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

CQC warns Health Bill could leave it fighting itself in court

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has warned that government plans for it to absorb the national patient safety investigations body could leave it arguing against itself in the High Court.
In evidence to the Commons health and social care committee, the regulator said merging in the Health Services Safety Investigations Branch – which carries out no-blame inquiries under a legally protected “safe space” – would create a “conflict of interest”.
The regulatory arm of the Care Quality Comission could end up seeking access to the confidential investigation reports, while the investigation branch fights to keep them secret, it said.
The CQC outlined “a scenario where the regulatory function would apply to the court for, and the investigatory arm defend against, admissibility of reports in legal proceedings” – in effect putting the watchdog on both sides of the same case.
The government plans to abolish HSSIB and fold its functions into a “discrete” unit of the CQC  – a recommendation made last year by NHS England chair Penny Dash to curb the “cluttered” safety landscape.
The CQC also warned the merger would leave the investigatory arm holding information that the CQC board – although accountable for it – was unaware of and could not act on.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 20 May 2026
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Australia struggles to contain worst diphtheria outbreak in decades after over 220 cases reported

Australia is grappling with its “biggest diphtheria outbreak“ in decades as the bacterial infection continues to spread through Northern Territory.
The country’s top medical body is now urging all Australians to ensure they are fully vaccinated against diphtheria following a resurgence of the Victorian-era disease.
Most of the nearly 220 cases reported so far are in Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia, and Queensland.
Diphtheria can cause swollen glands, breathing problems and fever. The bacterial disease mostly affects children.
It was considered almost eradicated following a vaccination rollout that began in the 1930s.
The current outbreak is being blamed on a dip in vaccination rates. Cases began to rise in 2025, prompting the Northern Territory Centre for Disease Control to declare an outbreak in March.
Almost all cases have involved Indigenous Australians, which has pushed health authorities to work with Aboriginal agencies to improve immunisation.
Health authorities were awaiting the outcome of an investigation into a suspected diphtheria death, which could be the first fatality from the disease in almost a decade.
"We've been recording case numbers nationally for about 35 years and this, by a very big distance, is the biggest outbreak of diphtheria we've ever seen,” federal health minister Mark Butler said.
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 20 May 2026
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Nottingham maternity scandal families make plea to new health secretary

Families affected by the Nottingham maternity scandal have urged the newly appointed health secretary to meet with them before a critical report is published next month.
The major review of care at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, led by former midwife Donna Ockenden, encompasses nearly 2,500 families whose lives have been affected by the deaths or injuries of hundreds of babies.
The inquiry is the largest in NHS history and has been ongoing for more than three years.
In a letter sent on Thursday, the affected families stressed to James Murray, who took over from Wes Streeting last week, that listening to their experiences "must remain at the heart of this process".
They wrote: “We believe it is vital that you hear directly from those affected before the review concludes, and we ask that you come to Nottingham to meet families, listen to our experiences, and understand the reality behind this report before the findings are shared with Parliament and the public.”
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 21 May 2026
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Neighbourhood plans ‘in danger’, says top five trust leader

The government’s neighbourhood health agenda is “in danger of not happening” amid a lack of clarity over governance structures and funding, the chair of England’s fourth-largest trust has claimed.
Ian Jacobs, who chairs the £2bn Barts Health Trust, said his organisation was committed to the development of neighbourhood health services. However, he added that  the work was “dependent on goodwill” from staff and partners and lacked a ”real structure to support it”.
His comments came at a public Barts Health board meeting during a discussion over how the trust will implement the national Neighbourhood Health Framework published in March.
The guidance set a number of targets for shifting acute care to the community, including that GPs must see 90% of clinically urgent patients on the same day by March 2027.
Professor Jacobs said: “It feels at the moment it’s dependent on goodwill and people setting up forums. It doesn’t seem very strong on structure that will ensure operational delivery… If there’s no formal structure, it’s in danger of being something that’s nice which disappears in a few years.”
He added: “The risk is that this is a nice idea which we’re all committed to, but unless there’s real structure that support it, it’s in danger of not happening.”
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 20 May 2026
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Dozens of stroke units lose ‘A’ ratings

