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Keep up to date with the latest news, research and activity in patient safety.

ADHD and autism at risk of over-diagnosis, says government review

There is a risk of people being over-diagnosed with ADHD and autism, an official review in England has found.
Experts said a rise in diagnoses over the past 25 years meant cases now appear to be outstripping the expected number in the population for some younger age groups.
The review called for tougher regulation of private firms offering assessments for the NHS, saying they had concerns about quality and consistency, and a ban on advertising.
It concluded economic uncertainty combined with social media was driving an increase in mental health problems among young people and said there needed to be better support in place for all conditions.
It is likely to feed into government policies on everything from NHS services and benefits to support for young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Read full article.
Source: BBC News, 9 October 2026
Mark Hughes

New global roadmap launched to tackle hypertension in pregnancy, a leading cause of maternal and newborn deaths

The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners have launched a new global roadmap to tackle hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including pre-eclampsia, which affect millions of women every year. These disorders remain among the leading causes of death and serious illness for pregnant women and their babies, with tragic long-term impact on their families.
Hypertensive disorders complicate an estimated 10–15% of pregnancies worldwide. They account for around 16% of maternal deaths globally, resulting in an estimated 42 000 deaths each year, as well as more than 500 000 stillbirths and newborn deaths.
In many countries, women still lack reliable access to basic blood-pressure measurement, urine protein testing and essential medicines, including aspirin, antihypertensives and magnesium sulfate. Weak referral systems, shortages of trained health workers and limited emergency obstetric services can further delay life-saving care.
Launched at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Global Conference, the Global roadmap for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy from 2026 to 2035 and beyond sets out coordinated actions across research and innovation, global clinical guidance, access to medicines and diagnostics, implementation, advocacy and accountability.
The roadmap highlights a striking innovation gap between the scale of the problem and the lack of medicines specifically developed and approved by regulators for the prevention or treatment of pre-eclampsia or eclampsia. Research investment has largely focused on diagnostics, with chronic underinvestment in new preventive and treatment options.
Read full article.
Source: World Health Organization, 8 October 2026
Mark Hughes

At least 20% of baby deaths ‘potentially avoidable’

At least a fifth of baby deaths last year may have been preventable, with this estimate considered “a minimum”, an analysis of thousands of care reviews has concluded.
The findings were set out in the latest annual report into 2025 Perinatal Mortality Review Tool investigations, published today by MBRRACE-UK.
The report comes amid intense scrutiny of maternity services following the publication of the national maternity and neonatal investigation and Donna Ockenden’s Nottingham review this summer.
Read full article (paywalled).
Source: Health Service Journal, 9 October 2026
Mark Hughes

£80m dementia challenge to test AI and digital tools

Nine digital technologies for dementia diagnosis, including AI-enabled clinical decision support, remote cognitive assessments and faster MRI scans, will undergo real-world testing in NHS settings.
Diagnosis for dementia can take more than a year, with around 60% diagnosed within 18 weeks of referral.
The Dementia Challenge, backed by up to £80 million through UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Research and Development Missions Accelerator Programme (R&D MAP), aims to increase the proportion of people diagnosed with dementia within 18 weeks of referral to 92%.
Read full article.
Source: Digital Health, 8 October 2026
Mark Hughes

'I was blamed for my baby's death, now NHS needs to change'

When Poppy Russell died in April 2021 at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford shortly after birth, her parents were left bereft. What followed made matters harder to bear - her mother was blamed for the death.
An inquest would later conclude that Poppy's death was preventable.
But instead of walking away from the trust that had failed them, Neil and Katie Russell are now working with it to bring compassionate care back into the NHS.
"We could have very easily been consumed by hate and anger and rage at what happened – and those feelings are still there," said Katie.
"But if no change comes from what happened to Poppy, then what's the point?"
During her pregnancy her mother told midwives that she had tokophobia, a fear of natural birth and wanted a caesarean section.
Katie said she was repeatedly told however that she "couldn't just ask for a c-section."
When she went into labour, Katie was induced and then "we were left in a room for long periods of time where I had no care," she explained.
"Finally, when we got into the labour suite, I wasn't monitored appropriately and they missed signs that Poppy was in distress."
In a bitter irony, Poppy had to be delivered by emergency caesarean. By then however, she had developed a hypoxic brain injury and died later the same day.
An inquest into her death found that had Poppy been born an hour earlier, she would have survived.
The Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH), which ran the hospital, subsequently blamed Katie for her daughter's death.
They said she had refused foetal monitoring; the inquest concluded that was untrue.
"The trust left us in an appalling position," said Neil Russell.
"Not only were they found to have neglected our care, but in the months and years following, we uncovered that members of staff had tried to cover it up.
“Losing your daughter is one thing, but then to find that there was a cavalcade of lies was almost as bad."
Following the inquest in 2023 the trust said: "We recognise there were failings in the care we provided and we are truly sorry."
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 8 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

