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On 15 June 2026, over 80 representatives from simulation societies, ministries of health, hospitals, universities, international organizations, professional associations and industry partners met at the WHO Academy in Lyon for a joint event of WHO and the Society for Simulation in Europe (SESAM). Together they tackled a pressing question: how can simulation move from isolated initiatives to systematic integration within health systems? The consensus was clear: simulation is no longer a niche educational tool. Beyond training, it strengthens health systems by improving quality of care, patient safety, workforce preparedness, team performance and organisational resilience. Participants agreed the evidence for simulation’s value no longer needs to be demonstrated, but that implementation remains fragmented and too often dependent on individual local champions. Bridging that gap, they said, means both generating further evidence and raising awareness among decision-makers. “At the WHO Academy, we see simulation not simply as a training methodology but as a strategic tool for capacity-building, workforce readiness and stronger health systems,” said Dr Bart Janssens, Unit Head, Health Learning and Capacity Building. “This event is not only about discussion; it is about moving from ideas to action.” As health systems worldwide face workforce shortages, growing complexity of care and rapidly evolving competency needs, participants concluded that the question is no longer “Why simulation?” but rather how to scale it, how to sustain it, and how to ensure it becomes an integral part of stronger health systems. Read full story Source: WHO, 21 July 2026 Related reading on the hub: The role of simulation-based education, co-design and co-delivery in improving patient safety

The number of U.S. measles cases is about to exceed the total for all of last year – and it’s only July. There are now 2,260 confirmed cases in 44 states and the District of Columbia, according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2025 was the worst year for measles in America in over three decades. There were 2,289 cases and three deaths. The majority of cases are in young, unvaccinated children and teenagers, and doctors have blamed vaccine hesitancy on recent spikes. The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is 97% effective in preventing illness. Without it, measles infections can lead to life-threatening brain swelling, pneumonia, fever, ear infections and a rash. Fortunately, no patient has died from measles this year. More than 30 outbreaks have been reported this year, with the largest number of cases in South Carolina, Utah and Texas. Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 July 2026

Healthcare technology firm, Craneware, has disclosed it suffered a cyber attack resulting in the theft of customer and employee data. The Edinburgh-based company, which supplies software to thousands of hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies across the US healthcare sector, confirmed it is actively responding to and investigating the incident. Craneware, listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM), stated that a significant volume of file names were viewed and exfiltrated during the breach. “The current assessment is that a large element of the data involved is non-sensitive or already public regulatory data,” according to the company. “A percentage of Craneware employee data as well as a subset of customer and partner records have been accessed and exfiltrated.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 July 2026

Greater “air cover” from NHS England and “assurance” that commissioning leaders will not suffer from making difficult decisions has been demanded by integrated care boards. System chiefs have told NHSE they need greater support for potentially unpopular decisions on redesigning services, and have also called for more relaxed performance targets and financial flexibility in order to innovate. ICBs have responded to a letter from NHSE chief executive Sir Jim Mackey sent earlier this year, which asked commissioners what the centre could do to “help accelerate the pace of change locally, including getting out of the way where necessary”. Humber and North Yorkshire ICB has asked for regional and national “air cover for difficult system decisions” - such as when decommissioning, scaling back or consolidating services. Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, and Gloucestershire ICB meanwhile called for “the psychological safety and assurance needed” from the centre “to test new contractual and payment mechanisms locally”. Norfolk and Suffolk wanted greater support for system leaders to “take calculated risks in redesigning services, particularly around financial flows”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 July 2026

