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

NHS went ahead with 95 per cent of hospital appointments during doctors’ strike

The majority of hospital appointments went ahead despite almost 2,000 doctors going on strike for five days, according to the NHS.
More than 5,000 fewer patients were in hospital this Christmas Day compared to last year, with 78.8 per cent of beds occupied.
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Source: Independent, 6 January
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Judge sides with medical groups who challenged RFK’s vaccine policies

A federal judge has cleared the way for several prominent medical organisations to proceed with a lawsuit challenging policies enacted under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, which they contend will lead to a decline in vaccination rates across the country.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston dismissed arguments from government lawyers who claimed the groups, including the American Academy of Paediatrics, lacked legal standing as they could not demonstrate direct harm from the policies. The lawsuit aims to invalidate all votes cast since June by a crucial vaccine advisory panel, whose members were personally selected by Kennedy.
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Source: Independent, 6 January 2026
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Federal guidelines now include at-home test to check for cervical cancer

The Department of Health and Human Services announced updated cervical cancer screening guidelines on Monday, allowing American women to perform tests for human papillomavirus at home for the first time.
The recommendations allow women between the ages of 30 and 65 with an average risk for cervical cancer to test themselves for the virus, also known as HPV, which is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. and causes deadly cervical cancer.
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Source: Independent, 5 January 2026
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New NHS online hospital to focus on eyes, menopause and prostates

The new NHS online hospital service being launched in England next year will initially focus on menopause, prostate and eye conditions.
The NHS has selected nine different conditions in total for the service which will be available through the NHS app in 2027.
The service, which was first announced in September, will allow patients to have assessments, check-ups and follow-up appointments online and will have its own dedicated team of doctors.
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Source: BBC News, 6 January 2026
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Our children waited too long for the same diagnosis as Jesy Nelson's twins

Parents of babies born with a life-limiting, rare condition say their diagnoses came months too late, and after they had initially raised the alarm about their symptoms.
Dani-Rae Brown was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) seven months after her first symptom and now has to use a wheelchair, while Lucian Neale was diagnosed at six weeks old despite showing symptoms in his mother's womb.
SMA is a progressive muscle-wasting disease that can cause death within two years if untreated.
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Source: BBC News, 5 January 2026
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Shortage of NHS stroke specialists resulting in thousands dead or disabled, say doctors

Thousands of people who have had a stroke are ending up severely disabled or dying because the NHS has too few specialists to treat them quickly enough, senior doctors are warning.
A chronic shortage of stroke consultants across the NHS means that patients are suffering horrendous consequences because of delays in getting clot-busting drugs and surgery, they said.
“People are either dying or living with disability unnecessarily because they’re not getting the correct evaluation and treatment by the right expert at the right time,” Prof David Werring, the past president of the British and Irish Association of Stroke Physicians (BIASP), told the Guardian.
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Source: Guardian, 5 January 2026
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NHS England urged to introduce external second opinion when dismissing staff

NHS England is being urged to introduce an independent second opinion whenever it decides to dismiss a healthcare professional, in memory of a nurse who set himself on fire after being unfairly dismissed from his job.
Dr Narinder Kapur, an NHS whistleblower, is proposing “Amin’s rule”, named after Amin Abdullah, who killed himself in 2016, to plug a gap he says exists when it comes to staff wellbeing.
Kapur, 76, a consultant neuropsychologist and visiting professor at University College London, was sacked by Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge in 2010 after raising concerns about staff shortages and unqualified staff working without proper supervision.
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Source: Guardian, 4 January 2026
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Hospices warn of cuts after 'difficult' 2025

Some hospices in the West are warning they will have to reduce their services, if the government-agreed funding they receive from the NHS does not increase.
Hospices have differing funding arrangements, but many receive around a third of their money from the NHS and the rest through donations.
Jessie May Hospice in Bristol, which provides palliative care for children at home, told the BBC its costs had risen 17% in 2025, with donations and statutory funding failing to match this.
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Source: BBC News, 5 January 2026
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Coroner calls for circumcision safety measures after baby’s death in London

