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

Wegovy weight-loss pills to be available for patients in UK to buy

Patients in the UK will soon be able to buy the Wegovy weight-loss pill, the medicines regulator announced on Thursday.
It is the first GLP-1 receptor agonist tablet for weight-loss to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), making the UK the third country to authorise the pills, behind the US and the United Arab Emirates.
Before now, UK patients using the drug have had to use the injectable version.
Emil Kongshøj Larsen, the executive vice-president for international operations at Novo Nordisk, the Danish multinational which makes the drug, said: “This is a landmark approval, making the UK the first country in Europe to approve Wegovy pill. We hope this approval supports increasing access to obesity care in the UK.”
The pills, which contain semaglutide, are now approved for adults who are obese (BMI of 30 or above) or overweight (BMI of 27-30) and have at least one weight-related health condition.
Until Wegovy tablets are approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), they will not be available on the NHS and eligible patients will have to get a private prescription.
As with the injectable form, Wegovy pills have to be taken carefully. Patients need to take them whole with a sip of water on an empty stomach after fasting for at least eight hours, then avoid food or drink for at least 30 minutes.
The most common side effects of Wegovy pills are gastrointestinal disorders including nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and vomiting. The MHRA said anyone experiencing a side effects should talk to their doctor, pharmacist or nurse and report it directly to the yellow card scheme.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 11 June 2026
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UK school leavers and new students to be offered meningitis B vaccine

Teenagers in their final school year and young people starting university will be offered two doses of a vaccine to protect them against meningitis B, the government has announced.
The one-off vaccination programme, which will begin in late July, comes after an unprecedented outbreak of meningitis B in Kent earlier this year along with clusters of cases in Dorset and Berkshire that, together, led to the deaths of three young people.
While each group of cases involved different strains of MenB, all would have been covered by the vaccine, Bexsero. This is given as two doses at least 28 days apart, and protects against most strains of MenB bacteria, with experts noting the protection is thought to last at least six years.
The vaccine will be offered to all young people in the UK born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008 – teenagers of year-13 age in England and Wales or equivalent school years in Scotland and Northern Ireland – and people under 25 starting university or moving into some residential further education settings for the first time this autumn, including international students.
The health secretary, James Murray, said: “The Kent outbreak and recent clusters indicate a possible change to the way MenB affects people. While we assess the latest evidence, we are acting now to help protect young people at highest immediate risk as they enter university and residential colleges this autumn.”
Caroline Temmink, the director of vaccination at NHS England, said: “Those eligible will be contacted directly through the NHS app, by text and email, and for those under 25 starting university for the first time they will be able to book their appointment directly with available pharmacies.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 12 June 2026
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‘Innovation freeze’ threatening NHSE AI plans

NHS England has warned that it may be unable to lawfully deploy AI features on the NHS App from next year, due to incoming medical device regulation changes.
A new entry on NHSE’s operational risk register, published last week, flags the risk of an “innovation freeze” in which the organisation cannot place new and updated software and AI medical devices into clinical use in a lawful manner from spring 2027.
The freeze could delay key commitments in the 10-Year Health Plan, including plans for AI-led triage on the NHS App – central to the government’s ambition to give every patient a “doctor in your pocket”.
It comes as draft amendments to UK Medical Device Regulations are due to be laid before Parliament, before being implemented in 2027.
NHSE said that, as a developer of its own digital tools, it must meet the new conformity assessment and classification requirements as they come into force.
It confirmed that services currently in use, including in the NHS App, remain compliant under current legislation.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 10 June 2026
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Overwhelmed NHS treating almost 3,000 A&E patients a day in corridors, cupboards and cafes