Homeless and migrant patients are being wrongly kicked off GP lists in an attempt to slash NHS spending, The Independent can reveal. Hundreds of thousands of patients have been removed from practices in England under a new scheme to “clean up” GP lists and identify patients who have left the country. But concerned doctors say they have been “distressed” to learn that many of their most vulnerable patients have been incorrectly flagged for removal, with one fearing patients with “non-English” names are overwhelmingly being targeted. Patients affected include those who are homeless, mentally unwell, in unstable housing, have learning disabilities, the elderly, or do not speak English, with no clear reason for why they are being chosen. GPs in London accounted for more than 40% of the 400,000 patients in England removed from lists between January and June. Practice leaders have warned that those patients could miss out on crucial cancer screening appointments and test results, have their hospital referrals cancelled or have their treatment delayed. Dr Lisa Harrod-Rothwell, CEO of the Londonwide Local Medical Committees, which represents London GPs, said the new system assumes patients can receive and respond to NHS correspondence via email, letter or text, but those who are homeless, have learning disabilities, or are elderly or suffer from mental health challenges would not easily be able to object to their removal. “A lot of our people already have really difficult lives because of poverty or illness, mental illness, people, the people who struggle the most with this type of [scheme] are the people who need the NHS the most. “Our concern is that this process is going to unintentionally widen our health inequalities,” Dr Harrod-Rothwell said. Read full story Source: The Independent, 17 July 2026 Further reading on the hub: Robbie: A homeless patient’s struggles with the system

When Daneka Etchells was 12, her period arrived - and she immediately knew something wasn't right. Unlike many of her friends, hers were extremely heavy and she experienced excruciating pain. When she visited the doctor, she was prescribed the pill, but even that didn't make a difference. After multiple further GP trips with no real solution, Etchells' condition got so bad that she was left with a permanent physical disability. She told the BBC Access All podcast that what she'd experienced over the last 17 years was "medical gaslighting". The term refers to a medical professional dismissing or invalidating health worries which can cause patients to doubt their pain and concerns. What Etchells was experiencing was endometriosis - a painful condition which affects one in 10 women - but by the time doctors found it, it had developed so much that she says it left her with permanent nerve damage. "It grew so vast and so wide and for so long, on nerves and ligaments that are attached to my legs," she says. Unable to wait any longer for treatment on the NHS, she saved, borrowed and raised money on GoFundMe for private treatment, even negotiating with the surgeon's secretary for the best deal. Etchells underwent excision surgery, a procedure to remove the lesions caused by endometriosis, which she says made her feel "lighter". But she says having been dismissed by doctors for so long has left her with lasting damage and a permanent mobility issue. Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 July 2026

More and more midwives are leaving the NHS before they reach 35 because of burnout, worsening the staffing problems that are affecting maternity units. The growing trend of early career quitting has sparked fears it poses a threat to the quality and safety of care that mothers and babies receive from already-understaffed childbirth services. During 2025-26 a total of 1,669 midwives aged 34 or under left the health service in England – more than half (57%) of the 2,949 midwives of all ages who resigned. The intense pressures of working in maternity services, including the growing complexity of childbirth and risks involved, are thought to lie behind the trend. Of last year’s 1,669 younger leavers, 205 were under 25, while 655 were between 25 and 29 and the other 809 were between 30 and 34, parliamentary questions tabled by the Liberal Democrats reveal. The loss of midwifery staff and students underlines what the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) calls the “staffing emergency” in maternity care across the UK. Three-quarters of midwives have considered leaving the profession over the last year, mainly because of concern over staffing levels and patient safety, a recent RCM survey found. Hannah Leonard, the union’s deputy chief midwife, said the exodus of midwives under 35 was “deeply worrying” and showed that too many were ending up “burnt-out within a few years of qualifying because every shift means too few colleagues, missed breaks and unpaid hours”. “Losing these midwives – and students, even before they qualify – is a terrible waste of talent,” she added. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 July 2026

Plans to introduce neighbourhood provider contracts next year should be “reconsidered”, the Royal College of GPs’ president has told HSJ. Professor Victoria Tzortziou Brown said she supported a delay until the service can be clear “what it is that we are trying to change” with the policy. NHS England launched a consultation on Thursday about details of the single neighbourhood provider and multiple neighbourhood provider contracts, which were proposed in the 10-Year Health Plan. In an interview with HSJ, the East London GP said she supported aspects of neighbourhood health, but warned of risks in the proposed rapid shift in structures and funding. Asked if the move to define the contracts this year – with a view to introducing them next year – was too fast and should pause, she said: “We should reconsider… certainly we need to be clearer of what it is that we are trying to change.” Professor Tzortziou Brown questioned government’s “assumption that you will get the structures and the contracts right… and then things will follow”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 20 July 2026