Close to 80% of stroke units are falling well short against a swathe of new standards introduced to the high-profile national audit, according to HSJ analysis.
In the latest figures from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme just one unit, at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals Trust, achieved an ‘A’ rating.
This compared with 30 trusts rated ‘A’ in July-September 2024 data – the final results before major methodology changes.
The changes included significant new indicators – such as on thrombectomy – and increasing the performance bar on several existing measures, like those covering the standard and intensity of rehab care.
In the most recent data – October-December 2025 – of 99 routinely admitting stroke teams nationally, 22 achieved the lowest possible overall rating of ‘E’, while 57 were ranked the second lowest of ‘D’. Five received a ‘B’ and 14 a ‘C.
A substantial overhaul of the method, including introducing new measures – such as thrombectomy accesss – and raising the bar on others, for example standards and intensity of rehabilitation.
The Stroke Association is calling for the government to use its upcoming modern service framework guidance on cardiovascular disease – expected in coming weeks – to drive up rehab standards.
The charity said the new audit ratings revealed “significant gaps” in treatment standards – although it accepted the falls in ratings were “very much about recalibration” rather than declining quality.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 20 May 2026
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Mothers and midwives from across Africa and UK demand world leaders protect women giving birth

Midwifes, health works and mothers from across Africa and the UK have held a protest outside the World Health Assembly in Geneva to end the scandal of women giving birth in dangerous clinics and maternity wards without clean water.
Frontline health workers and mothers from Tanzania, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana and the UK beat drums, waved blue fabric and held placards calling on world leaders to take action.
Silviana Swallo, a midwife from Tanzania said: "I can't speak about midwifery care without adequate water supply. Water is health for mothers, newborns and health care providers." Her colleague Christina Mhando, WaterAid Tanzania's head of policy, said: "The solutions exist, they're simple and cheap. We just need them to listen and act."
The protest was organised as part of WaterAid's "Time to Deliver" campaign, which The Independent has worked on, that calls on world leaders to use the upcoming United Nations (UN) Water Conference in December to ensure that every health centre worldwide has clean water, decent sanitation and proper hygiene facilities.
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 19 May 2026
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'My mother died without dignity in A&E'

"Mum was denied a respectful way of dying and we have to live with these memories," says Michelle Smith.
She believes her mother, Joan Howard, should have spent her final hours in comfort, pain-free, in a clean bed and surrounded by her loved ones.
Instead, the blind 74-year-old was trapped in Doncaster Royal Infirmary's accident and emergency department for 27 hours, lying half the time on a trolley and then on soiled sheets in a hot and cramped cubicle.
Joan, from Balby in Doncaster, was admitted on 5 December 2024 after becoming critically unwell following recent treatment for an ulcer and E. coli infection.
Although NHS guidance states patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arrival to A&E, Joan remained in the resuscitation area for the first 14 hours.
When she was finally moved into a cubicle in the main area, Michelle says the space was so small there was no room for a drip stand, forcing nurses to tape her mother's fluids to the wall.
The standard of care continued to decline, says Michelle, with surgical and medical teams confused over who was responsible for Joan's care and the family's requests for help being ignored.
She describes repeated basic care failings, including oxygen not being reconnected after transfer, urine output not being monitored, routine checks not being carried out and poor pain management.
After an enema, a procedure to clear the bowel, she says her mother was left lying on the soiled sheets, forcing Michelle to source incontinence pads to relieve some of her discomfort.
"I could see Mum was deteriorating in front of my eyes and I couldn't help her," recalls Michelle, a former cardiac physiologist.
"No one was listening to me pleading to help my mum."
Michelle says the family's distress deepened when, midway through Joan's stay, they were told that she was not going to die, contradicting earlier medical advice.
Believing she was stable, relatives - including Joan's husband of 50 years - left the hospital.
Joan died a short time later after spending 27 hours in A&E, and with only her daughter present.
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 20 May 2026
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Children in mental health crisis waiting up to three days in A&E for specialist bed in England