NHS bosses admit defeat on 18-week pledge

NHS chiefs have told ministers that their top health manifesto pledge - to restore the 18-week elective target by 2029 - is “not going to happen”, as a new analysis confirms the service is significantly off track.
The intervention by the NHS Alliance, which represents the large majority of trusts and integrated care boards, follows experts questioning whether ministers should abandon the 18-week pledge last month. Health and social care secretary Yvette Cooper has highlighted other priorities, such as maternity and early years, since her arrival in July.
The Health Foundation’s analysis published today projects the NHS will fall “a long way short” of the 2029 target if current trends continue, with the 92nd percentile wait nearly twice the 18-week standard by the end of the Parliament (see chart below).
Responding to the think tank’s findings, NHS Alliance acute lead Matthew Hopkins said it was time for “an honest conversation” about the target, and to “acknowledge [meeting it] this Parliament is not going to happen”.
He said: “Now with a change of prime minister and secretary of state, attention is turning to reform of social care, maternity and early years, and frailty services. We can’t have everything, everywhere all at once.
“Let’s be honest about where we can get to with the resources available, so there is a clear understanding of what can and cannot be achieved.”
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 8 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Hospitals seek ‘pause’ on ambulance handover rule

An ambulance trust is “not assured” the 45-minute limit on hospital handovers can be consistently delivered this winter, after repeated requests from hospitals to “pause” it.
East Midlands Ambulance Service Trust’s winter plan, presented to its board last month, says support is needed for “a zero tolerance to pausing the process”, given “current requests for pauses”.
Under the “release to respond” protocol, crews hand over their patient and leave after 45 minutes at hospital. NHS England’s urgent and emergency care plan for 2025/26 said the maximum, which 17 trusts were missing last summer, should “now be delivered without exception, including in the winter months”.
Anna Parry, managing director of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, said: “There may be exceptional circumstances in which the protocol needs to be temporarily paused or suspended, for example where there are specific clinical safety concerns, during a declared incident or where there is exceptional system failure. However, these should be strictly governed, escalation-based exceptions, agreed between ambulance and acute trusts, rather than becoming a routine response to operational pressure.”
She said any suspension should only be considered after actions to reduce pressure within the hospital had been exhausted.
Sarah Noonan, chief operating officer of University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, the group formed by Kettering General and Northampton General, said: “Only when our emergency departments and inpatient services are at full capacity may we need to temporarily hold ambulance crews, while recognising the impact this can have on patients waiting for an ambulance in the community.”
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 8 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Two in three housebound patients had no medication review for more than two years

A proactive pharmacist home visit service for housebound patients found that 30% had not received a medication review for more than five years, while 64% had not received a medicines review for more than two years.
This was despite 66% of the patients involved living with five or more long-term conditions and 70% being at risk of medication-related harm.
In some cases, “patients had gone more than 20 years or had never had a documented medication review”, the lead pharmacist for the project told delegates at the Royal College of Pharmacy’s Delivering a Healthier Wales conference, held in Cardiff on 25 September 2026.
However, a pharmacist home-visiting project has enabled more than half of its patients to reduce their medication, improving rates of falls and hospital visits.
Tracey Witherall, lead pharmacist for Aneurin Bevan Health Board’s Primary and Community Care Academy, shared an update on the Home Visit Project. This has run since summer 2024 and supports 349 housebound patients aged between 23 years and 103 years, with an average age of 80 years.
The project was developed as part of efforts to improve access to care for the area’s most vulnerable patients, who are often frail, with high levels of polypharmacy and multimorbidity, Witherall said.
“Visiting patients’ houses allows me to identify medication adherence issues and safeguarding issues, alongside other challenges such as loneliness, bereavement, poor mental health, housing problems, and unmet care needs.
“All of these factors impact how patients manage and take their medication, and increases the risk of falls, worsens their long-term conditions and can result in avoidable hospital admissions.”
Read full story
Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal. 5 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