Maternity services, despite numerous scathing reviews, are still sidelined by trust boards and often poorly understood by medical directors, who view them as being outside the mainstream and delivered by “slightly odd folk”, a leading expert has told HSJ. Bill Kirkup, the senior adviser who quit the national maternity investigation in a dispute over “normal birth ideology”, shared his views on the sector’s response in an exclusive discussion with HSJ’s Health Check podcast. Dr Kirkup said NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey had detected in his 10-point plan for maternity that medical directors tend to be much less involved in maternity decisions going to the board. He said few medical directors have an obstetric background, adding: “Therefore, they’re probably in the same sort of trap as… other clinicians that [maternity] is a bit different, we don’t really understand it, and we just leave it to those slightly odd folk who do maternity. It’s not regarded as mainstream in a lot of places, I don’t believe.” HSJ asked Dr Kirkup about the Amos report’s recommendation of setting up a separate unit within the Care Quality Commission to inspect maternity and neonatal services, despite the regulator’s widespread lack of credibility. Dr Kirkup said he understood the reasoning was to ensure adequate experience and expertise to investigate. But he added: “I’m quite nervous about further othering of maternity… It’s already regarded as something that’s kind of different and offshore, and not part of mainstream medicine and surgery. “I think anything that encourages that… is probably not helpful, given that people using maternity services now are increasingly prone to complications [requiring] input from other specialties.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 July 2026

The NHS is unable to perform 1.5m operations a year because of a drastic shortage of anaesthetists, a report reveals. More than 8 million patients are on waiting lists across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Many are in urgent need of a surgical procedure. But an alarming lack of anaesthetists – specialist doctors who provide anaesthesia and pain relief before, during and after operations – is preventing the health service from performing about 4,000 procedures a day, the most comprehensive review of anaesthetic services has found. The UK has 2,256 fewer anaesthetists than it needs, and the record shortfall is derailing NHS efforts to tackle the backlog of care, according to the 63-page report seen by the Guardian. The crisis is leading to painful delays for thousands of patients, with many on waiting lists experiencing a decline in their physical and mental health, the report says. As well as limiting NHS capacity, the shortage of anaesthetists is driving up costs, with hospitals having to divert funding to pay for agency locums and shifting staff to plug gaps. The findings of the review, compiled by the Royal College of Anaesthetists, are being studied by officials in the Department of Health and Social Care, sources said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 11 July 2026

Integrated care boards will be expected to offer GP practices additional services and funding to drive them to form new “neighbourhood providers” – but will get no new national money to do so. NHS England launched a consultation today on its proposals for single neighbourhood provider (SNP) and multineighbourhood provider (MNP) contracts, which were proposed in the 10-Year Health Plan. The documents said: “For general practice to opt out of the primary care network [directed enhanced service] and switch to an SNP contract, they will want to see not only simpler service specifications but additional services and funding.” But they also state: “Local commissioners will have the flexibility to define most of the content [of the contracts] and fund [them] locally. There is no new national funding for these contracts.” The consultation begins to describe a picture of how the contracts will sit alongside existing core GP contracts and gradually replace PCNs. SNPs will deliver “enhanced” GP services, “lead” health services in the “local neighbourhood team”, plan and organise other NHS services, and coordinate non-NHS care and support with other organisations. The typical footprint is estimated at 50,000, but “footprints may vary”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 July 2026