Children and young people in England having a mental health crisis are spending up to three days in an A&E unit before they get a bed in a specialist unit, NHS figures reveal.
One children’s nurse who works in an emergency department said such long waits for under-18s who were in acute distress were “frankly barbaric” but “becoming far more normal”.
Some of those who end up stuck in A&E become so troubled and disruptive that staff are increasingly using medication to sedate them to manage their behaviour.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) said the delays highlighted a “catastrophic system-wide failure” by NHS mental health services to intervene to stop school-age children ending up in crisis. Seeking help at A&E was often “damaging and potentially traumatising” for them, it said.
One A&E nurse said such long waits were “extremely distressing” for the patients involved and for the staff looking after them. Another said: “A&E is just seen as this big receptacle for all children who are dysregulated or in crisis. But A&E is not respite for children with mental health concerns. It can often exacerbate their trauma.”
Dr Sam Jones, the research officer for mental health at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), said children in mental health crisis were now often more unwell than in the past.
“Alongside rising levels of poor mental health, the nature of need is changing fast. Problems are more complex and severe, more younger children are affected and rates of self-harm and eating disorders continue to rise,” Jones said.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 20 May 2026
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NHS rollout of artificial pancreas narrows inequality in diabetes care

The rollout of a “life-changing” artificial pancreas on the NHS for people with type 1 diabetes has helped to narrow ethnic and socioeconomic inequality within access to treatment, according to figures for England and Wales.
Officially known as a hybrid closed-loop system, an artificial pancreas comprises three interconnected parts: a sensor worn on the body called a continuous glucose monitor; an algorithm either built into the pump or on a separate device such as a phone that calculates the precise dose of insulin needed; and an insulin pump that delivers the dose into the bloodstream.
For patients, the device removes much of the mental burden of managing blood sugar levels, especially around mealtimes and during the night. According to previous clinical trials, the device is more effective at managing diabetes than current diabetes technology, such as using continuous glucose monitors alone.
Previous rollouts of diabetes technology have had stark disparities in uptake regarding ethnicity and deprivation. Studies have shown that people from minority ethnic backgrounds in England are less likely to have access to continuous glucose monitors, while people from deprived backgrounds have been unable to have full use of this tech.
However, the first two years of the artificial pancreas rollout in England and Wales has been seen to reverse this trend, with only a 3% difference in uptake between people from the most and least deprived backgrounds, as well as those from minority ethnic backgrounds compared with white counterparts.
Naiha Shafiq, 27, from London, was fitted with an artificial pancreas three years ago. She said the device had been “life-changing” because she was previously in and out of hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis, a life-threatening complication, as a result of struggling to administer her insulin injections.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 19 May 2026
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Former chair ‘sensationalised whistleblowing claim to oust CEO’

An employment tribunal has thrown out a former chair’s whistleblowing claims against a trust CEO, saying he “misrepresented and exaggerated” concerns as part of a campaign to oust her.
Max Mclean, who was chair of Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust from 2019 to 2023, was heavily criticised in the ruling, which said it had “not identified any misconduct or lack of personal performance” by CEO Mel Pickup.
In contrast, it said the former chair had launched a “personal battle” to oust Ms Pickup and “was (and remains) blind to any findings about his own behaviour”.
Mr Mclean told HSJ he was “disappointed” by the tribunal’s conclusions and he did “not accept a number of the characterisations made about my motivations and conduct”. He denied asking NHS England to remove the CEO.
Mr Mclean left the trust that year following an “irretrievable breakdown” in the relationship between him and Ms Pickup.
In February 2025, he announced he would take the trust to an employment tribunal, claiming he was unfairly dismissed for raising concerns about baby deaths.
However, according to a summary reasons judgment published by the trust this week, the tribunal ruled these did not represent whistleblowing concerns because of the way that he raised them, in an appraisal with Ms Pickup, and the time he took to raise the concerns. The tribunal said Mr Mclean had been notified of the neonatal incidents in April 2021.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 19 May 2026
Related reading on the hub:
Speaking up for patient safety: A new interview series about raising concerns and whistleblowing
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Maternity Advisor to champion safer care for mothers and babies