The NHS is treating nearly 3,000 sick patients a day in corridors, cupboards and cafes because emergency departments are overwhelmed, new figures have revealed.
Data published for the first time has laid bare the scale of the NHS’ “corridor care” crisis, which experts warn has become “normalised” within the health service and is leaving patients being treated without “privacy or dignity”.
More than 2,200 patients received care in a corridor of an A&E department every day in May, the data shows, while another 669 patients were treated in other inappropriate settings such as cupboards, cafes or toilets due to a lack of beds in emergency departments.
Any patient who spends 45 minutes or more in areas deemed as clinically inappropriate – such as hallways or waiting rooms – are considered to have experienced corridor care, according to the NHS. Other examples of areas used include car parks, waiting rooms and toilets.
The NHS’ corridor care crisis has been well-documented, with reports of patients dying while waiting for care. Diabetic patients have been left for hours without food, while other sick patients have said they were left on broken beds in pitch-black corridors for 24 hours with no privacy, according to a review of patient care in emergency departments in December by the group Healthwatch England.
Speaking after the figures were released, health secretary James Murray said: “Corridor care is unacceptable, undignified and has no place in our NHS.”
He said the new data aims to “shine a spotlight” on where the problems are greatest and stressed the “vast majority” of corridor care is in a small number of organisations.
But one expert warned that corridor care had been “normalised”. Siva Anandaciva, director of policy at The King’s Fund, said patients are routinely being treated “without privacy or dignity.”
Read full story
Source: Independent, 11 June 2026
Further reading on the hub:
Corridor care improvement guide: A summary guide to support services to reduce corridor care Corridor care and long waits: what are people experiencing in A&E?  Corridor care guidance needs to move beyond what “should” happen and grapple honestly with why it isn’t How corridor care in the NHS is affecting safety culture
Patient Safety Learning

US measles cases pass 2,000 this year as outbreak nears worst in decades

The US has recorded more than 2,000 confirmed measles cases so far this year – near the total of 2,228 recorded in all of 2025, and on track to become the worst year for measles in decades as states struggle with the loss of federal funding for public health.
The virus continues to spread in unvaccinated and under-vaccinated communities, including among babies too young to be vaccinated, and it reveals the depths of the twin crises of misinformation and public health in the US.
The US recorded 2,030 cases on 4 June, though experts believe the true number is about three times higher. Cases in Utah appear to be winding down, while cases in Virginia and Pennsylvania appear to be picking up.
“I think it’s going to be a busy summer,” said Andrew Pavia, a George and Esther Gross presidential professor at the University of Utah who spoke in his personal capacity as an infectious disease expert.
Utah has shown a new side of the outbreak. “What makes Utah different than South Carolina and Texas is that it spread throughout the entire state and became much more widely distributed,” Pavia said.
Even so, there were two factors that made a difference in whether cases were contained, Pavia noted: “It hit hardest in communities that had relatively low vaccination rates and relatively limited public health departments.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 10 June 2026
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NHS warns of rising patient safety threats amid tech failures and mental health bed crisis

The NHS is contending with severe operational pressures across several critical areas, with internal risk registers now tracking heightened threats to patient safety, data security, and core digital infrastructure.
A newly updated operational risk register has escalated a number of warnings to critical levels, pointing to an acute capacity crisis in secure mental health services and deepening vulnerabilities within the health service's technology networks. The register, which assigns numerical scores to operational threats, has placed several indicators at levels that leave no room for further escalation.
The risk score monitoring secure inpatient mental health capacity has been raised to the maximum possible level. The warning follows an urgent decision to relocate patients from a major healthcare site in Northampton after persistent patient safety concerns rendered continued occupation untenable.
Health officials have cautioned that the resulting reduction in available beds has placed considerable strain on secure inpatient capacity, complicating appropriate patient placements across the country. Secure mental health beds are among the most difficult to replace at short notice. 
Alongside the mental health crisis, national IT platforms used to manage clinician performance and professional revalidations have been classified as both unstable and severely outdated. Chronic delays in rolling out replacement programmes have produced what internal documents describe as a fragile operating environment, substantially raising the prospect of widespread operational disruption. 
Cyber resilience remains one of the health service's most elevated operational concerns. Official assessments warn that existing vulnerabilities leave NHS networks exposed to data compromises, major service disruptions, and a measurable loss of clinical productivity. 
Read full story
Source: Distilled Post, 11 June 2026
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Hospitals with the most ‘red line’ 24-hour waits