A senior clinical manager at the trust that runs mental health services in Essex says he was told 4,000 unresolved patient safety reports needed to be "gone", while a public inquiry was under way. Giving evidence to the Lampard Inquiry, Brian O'Donnell, a clinical lead at the St Aubyn Centre in Colchester, accused the trust of a "cover up" to stop him from speaking out. The inquiry was set up following the deaths of more than 2,000 mental health patients over a 24-year period. Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) told the BBC: "All reports are taken seriously, recorded and investigated." O'Donnell told the inquiry that, at the end of 2024, he was asked to review thousands of incident reports raised by staff, some dating back to 2021. He said he was instructed by a senior member of staff, who said: "We need to get these gone." They included incidents involving self-harm, assaults on staff and racial abuse, he explained. "The first thing that popped into my head was there's an inquiry going on and they're panicking about these because no-one's looked at them - that was my first thought and that's what I still think." O'Donnell said he initially closed some of the reports but stopped after becoming uncomfortable. "I thought, I can't put my name to this and say I've thoroughly investigated it because I haven't," he told the inquiry. Asked what happened to the remaining reports, he said: "They sat on my dashboard for a very long time then disappeared one day. I don't know whether they've been dealt with. I doubt it." Read full story Source: BBC News, 16 July 2026

All teenagers across the UK should be offered a meningitis vaccine on the NHS following a series of fatal outbreaks, a government commitee has said. The recommendation, made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), would mean that young people would be eligible for the menB vaccine at the age of 15, alongside catch-up programmes for those who otherwise would have missed out. This intervention follows several meningitis outbreaks occurring across the UK, resulting in dozens of confirmed cases alongside several deaths. In March, a major outbreak in Kent linked to a Canterbury nightclub killed two people and left over a dozen needing hospital treatment, while a similar outbreak in Berkshire in May led to the death of a school student. Specifically, the committee is recommending that the government introduces a booster jab for those aged around 15 who had the menB jab as an infant, and the first cohort to which this will apply to are those who will turn 15 in 2030. Meanwhile, children who missed the jab as a baby will be offered two doses. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 July 2026

Every baby born in England will be screened for a rare muscle-wasting disease, starting next year, the Department of Health and Social Care announced on Thursday. Campaigners said the “landmark moment” should lead to babies who were found to have spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) being treated early and thus growing up without any of its debilitating symptoms. SMA leaves babies with floppy arms and legs, unable to sit up, crawl or walk, and prone to problems breathing and swallowing. If it goes undiagnosed, it can kill those who have the condition within two years. It affects about one in 10,000 babies; usually, about 48 a year in the UK. Those detected at birth can be given an effective gene-therapy treatment. Almost three-quarters (72%) of newborns in England are already due to be tested for the condition from October under a pilot programme announced in April. However, that prompted criticism that a less-than-universal testing regime would result in a “postcode lottery” of some cases going undetected. Ministers have responded to those concerns by announcing that all babies born in England – between about 560,000 and 570,000 a year – will be screened from October 2027. Universal coverage will be achieved by using all 13 laboratories that can test for it, up from the current seven. “This is a hugely important step forward,” said Giles Lomax, the chief executive of Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK. “When newborn screening for SMA begins later this year in October, thousands of babies will benefit from earlier diagnosis and access to life-changing treatment.” From October, blood tests taken from newborns when they are five days old, through the heel-prick test, will be screened for SMA as well as the 10 conditions – including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease and chronic hypothyroidism – they are already used to detect. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 July 2026