New York governor declares state of emergency after spike in measles cases

The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, declared a state of emergency on Monday in response to a dramatic spike in measles cases in the state.
Hochul’s administration said the emergency declaration was in response to a “growing number of measles cases across rural areas of New York and neighbouring states”, including Pennsylvania, which has been grappling with a deadly outbreak that is its largest in more than three decades.
The declaration expands the pool of people who can administer vaccines against measles and allows more individuals to order testing.
It comes as there have been 108 confirmed cases of measles in New York so far for the year, up from just one reported case in 2023. In Pennsylvania, which neighbours New York, five people have died after contracting the disease, and there have been 198 hospitalisations.
The state surpassed 1,000 measles cases on Monday while Ohio has also seen an increase.
“After reviewing the latest data on measles cases in New York state, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our ongoing efforts to confront this disease,” Hochul said.
“No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease. That is why I have taken steps to increase the number of health professionals who can vaccinate and test. These emergency measures will protect New Yorkers and support our community partners as they work tirelessly to address the spread of this disease.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 6 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

New global guidelines warn against obesity drugs for children under 10

Children under 10 should not be given obesity drugs or GLP-1 weight-loss injections such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, new global guidelines, external from the World Health Organization (WHO) say.
Most of these medications are only licensed for children or adolescents older than this, but some doctors prescribe them off-label, and drug companies are testing them in children as young as six.
WHO says the care should focus on healthy eating and exercise, not medicine or surgery, although they do not oppose drug trials.
Some digital technology, such as activity trackers and any online games that encourage the player to be more active and move, might be useful, it says, based on the limited evidence available.
Estimates suggest 170 million children and adolescents worldwide are obese.
That includes 70 million children aged 5–9. Obesity prevalence in this age group has quadrupled since 1990, rising from 2% to 8%.
In 2024, 35 million children under the age of five were overweight.
Obesity increases the risk of many different diseases, including type 2 diabetes.
Dr Luz De Rigil, Director of Nutrition and Food Safety at WHO, said: "For children under 10, WHO does not recommend obesity medicines, bariatric surgery or weight-management devices. This is a strong recommendation."
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 7 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

High repeat surgery rates under review at five trusts

At least five trusts are reviewing their rates of repeat breast cancer surgery after recording levels significantly above the maximum expected level, HSJ has learned.
Their high rates were identified in this year’s National Cancer Audit, published last month.
While these can be caused by multiple and complex factors – and there is no suggestion at this stage of avoidable patient harm – the metric is a significant patient safety marker.
For example, it was a factor in triggering the high-profile breast cancer care investigation which uncovered significant patient harm at County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust. A review of up to 4,500 cases continues.
HSJ contacted trusts which recorded rates more than 5 per cent above the maximum level expected by NATCAN auditors.
Airedale Foundation Trust, Buckinghamshire Health FT, Royal Berkshire FT, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals FT and Torbay and South Devon FT all recorded rates that were more than 5% above the maximum level expected by National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN) auditors, who examined the period between January 2021 and December 2023.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 7 October 2026
Patient Safety Learning