Women and families failed by maternity services will be better heard and their experiences will drive lasting improvements to care, as Michelle Welsh MP has been appointed as the government’s first Maternity Advisor.
Welsh will work directly with families, the government, the NHS and key maternity organisations to push for better, safer care for mothers, babies and families.
She will meet regularly with ministers to share evidence and advice, and work with families and communities to bring a wide range of voices into the heart of the government’s action to improve maternity services. There will be a special focus on those from communities that face the greatest health inequalities.
Health and Social Care Secretary James Murray said:
"Far too many women and families have been let down by maternity services, and that must change.
"Michelle Welsh brings exactly the commitment and expertise this role demands, and I know she will be a powerful champion for the women and families.
"Today marks a significant step forward in our determination to make maternity care safer for every mother and baby in England."
Michelle Welsh, MP and Maternity Advisor said:
"I am honoured to have been appointed as the National Maternity Advisor to the Government.
"This role is deeply personal to me. Like far too many women across this country, I know what it feels like to come through childbirth carrying both physical and emotional scars. That experience has strengthened my determination to fight for safer, more compassionate maternity care for every family.
"As National Maternity Advisor, I will work tirelessly to drive forward meaningful reform focused on safer staffing, stronger accountability, listening to women, tackling inequalities and ensuring lessons are learned when failures happen.
"This is about rebuilding trust and creating a maternity system that is not only safer, but kinder too."
Read full press release
Source: Department of Health and Care, 19 May 2026
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Racist abuse of NHS nurses rising amid ‘normalisation’ of extreme views, RCN warns

Racist abuse of NHS nurses has jumped by 86% in the last few years, which their union’s boss has blamed on the normalisation of extreme views in politics and the media.
One nurse was called a monkey by a colleague, a patient threw a hot drink at a nurse and followed up with racial abuse, and in several cases others were called the N-word, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) disclosed.
In other examples, a patient’s family told a nurse they did not want black people looking after their daughter, and a fellow NHS worker shouted at a nurse: “We don’t have people of your colour here.”
Nurses across the UK reported 6,812 incidents last year in which they suffered racist abuse, NHS figures show, a big rise on the 3,652 incidents recorded in 2022. However, it is unclear how many were reported to the police or led to any action being taken, such as a perpetrator being told to seek treatment from a different care provider.
The RCN warned that poor recording of such abuse by the health service, and reluctance among many nurses to report it, meant the figures – which it obtained from NHS trusts and health boards under freedom of information (FOI) – were only “the tip of the iceberg”.
The findings are the latest evidence of what Kate Jarman, the director of corporate affairs at Milton Keynes university hospital trust, last week called “a rising tide of racism” washing over the NHS making it unsafe for some staff.
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 19 May 2026
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Trust pleads guilty after patient fire death

A trust has pleaded guilty to fire safety offences relating to a patient’s death in a rare case where a fire service has brought a prosecution against an NHS provider, HSJ can reveal.
Christian Raeburn died aged 36 following a fire at Pendleview Mental Health Unit, which is part of Blackburn Hospital, on 25 December 2023.
Lancashire and South Cumbria Foundation Trust submitted its guilty plea to six offences under fire safety legislation for commercial buildings last month.
The charges included breaches of the Fire Safety Order relating to general fire safety precautions, maintenance, and staff training. 
Police told local media they were called following a report of arson and found a man unresponsive at the scene, who died the following day.
It is extremely rare for an NHS trust to be prosecuted by a fire service. There have only been two cases in England between 2016-17 and 2024-25, according to government statistics. 
Mr Raeburn reportedly set fire to a mattress in his room and died the following day from injuries sustained in the fire. 
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 19 May 2026
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More than 100 maternity staff sue NHS over gas exposure