Nearly 200 doctors at a major teaching hospital have told a “listening exercise” prompted by a major care scandal that they feared raising patient safety concerns. The doctors at Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust raised fundamental concerns about the organisation’s culture, with one alleging they had seen “colleague[s’] professional lives destroyed… for speaking up”. The trust commissioned the exercise, undertaken by the NHS’s internal consultancy, Transformation Partners in Health and Care, as part of its response to an investigation into a failing paediatric surgeon. Kuldeep Stohr is accused of harming numerous children over a 10-year period at the trust, while many staff feared speaking up about their concerns about the now-suspended consultant. In February 2025, CUH confirmed nine children were so far found to have received substandard care from Kuldeep Stohr, with a wider review of 800 further cases, due to be published this year. The “listening exercise” report, published by the trust and sent to staff this week, suggests fears about speaking up about patient safety – which arose in the case of Ms Stohr – are not confined to a single department. Three-quarters (175) of the 233 senior doctors who responded described either “fear associated with speaking up [and] concern about repercussions; emotional fatigue; or low confidence that concerns would be addressed”. Departments with the most concerns included “neurosciences; emergency medicine; paediatrics, and some surgical specialties”, but across all areas “most participants described either direct or indirect concern about repercussions” from speaking up. And when patient harm matters were raised, “the vast majority of participants perceived ‘nothing’ had happened once concerns were raised”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 16 July 2026 Related reading on the hub: Speaking up for patient safety: A new interview series about raising concerns and whistleblowing Key themes emerging from our ‘Speaking up for patient safety’ interview series The whistleblower playbook

Emily Miles has been appointed Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Emily joins CQC from her current role as Director General for Food, Farming and Biosecurity at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and will take up the role in the autumn from interim Chief Executive Dr Arun Chopra. Arun will be returning to his substantive role of Chief Inspector of Mental Health. Emily brings significant experience of regulation, including as CEO of the Food Standards Agency overseeing food safety and protecting the consumer interest in the food system across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Her selection follows a robust recruitment process led by Kay Boycott, CQC's Interim Chair, with the involvement of the non-executive members of CQC's Board, representatives from stakeholder bodies and regulators, and Baroness Julia Neuberger, the government’s preferred candidate as CQC’s Chair. Emily said: “I’m delighted to have been appointed Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission and look forward to starting the role later this year. My career has been built on public service and rooted in a deep commitment to putting people's needs first. I’m immensely proud that I will have such a crucial role in delivering CQC’s vision that everyone gets safe, effective, compassionate care.  “I will do all I can to make sure that the independent regulator of health and social care protects people and supports services to improve – as well as encouraging services to work better together so people stay well and get high-quality care when they need it.”  Emily is expected to take up her role at CQC in October. Read full story Source: Care Quality Commission, 16 July 2026

The UK “doesn’t have the luxury of waiting six months” for an action plan for maternity care, a senior midwife has warned, after publishing several damning enquiries that revealed dismissive attitudes to women which contributed to avoidable deaths. Baroness Valerie Amos, who led the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, made a key request for a neonatal and maternity commissioner and a national taskforce, after exposing repeated failures in NHS care. The government is now due to publish a comprehensive National Action Plan in December to overhaul services. But Donna Ockenden, who led the Independent Review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, has argued the government shouldn’t be waiting six months to act. Speaking in a Health and Social Care Committee on Wednesday she said: “We don’t have the luxury of six months. How long does it take once the action plan is out to then get that implemented? “If we were to look at how many midwives will hang up their uniforms in the next six months, how many doctors will decide they can’t do this anymore, and how much harm potentially could be caused, I would say we do not have six months to create an action plan.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 July 2026

Black doctors in England are four times less likely to be offered a training place than their white counterparts, according to analysis. As part of their medical training, doctors across the NHS are able to apply to placements within specific branches of practice such as psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology, and emergency medicine. Analysis of NHS England data by researchers at the BMJ found black doctors were four times less likely to be offered a training place in any of these specialities than their white counterparts. For some specialities, the disparity was even wider. For doctors applying for a core training 1 placement in anaesthetics, black applicants had a less than 1 in 100 chance of being offered a place in 2024 – 30 times less likely than their white counterparts. Only 10 of 1,158 black applicants received an offer, compared with 7% of Asian applicants and a third of white applicants. In obstetrics and gynaecology at the first year of speciality training, black applicants were almost 11 times less likely to be offered a place compared with their white counterparts. Sheila Cunliffe, the report’s author, said that within the application process the disparity becomes evident when candidates are selected rather than when they are shortlisted. “This raises questions about the robustness of the process, the training of panels, and whether issues such as available finance and personal connections enabling internships or training opportunities can influence final decisions in highly competitive fields,” said Cunliffe, a senior HR professional and independent researcher into racism in the NHS. She added: “In these circumstances it is difficult to understand how NHS England are complying with the statutory requirements of the Public Service Equality Duty to monitor and take action on any ethnicity-based disparities in selection.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 July 2026