A coroner has warned that more babies could die from infected circumcisions in the UK after the death of a six-month-old boy exposed a lack of infection control training and accreditation for circumcisers.
Mohamed Abdisamad died in February 2023 of a streptococcus infection. He had a cardiorespiratory arrest on his way to hospital a week after undergoing a non-therapeutic circumcision, an inquest at west London coroner’s court found in October.
In a prevention of future deaths report published this week, the assistant coroner Anton van Dellen urged the government to take action to avoid similar tragedies.
He wrote: “During the inquest, the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.”
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Source: Guardian, 2 January 2026
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Google AI Overviews put people at risk of harm with misleading health advice

People are being put at risk of harm by false and misleading health information in Google’s artificial intelligence summaries, a Guardian investigation has found.
The company has said its AI Overviews, which use generative AI to provide snapshots of essential information about a topic or question, are “helpful” and “reliable”.
But some of the summaries, which appear at the top of search results, served up inaccurate health information and put people at risk of harm.
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Source: Guardian, 2 January 2026
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Man held after five people attacked in hospital

A man has been arrested after five people were assaulted with a weapon in a hospital, police have said.
The casualties, none of whom are thought to have suffered life-threatening injuries, were treated by paramedics at Newton Community Hospital in Newton-le-Willows, St Helens, after the attack with what may have been a crowbar shortly after 12:00 GMT.
Merseyside Police added the suspect was believed to have gone to the hospital to request an appointment but became "increasingly agitated" when this was declined and he was asked to leave.
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Source: BBC News, 30 December 2025
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Huge rise in number of people in England’s A&Es for coughs or hiccups

Millions of people are turning to A&E departments in England for minor ailments including coughs, blocked noses and hiccups, according to data that health leaders say lays bare a failure to give patients prompt access to primary care.
Emergency wards are designed for serious injuries and life-threatening emergencies only. But many are becoming swamped with patients whose health concerns should be dealt with elsewhere, including a near tenfold increase in people seeking help for a cough.
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Source: Guardian, 31 December 2025
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Fears for NHS patients’ safety as eight in ten hospitals are relying on outdated medical equipment

NHS England advises scanners should be replaced every ten years to ensure reliable images and accurate diagnoses.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to install modern equipment.
Yet 38 of the 48 hospital trusts contacted use X-ray machines more than ten years old — and at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust one machine dates back 30 years.
More than 20 trusts rely on ageing MRI scanners — a hospital trust in Plymouth still uses an 18-year-old machine.
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Source: Irish Sun, 29 December 2025
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High demand sees hospital trigger safety alert

A Lancashire hospital has declared its "highest level" of alert due to high demand putting "patient safety at risk".
The Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) in Lancaster has been placed at level four of its Operations Pressure Escalation Levels, which means a hospital is "unable to deliver comprehensive care".
The decision to trigger the escalation means the hospital can take additional steps to maintain patient safety.
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Source: BBC News, 30 December 2025
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Asian women in England almost twice as likely to suffer severe childbirth tears

Asian women in England are almost twice as likely to suffer the most severe birth injuries during labour, with many healthcare professionals unaware of this greater risk, analysis has found.
Third- and fourth-degree tears, also known as obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI), are the most severe forms of vaginal tearing during childbirth.
Up to 90% of women experience some tearing during labour, with most of these injuries healing quickly and having a relatively minor impact. A third-degree tear extends into the muscle that controls the anus and a fourth-degree tear extends further into the lining of the anus.
According to Guardian analysis of NHS figures obtained via a freedom of information request, Asian women suffered third- and fourth-degree tears at a rate of 2,831 tears per 100,000 deliveries during 2023-24. This compares with rates of 1,473 per 100,000 for white women and 1,496 per 100,000 for black women.
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Source: Guardian, 26 December 2025
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The underdiagnosed and undertreated condition putting women’s health at risk

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal imbalance that affects ovaries, periods and fertility in about one in 10 Canadian women.
Different from ovarian cysts, PCOS is associated with infertility, pregnancy complications, heart disease and a general decreased quality of life, and yet fewer than half of those affected even know they have it.
This under-recognition and under-diagnosis is a significant problem, because a recent Canadian study suggests these women are 20 to 40 per cent more likely to experience negative health outcomes during their lifetime than the general population, including hypertension (high blood pressure), kidney disease, gastrointestinal disease, eating disorders, depression and anxiety.
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Source: Independent, 24 December 2025
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