At least one in 10 A&E patients wait more than 24 hours at many hospitals, despite NHS England telling trusts to adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to such long waits, new figures have revealed.
HSJ has obtained data revealing the A&Es with the highest prevalence of waits exceeding 24 hours.
It shows that at nine hospitals, at least 10 per cent of A&E patients wait 24 hours from the time they arrive to when they leave the emergency department. This rises to as much as 17.6 per cent at Royal Sussex County Hospital – the highest proportion in England.
However, Royal Sussex, as with many of the worst-affected A&Es, did nonetheless see improvement in its 24-hour waits from 2024-25 to 2025-26. 
Around half (46%) of A&Es failed to improve on their longest waits in that time, according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act.
That is despite NHSE’s Getting It Right First Time programme telling trusts earlier this year there should be “zero tolerance” for A&E waits lasting more than 24 hours.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 10 June 2026
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Trust boards told to ‘grip’ cyber security

Trust boards must demonstrate they have “grip” of their cyber security, NHS England said.
In a letter to providers, joint Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England head of cyber security Tom Wechsler said organisations should formally appoint an executive accountable for breaches.
The NHS and its suppliers have suffered a string of high-profile attacks, including one on pathology provider Synnovis in 2024 that led to a death.
Last week, NHSE CEO Jim Mackey warned risk to the NHS was accelerating, while the chair of the body’s technology committee Mark Bailie stressed it was a direct patient safety issue.
The letter said trusts’ plans for what to do in the event of a breach should also “receive proper scrutiny and assurance”.
Mr Wechsler said: “Geopolitical events and technology developments are increasing the cyber security threats we face. As seen in well-documented incidents across the economy, the impact of a cyber attack is felt across the entire organisation, not just its digital function.”
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 10 June 2026
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A&E patients with non-urgent ailments may be told to come back later under NHS plans

Patients who turn up at A&E with non-urgent ailments could be told to come back another time under NHS plans to stop hospitals becoming overcrowded and avoid the service’s usual winter crisis.
Eighteen hospitals in England are already using “digital triage assessment” to help A&E staff decide which patients need to be seen right away or be dealt with in another way. If patients do need urgent care they are treated at once in the usual way. But if they have more minor ailments and can wait, they are told to come back later that day or the next day, or are referred to a community-based service, such as a GP or pharmacy.
Jim Mackey, NHS England’s chief executive, on Wednesday urged all hospitals to implement what it calls a “hi-tech concierge service” to prevent A&Es becoming overwhelmed.
Patients would see “really big change ahead from us in the next few months” in how urgent and emergency services were run, Mackey told an audience of health service leaders at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester. Using many more bookable appointments, so that patients no longer faced long delays to access care, was “a personal obsession of mine”, he said.
A switch to more bookable slots would help “bring more order” to services that were frequently overwhelmed with demand, especially during the winter, he said.
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, which represents A&E doctors, disclosed earlier this week that more than 1,300 patients a month die as a result of overcrowding in A&E units in England.
With “digital triage”, patients put the details of their illness into online hospital information gathering systems when they arrived at an emergency department. That helped A&E staff to assess their condition and decide the best way to manage them.
East Lancashire teaching hospitals NHS trust had found that the triage tool helped to almost halve average waiting times for A&E patients, from 178 minutes to 94 minutes, NHS England said.
“The new approach is designed to end the uncertainty of not knowing how long you’ll be expected to wait while ensuring ED [emergency department] doctors can focus on those who need urgent treatment most,” it said.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 10 June 2026
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Advanced radiotherapy for prostate cancer to cut sessions from 20 to 5