A maternity service which has had elevated neonatal mortality for several years has joined an NHS England programme for extra “support”, it has confirmed to HSJ. Sandwell and West Birmingham Trust joined NHSE’s maternity and neonatal safety improvement programme in early June, HSJ understands. The programme aims to help maternity services reduce unwarranted variation for women and babies, and cut rates of maternal and neonatal deaths, stillbirths, brain injuries, and preterm births. The trust – which has very large deprived and minority ethnic populations – was named in the autumn as 1 of 14 to be examined by a national investigation into maternity and neonatal. The final report of the review, led by Baroness Valerie Amos, cited serious whistleblower allegations of unsafe local practice and guidelines. This included staff being told to “stay in the room… and watch the baby die” after observing nine minutes of bradycardia, and after attempts to intervene at three and six minutes. A member of staff claimed this was on a risk register, “with the trust willing to take that risk”. The report said the trust denied this guideline existed, although it has issued an open letter responding to the report, saying it was “deeply sorry” for failures. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 July 2026

The chief executive of the Care Quality Commission is set to become responsible for deciding whether to remove “safe space” protection from whistleblowers’ information, which a former health minister has called an “inherent conflict”. Safety minister Preet Kaur Gill chaired a Commons Health Bill committee debate last week in which MPs discussed the Healthcare Services Safety Investigations Body’s (HSSIB) absorption into the CQC. High-profile concerns have emerged about the move, first proposed in Penny Dash’s 2025 review of patient safety organisations, especially how the organisation’s “safe space” protection, which prevents certain whistleblower information from being disclosed to providers, will be safeguarded. Other parts of the CQC may be legally required to identify the information for its regulation purposes, it has previously warned. Now Ms Gill, in response to MP questions on how the CQC will provide confidence that the safe space will not be compromised when HSSIB becomes part of the watchdog, said it will be for the regulator to appoint a responsible person. This individual will decide whether a particular case matches “a high bar” of criteria set out in the bill, she said. The minister added: “As the bill sets out, the CQC will appoint a responsible person who will decide whether the case matches the criteria and whether it warrants information sharing outside the safe space. “That person is likely to be the CQC’s chief executive officer.” In response to her comments, former Conservative health minister Edward Argar warned: “That is an inherent conflict. If the person who is the head of the regulatory body is making the decision on whether information should be disclosed by HSSIB in its folded-in form, that will do nothing to inspire confidence in disclosure and the safe space provisions. “I fear that drives a coach and horses through some of the arguments being made that there are sufficient safeguards within this merger to ensure HSSIB can continue as it has done thus far.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 July 2026 Related reading on the hub: The future of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body: a recent discussion at the Patient Safety Management Network The King’s Speech 2026: Six key takeaways for patient safety (Patient Safety Learning)

Andy Burnham has hailed a power shift from the state to the people as MPs finally passed the stalled Hillsborough law, a rare moment of Labour unity with the bill set to be a key legacy of Keir Starmer’s government. In his first intervention in the Commons since returning as an MP, Burnham said the bill was a significant step towards securing the accountability the Hillsborough families had fought for – but should never have had to do. “We have had a situation in this country where people suffer the trauma of the initial bereavement, the incident that took their loved ones away, and then they are re-traumatised by the behaviour of the state,” he said. “We can’t take that hurt away tonight. But we can put decency back at the heart of the British state, and that is what this bill does.” Burnham, who has been a long and passionate campaigner for the Hillsborough families and for the law, said the bill would be “truly a rewiring of the state” and that the lessons were still relevant to other major public scandals where institutions have protected themselves rather than the people. The public office (accountability) bill puts a duty of candour on public officials, meaning those who lie or evade during inquiries into tragedies would face prosecution. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 14 July 2026