More than 100 maternity staff are taking legal action against a hospital trust after being exposed to what they say were "hazardous" levels of nitrous oxide.
The staff, who include midwives and healthcare assistants, all worked at Basildon Hospital in Essex between 2018 and 2023.
Symptoms including fatigue, anxiety, headaches and "brain fog" were reported.
The trust that runs the hospital has said it "should have acted faster to address the issues".
The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has already paid out £89,000 in settlements over claims staff were exposed to "excessive and foreseeably dangerous" levels of Entonox, which is often called gas and air.
A total of 141 claims have been received, according to the NHS.
Entonox is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen that is used as pain relief for women giving birth.
According to the claimants, levels of nitrous oxide can build up quickly in maternity units with poor ventilation. The gas enters the atmosphere when birthing mothers exhale, when gas lines are leaky, and when cannisters of nitrous oxide are opened and connected to equipment.
Maternity staff were exposed to gas levels up to 30 times higher than the legal workplace exposure limit, an internal hospital report found.
For people giving birth, the NHS says gas and air is "generally very safe", and side effects are not expected until after patients have used it for longer than six hours.
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 18 May 2026
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Cancer patients among dozens ‘harmed’ by delayed diagnosis and treatment at NHS trust

Cancer patients are among dozens of people found to have been “harmed” after their diagnosis and treatment were delayed due to administrative failures at an NHS trust, The Independent can reveal.
A review of hundreds of gynaecology patients under the care of consultant Dr Jim Wolfe at Salford Royal Hospital, in Greater Manchester, in 2024, was prompted by concerns that the necessary follow-ups were not carried out.
The months-long audit revealed that some women had not been sent letters about their treatment, or their results had not been acted on for conditions including cancer, and concluded many had been “harmed” as a result.
Northern Care Alliance Trust (NCA) NHS Trust, which manages the hospital, has apologised for the “distress we’ve caused” and said those affected had been offered support and ongoing treatment plans. Sources confirmed that Dr Wolfe is still working at the trust, but NCA said it would not comment on the status of its employees.
But the revelation comes amid wider staff unrest over the trust’s gynaecology services with concerns about patient safety, workforce pressures and unsafe workloads.
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 17 May 2026
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Two-thirds of NHS nurses believe lack of staff is putting patients at risk, survey finds

Almost two-thirds of nurses believe there are too few of them working in the NHS to keep patients safe and give them proper care, a survey has revealed.
Understaffing and the increasingly complex medical needs posed by an ageing population are creating a “deadly mix” for patients, the Royal College of Nursing warned on Monday.
More than one in five (22%) of nurses working in hospitals or community settings across the UK told the RCN that the number of nurses on duty in their last shift was “well below what was needed”, which left care “significantly compromised” and a “high level of risk of harm to patents and staff”.
Of the more than 13,000 nurses who took part in the survey 64% said they thought that the number of registered nurses on that shift was “below” or “well below” what was needed to ensure safe care.
One nurse working in an A&E in England told the union: “The shift was completely unsafe and it felt like a miracle that avoidable harm was not caused.”
Prof Nicola Ranger, the RCN’s chief executive and general secretary, will urge ministers to bring in mandatory minimum safe nurse staffing levels when she opens its annual congress on Monday.
“Widespread vacancies of registered nurses are always unsafe,” she said. “But the risk is being compounded by the demands of delivering ever more complex care to an ageing, sicker population, with multiple conditions. It’s a deadly mix.”
Speaking in Liverpool, she will accuse ministers of failing to ensure that the health service has enough nurses and the nursing profession is being “set up to fail”.
Read full story
Source:  The Guardian, 18 May 2026
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