UK Government backs recommendations of NHS doctors-led AI Commission

The UK Government has confirmed it will accept all 44 recommendations made by the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare, published 10 September, and has set out how they will be delivered across the UK. Alongside the response, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is opening the call for applications for the third phase of AI Airlock, its regulatory sandbox for AI-enabled medical devices, with testing themes directly informed by the Commission’s recommendations.  
The Commission concluded that the current regulatory approach must evolve for AI technologies by designing a more proportionate, lifecycle-based framework. 
The Government's response commits the UK to developing a world-leading agile approach to AI device regulation that supports innovation while maintaining patient safety and public trust. The reforms aim to ensure patients can benefit from safe, effective and trusted AI more quickly, while maintaining robust safeguards as technologies evolve. 
Among the first steps set out in today’s response, the MHRA is also committed to issue draft guidance by December 2026 on a new approach to managing changes to AI-enabled medical devices as they adapt and improve over time, moving towards a regulatory system that is designed to maintain safety while supporting timely access to innovative devices. The MHRA will also begin next year by consulting on how to qualify and classify AI-enabled devices, the first recommendation of the National Commission.  
Other commitments include exploring new staged authorisation pathways, allowing promising AI tools to be used in the NHS earlier under close supervision while further real-world evidence is gathered. A full implementation roadmap, setting out timelines and responsibilities across all 44 recommendations, will be published by Spring 2027, with regular progress updates to follow. 
Read full article.
Source: MHRA, 6 October 2026
Related Reading
Patient safety and the regulation of AI in healthcare (Patient Safety Learning)
Reflections on the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare recommendations (Clive Flashman)
Mark Hughes

‘Organisational shame’ driving defensive behaviour at inquiry trust

Staff at a trust subject to a statutory inquiry are paralysed by fear, a review has discovered.
Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust is under scrutiny by the Lampard Inquiry, which is examining the deaths of over 2,000 services users in the organisation’s care. It began in 2023 and is expected to report by 2028.
An external review of how the trust is coping has been undertaken by the King’s Fund and charity brap.
This has revealed the impact of the Lampard Inquiry, service pressure, and financial constraints on senior managers, middle managers, and frontline staff.
Read full article (paywalled).
Source: Health Service Journal, 6 October 2026
Mark Hughes

UK Government joins forces with Breast Cancer Now

Women across the country will be better supported to spot the signs of breast cancer and know where to turn for help as the UK Government announces its first partnership to help deliver its renewed Women’s Health Strategy. 
Marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Department of Health and Social Care will partner with the UK’s largest breast cancer charity, Breast Cancer Now, over the next 3 years, giving women practical information to build confidence in checking their breasts, recognising changes, and seeking advice sooner - particularly in underserved areas.
It comes as new research from Breast Cancer Now reveals almost a third (29%) of women in England who regularly check their breasts do not feel confident to notice a change, while just over one in 10 (11%) of those checking less than once a month say it’s because they do not know what to look out for.  
One in 5 (20%) UK adults also say they are not confident they would know where to find trusted information about breast cancer if they had concerns.  
Women will also be provided with better support after their treatment, including clear information to understand the possible signs of breast cancer returning or spreading and how to live a healthy lifestyle post breast cancer treatment.  
Healthcare professionals will receive additional training, alongside a practical toolkit for healthcare teams, so they can provide the best possible advice to women adapting post-treatment. 
Read full article.
Source: Department of Health and Social Care, 5 October 2026
Mark Hughes

Women suffer more pain than men across the whole body, major global study finds

Women report suffering more pain than men, a major new global study has found.
That was true for all types of pain the researchers measured, and comes amid continuing concern about the gender pain gap, which means women are less likely to be prescribed the pain relief they need.
Researchers from all over the world carried out “one of the largest harmonisation efforts in pain epidemiology to date”. Data was collected from more than 6 million people from 118 countries from 1990 to 2025, and included people from aged five years to more than 100.
The research, published in Nature Medicine, looked at how pain, as the leading global cause of disability, was distributed both around the world and across the human lifespan.
It found women’s self-reported pain across 11 bodily sites – head, face, neck or shoulder, foot or ankle, hand or wrist, elbow, chest, back, stomach or abdomen, hip and knee – was higher than for men.
Read full article.
Source: The Guardian, 5 October 2026
Mark Hughes

Ten NHS trusts referred over monitoring consent

Ten mental health trusts have been reported to the health regulator after problems with patient consent procedures when monitoring patients using camera technology.
The issue emerged during the latest hearings of the Lampard Inquiry, which is examining the deaths of more than 2,000 people who spent time in mental health units in Essex between 2000 and the end of 2023.
The infrared technology is used in patients' bedrooms and can monitor breathing and pulse without staff having to enter the room.
NHS England told the inquiry it had passed information to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after reviewing the use of digital monitoring systems, including Oxevision.
Read full article.
Source: BBC News, 6 October 2026
Mark Hughes
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