The lives of NHS staff and patients were put at risk in the pandemic because of a lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), with almost £10bn of taxpayers' money wasted in a scramble to buy more, the Covid inquiry has said. The chair Baroness Hallett criticised the "vast" waste in procurement, put at £9.9bn – two-thirds of the £14.9bn the government spent on PPE. The UK entered the pandemic with its stockpile of masks, gowns and gloves in a perilous state and was unprepared for the global race to secure supplies, she added. She described the controversial VIP lane, which prioritised PPE offers from those with political connections, as a misguided policy that should not be repeated. But she said there was "no evidence of cronyism or corruption" by ministers or other officials when awarding the final contracts. When the cost of home testing kits and other equipment, such as ventilators, was included, the total amount spent by the government between January 2020 and June 2022 exceeded £42bn, the inquiry found. The UK's emergency stockpile of PPE, meant to last at least 15 weeks before being replenished, was running out by the end of March 2020 as demand from hospitals soared. Only a third of the masks in England's pandemic stockpile were usable, the inquiry found, while Scotland had no supplies of high-grade respiratory masks used in hospitals. At the time, care homes, GP surgeries and pharmacies were all expected to source their own PPE, something the report described as a "major failure in planning". Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 July 2026

The NHS has launched its largest-ever regional deployment of ambient voice technology, covering 70,000 clinicians across 15 trusts and 1,239 GP practices. NHS England’s Midlands team ran a competitive procurement process, selecting Australian vendor Heidi Health as sole supplier for the framework, which spans emergency departments, outpatient services, and primary care. The framework emerged from pilots at the Dudley Group Foundation Trust, which, according to Heidi, reduced emergency care documentation time by 80 per cent and cut a six-month rheumatology letter backlog to 14 days. Neighbouring providers expressed interest in replicating the business case and rollout, prompting NHSE’s Midlands team to coordinate a single regional procurement route. Five trusts – Dudley Group, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust, the Royal Wolverhampton Trust, Walsall Healthcare Trust, and University Hospitals of North Midlands Trust – have begun deployment. Heidi declined to name the remaining 10 trusts expected to follow. The framework was opt-in, meaning it covers only those trusts that chose to participate and is closed to new joiners. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 15 July 2026

A groundbreaking blood test could one day identify healthy older adults at high risk of developing Alzheimer's symptoms years before memory loss begins, offering scientists a powerful new tool in the quest to halt the disease's progression. Researchers announced on Wednesday that individuals with the highest levels of a blood marker called p-tau217 faced a 38% probability of developing cognitive impairment within five years, escalating to a 78% chance within a decade. While the test is not yet ready for widespread clinical use, and experts caution against healthy individuals rushing to get screened, its immediate value lies in identifying volunteers for clinical trials. These trials aim to determine whether new drugs can effectively delay or prevent Alzheimer's disease. Should these treatments prove successful, scientists believe a reliable method for identifying at-risk individuals before symptoms manifest will be crucial. "Wait and get tested when you can potentially do something about it," advised Dr. Reisa Sperling of the Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute, the study's senior author. "At this point it wouldn't change what I would tell someone to do. I'd still tell them to eat well, sleep well, exercise a lot and stay engaged." Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 July 2026

An ambulance trust is now investigating whether staff snooped on Southport victim records, HSJ can reveal, intensifying calls for a national review into patient privacy. North West Ambulance Service did not inform patients or their families – nor take disciplinary action – after identifying potential breaches, according to internal NHS documents. It comes just weeks after another NHS trust was accused of attempting to cover up the inappropriate access of Southport victim records by dozens of staff, revealed by HSJ. NWAS said it was still investigating the cases, two years after the attack on a children’s dance class in which three young girls were killed and many other people injured. Chief executive Salman Desai told HSJ: “We have identified concerns about potential inappropriate access to patient records and are formally investigating the matter… “We will contact families and patients who may have been affected as our enquiries progress… We are deeply sorry for the concern and distress this may cause.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 14 July 2026