Thousands of men in England who have prostate cancer will be offered high-powered precision radiotherapy that will slash the number of treatment sessions they typically need from 20 to just five.
Senior doctors said the technique – called SABR (stereotactic ablative radiotherapy) - would target the disease more effectively than standard radiotherapy and help reduce side-effects.
The treatment is already offered to some patients with other types of cancer, including lung and brain.
This is the first time it will be offered to low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients outside of trials.
Of the 55,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, around 17,500 are deemed low or intermediate risk.
NHS England said it expected all 48 radiotherapy centres around the country to start offering the treatment "within weeks".
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 10 June 2026
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Defensive medicine: The method some GPs are using to avoid complaints

Nearly eight out of ten general practitioners are admitting to altering their medical practices and deviating from standard care to avoid patient complaints or regulatory referrals, a new survey reveals.
Family doctors reported a greater inclination to prescribe certain medications, refer patients, or dedicate more time to writing notes, all to prevent potential backlash.
This approach, termed "defensive medicine," carries risks, potentially leading to overdiagnosis and leaving patients feeling needlessly anxious.
A Pulse survey of 836 GPs found that 78% agreed the threat of complaints had led them to practise more defensively than they felt was truly best for their patients.
One family doctors told Pulse: “I have found myself practising more defensive medicine at times, perhaps investigating or referring where previously I might have watched and waited.
“Despite time constraints, I find myself writing essays in patient notes to make sure I’ve covered my own back, safety-netted clearly.
“This, combined with patient attitudes, has made working in the NHS almost untenable in the current climate.”
Figures from NHS Resolution show it is dealing with around 3,000 cases a year involving GPs.
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 10 June 2026
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Thousands of NHS staff exposed to cancer-causing chemicals at work, shocking study finds

Thousands of NHS staff are being exposed to harmful levels of formaldehyde – a cancer-causing chemical that experts have likened to asbestos.
Analysis of formaldehyde airborne monitoring results revealed employees in pathology departments across the UK are exposed to toxic levels of the chemical, with seven in 10 NHS pathology departments exceeding eight-hour European Union (EU) workplace limits.
The findings, by authors from the University of Liverpool and Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, come after several former NHS and laboratory workers spoke to The Independent as part of a probe into concerns that staff are being exposed to unacceptably high levels of formaldehyde.
One ex-NHS worker said he had sore eyes and a runny nose before he started to experience vomiting and nosebleeds from the exposure. Eventually, after three years, he had developed such severe problems with his breathing that he was unable to work.
The chemical, which can be used in hospitals to preserve tissue samples, but can also be used to produce resins and adhesives, to preserve cosmetics, and as a disinfectant and fumigant, has been classified as cancer-causing in humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
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Source: The Independent, 10 June 2026
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Government plans US-style ‘hospitalist’ doctors

The NHS will introduce a new class of generalist hospital doctors – inspired by the American “hospitalist” role – by the end of the decade, according to a leak of the government’s upcoming workforce plan.
Draft plans seen by HSJ propose the introduction of hospitalists to help care for complex patients who do not neatly fit into a single specialty. Other proposals include a Teach First-style scheme to push more GPs to work in deprived and under-doctored areas.
The 10-Year Workforce Plan, originally scheduled for last year, is being drawn up to replace the 2023 workforce strategy, which Labour has criticised for proposing large increases in hospital staffing that are now seen as unaffordable.
The draft of the new plan states that the main consideration is not “headcount or inputs, but… a fit for the future care model”. It says the out-of-hospital workforce will grow faster than the acute sector.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 10 June 2026
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First ‘neighbourhood contract’ links GP income to A&E attendances

