "may indicate additional aftercare needs or decreased effectiveness of treatment following a longer wait".

They analysed detailed patient-level data that had previously not been available for research use.

It complements new NHS data published last week which revealed the make-up of the waiting list for the first time, in terms of the gender, age, ethnicity and deprivation status of the patients on it.

The Health Foundation explained that, as well as patients having to live with the "consequences of debilitating conditions for longer", long waits can also lead to "more complex, difficult and expensive treatment" being required.

They also "significantly increase consumption of pain relief medication". In some cases, while waiting, conditions for the patient become permanent and untreatable.

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Source: Sky News, 25 July 2025

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First trusts picked to ‘host’ neighbourhood health

An integrated care board has become the first to select “integrators” to coordinate neighbourhood teams in four of its boroughs, each of which will be “hosted” by a trust.

South East London ICB said the arrangements – all of which are an alliance between several organisations – would not replace its “place-based care partnerships” in the boroughs. The integrators will “provide the core infrastructure to support effective integrated neighbourhood team working as it develops”.

London’s other four ICBs are still in the process of selecting organisations or partnership for each of their council areas, as agreed in a neighbourhood health operating model for the city published in May. 

The “host” for each integrator is likely to employ any dedicated staff and hold its funding, particularly if it takes on delegated commissioning budgets. The London model says integrator hosts must be of a ”scale sufficient to manage related budgets and provide required infrastructure, including around data sharing, workforce, estates and digital”.

As well as developing and coordinating community-based services, the integrators will help any GP practices which are “at risk of failure”, the plan said.

However, the concept of an integrator was not included in the 10-Year Health Plan, and it is unclear how it will fit with the government’s proposed neighbourhood provider contracts.

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Source: HSJ, 25 July 2025

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Millions will die from infections as aid budget is cut

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the gravest public health threats confronting the world, one projected to cause 39 million deaths by 2050 and a direct threat to the UK that demands urgent action, not shortsighted funding cuts.

The Fleming Fund has an effective surveillance tool to track resistant infections, supporting experts working in hundreds of laboratories in countries in Africa and Asia at the greatest danger from AMR. It is the perfect example of the UK aid budget being used to protect us all from health crises that respect no borders, which makes the government’s sudden decision to scrap it a shocking act of vandalism.

It is five months since the government announced its £5 billion cut to the UK’s overseas development budget, a 40% reduction taking spending to its lowest level this century, but only now are the grim consequences becoming clear. Projects to combat AMR are particularly vulnerable because they are funded by the Department of Health and Social Care which must slash almost two thirds from its share of the aid budget over the next two years, from £331 million to just £123 million. 

AMR evolves constantly across borders. When we abandon surveillance programmes we create blind spots that allow drug-resistant infections to spread unchecked. 

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Source: The Times, 21 July 2025

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Surgeon named ‘Bravest in Britain’ who told insurers he had his legs amputated due to sepsis charged with fraud

A “brave” vascular surgeon who told insurers he had his legs amputated due to sepsis has been charged with fraud.

Neil Hopper, 49, who carried out hundreds of amputations before having his own legs removed below the knees, is accused of telling insurers that the leg injuries were the “result of sepsis and were not self-inflicted”, intending to make a gain.

He has also been charged with encouraging someone else to remove the body parts of others.

Mr Hopper, of Truro in Cornwall, appeared before Cornwall Magistrates’ Court in Bodmin on Wednesday, charged with two counts of fraud by false representation, and a charge of encouraging or assisting in the commission of grievous bodily harm.

It is alleged that between 3 June and 26 June 2019, Mr Hopper dishonestly made a false representation to insurers.

It is also alleged that between 21 August 2018 and 4 December 2020, Hopper bought videos from The EunuchMaker website showing the removal of limbs, which “encouraged [website ringleader] Marius Gustavson to remove body parts of third parties”.

He was remanded in custody until his next court appearance at Truro Crown Court on 26 August.

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Source: The Independent, 23 July 2025

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21 US States sue CMS over new ACA restrictions

A coalition of 21 Democratic-led states are suing the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) over new Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules they allege would impose significant barriers to receiving health coverage.

The lawsuit, filed 17 July in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenges a final rule that CMS introduced earlier this year to amend ACA marketplace regulations, which the plaintiffs argue will lead to millions of people losing access to health insurance, raise costs for states, and reduce the availability of essential health benefits.

The final rule is set to go into effect on 25 August and is projected by CMS to cause up to 1.8 million people to lose coverage. It aims to implement stricter verification requirements for eligibility, shorten open enrolment periods, and eliminate coverage for gender-affirming care as an essential health benefit. In the complaint, the 21 states argue that the changes violate the law and would harm consumers by increasing premiums and out-of-pocket costs, and by imposing burdensome new paperwork requirements that could deter people from enrolling.

The coalition argues that the rule is “arbitrary and capricious” and would place undue financial strain on state health programs, including Medicaid programs. The states also claim that the rule would increase costs by forcing them to provide more healthcare services to newly uninsured individuals, adding to Medicaid spending and costs for emergency care. The coalition, which includes California, Illinois and New York, is seeking preliminary relief to prevent the rule from taking effect as planned.

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Source: Becker's 18 July 2025

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