Some £1.7m of primary care revenue will be tied to A&E attendances from next year, under a first-of-its-kind “neighbourhood” contract deal.
Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board has agreed the first local variations to the national primary care network contract with Kent Local Medical Committee.
It is understood to be the only local change to PCN contracts signed off so far by NHS England, under freedoms just introduced by the national body. 
The ICB said the deal will “support general practice to lead new single neighbourhood arrangements”. The national “single neighbourhood provider” contract promised in the 10-Year Health Plan  is yet to be launched.
K&M ICB said the changes to the PCN contract – known as the PCN direct enhanced service – would begin in July and be worth £10.1m in 2026-27.
The full-year funding will be £13.5m – with £9.9m coming from underspends in its primary care budget, and £3.6m from existing “local enhanced services” already commissioned by the ICB from GP practices.
The K&M contract will require PCNs to focus on about 92,000 people across the ICB area who have the most complex care needs, including care home residents, people on palliative care registers, and housebound patients with severe frailty.
GP practices will have to provide proactive interventions such as advance care planning discussions, comprehensive geriatric assessments and structured medication reviews.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 10 June 2026
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More than 1,300 deaths a month in England due to long A&E waits, figures suggest

More than 1,300 patients a month in England are dying needlessly due to long A&E waits, a tenfold rise in a decade, figures suggest.
There were more than 300 deaths linked to long waits every week in 2025, up from 30 a week in 2015, according to analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
The RCEM’s president, Dr Ian Higginson, said he wondered how many more deaths it would take before there was a meaningful plan to tackle the crisis.
“We have to ask why this awful problem isn’t the subject of relentless focus and political conversation. The number of deaths linked to long stays in our emergency departments explicitly show the system is failing the patients it is meant to be caring for,” he said.
Higginson said: “As an emergency doctor, it’s heartbreaking that patients arrive to our emergency departments in their time of need, and we can’t do our jobs properly because we are full. To make things worse we are being asked to focus on the least sick patients to try and marginally improve headline statistics, rather than on those who need our services the most.
“It’s frustrating that we continue to see a lack of solutions designed to tackle the root causes of the problem. Instead, we are fobbed off with recycled ideas that haven’t ever worked, performance data that doesn’t reflect reality, and a focus on perceived ‘quick fixes’.”
He added: “Whilst we welcome the government’s stated commitment to eliminate corridor care, until we prioritise patients who experience long waits for admission, we will not get to the bottom of the whole issue.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 8 June 2026
Patient Safety Learning

Doctors and NHS could be sued for mistakes made by AI tools, report warns

Doctors and the NHS could be sued for medical negligence over mistakes made by artificial intelligence tools used in diagnosing patients and suggesting their treatment, ministers are being warned.
Under the law as it stands, medics and the health service can be held liable for patients being harmed or dying even if it was AI that made the errors that resulted in their suffering.
The Medical Protection Society, which represents doctors accused of wrongdoing, says in a report that medics could become the “liability sink” – a target of clinical negligence lawsuits – for mistakes made by AI unless the law is overhauled.
The NHS is using AI for more and more purposes, including to analyse scans and X-rays, generate summaries of doctors’ conversations with patients, and draft letters to patients.
“The law has always struggled to keep up with technological change. But with AI, the pace of change is so rapid that this gap feels less like a step and more like a widening gulf,” said Dr Sarah Townley, the MPS’s deputy medical director.
Giving an example of potential harm from AI errors, the MPS said AI could miss a tumour in a patient’s lung when reading an X-ray of their chest. This could result in the patient dying because the false reassurance from the AI would mean no treatment would be given and the cancer could then spread.
Similarly, a patient could need surgery and treatment in intensive care for severe bleeding if an AI wrongly recommended increasing their dose of warfarin, a blood thinner used to treat the heart condition atrial fibrillation.
In such scenarios there was a real and significant risk that a claim would be brought against a doctor in relation to the use of AI tools, the MPS said. “Under the current product liability framework in the UK, there is a risk that clinical negligence claims could be brought against the clinicians in these cases and that they would be held wholly liable,” it warns.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 9 June 2026
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