Skip to content

News

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

High youth death rates are an ‘emerging crisis’, global health study warns

The world faces “an emerging crisis” of higher death rates among teenagers and young adults, according to a major study on the causes of death and disability worldwide.
The reasons vary from drug and alcohol use, and suicide in North America, to infectious diseases and injuries in sub-Saharan Africa, the researchers said, but warned that their data should serve as “a wake-up call”.
The study also found that chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes now accounted for two-thirds of all ill health and that mental health problems were surging.
Half of the world’s disease burden was preventable, researchers calculated, driven by risks that could be reduced, such as high blood pressure, air pollution, smoking and obesity.
The Global Burden of Disease study was carried out by a network of 16,500 scientists using more than 300,000 data sources. It is published in the Lancet and was presented at the World Health Summit in Berlin on Sunday.
In North America and parts of Latin America, the rises were driven by suicide and consumption of drugs and alcohol.
“Very marked increases” among teenagers and young adults “certainly got our attention when we were looking at the data”, said Dr Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s school of medicine.
Rising deaths in younger adults, particularly in North America, he said, were “very tied up with the rise of anxiety and depression in young people, particularly women”. While the rise of mental health disorders had received much attention, he said, there was still a lot of debate around the causes.
“Is this social media? Is this [electronic] devices? Is this broader social trends on parenting? We know it was made worse by Covid. So there’s a lot of controversy, I’d say, in the psychiatric epidemiology and general social commentary about the causes around mental health. And so that’s a problem for coming up with solutions.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 12 October 2025
Sam

Watchdog vows Botox crackdown after BBC exposé

The pharmacists' watchdog has promised to investigate and "take action" after the BBC exposed illegal and potentially harmful practices in the aesthetic Botox industry.
Under UK law, Botox can only be supplied under prescription by a qualified medic following a face-to-face consultation with the patient, to check it is safe for them.
But undercover BBC researchers caught several pharmacists trying to prescribe the medicine to beauticians to use on people who had not been clinically assessed.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) said it was continuing to review the BBC's evidence for its own investigation.
Its chief enforcement officer Dionne Spence said: "We will take enforcement action against pharmacies, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians when required to protect patient safety."
Under UK law, only a doctor, prescribing nurse or pharmacist, or dentist is legally allowed to prescribe botulinum toxin - commonly known as Botox – after an appropriate face-to-face clinical assessment.
East London pharmacist Cornelius Agoye from Rainham was filmed selling vials of Botox to an undercover BBC reporter who was posing as a beautician intending to inject a customers
Mr Agoye asked the reporter to complete paperwork that would create a false record of a patient consultation taking place.
He also told the BBC he was willing to illegally supply additional Botox under the same prescription to use on other patients - which constitutes fraud.
When approached by the BBC, Mr Agoye apologised and admitted his conduct had fallen below professional standards.
Other pharmacists filmed or spoken to by BBC undercover researchers posing as beauticians described taking similar shortcuts.
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 13 October 2025
Patient Safety Learning

NHSE’s improvement teams axed

NHS England’s elective, emergency care and mental health improvement support teams are being axed – and their staff and functions merged into the Getting it Right First Time programme, HSJ has learned.
An internal email from national urgent care director Sarah-Jane Marsh last week said that as part of the NHSE restructure, the improvement functions “will be moving to a single structure and brand under the clinical leadership of Tim Briggs, founder of the GIRFT Programme”.
HSJ understands around 70 people work across the improvement support teams, most of whom are in the emergency care improvement support team (ECIST). NHSE did not confirm a figure, but it said the merger would not result in redundancies.
The move follows what was previously described as a “culture battle” between ECIST’s alleged “performance management”-style approach and GIRFT, which is seen as more collaborative.
Senior emergency care figures told HSJ they hoped the move would see the end of “clipboard performance management”.
Professor Matthew Cooke, a former national clinical director of urgent and emergency care, said: “I can see positives in having one organisation… In my experience, the places that improve are the places that work with you, not beaten up by you. If the clipboard performance management disappeared it would be a great step forward.”
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 13 October 2025
Patient Safety Learning

‘Endometriosis almost killed me – but it still took years for me to get the diagnosis I needed’

At just 12 years old, a terrified Zaynah Ahmed lost so much blood during her period that she was left in a life-threatening condition and needed an urgent blood transfusion.
Doctors and nurses rushed around her, using words like the pill and haemoglobin levels – all things that, as a child, she could not understand.
One medic even joked, “imagine you'd been shot in your leg and you just like bled out” in a bid to explain how serious her blood loss had been.
“The doctor... basically said that if you hadn't come within that week, it would have had a life-threatening impact on my life,” Ms Ahmed, now aged 19, told The Independent.
Years later, in 2023, she was finally diagnosed with endometriosis, which affects millions of women in the UK.
Figures from the charity Endometriosis UK show that it takes an average of eight years to get a diagnosis.
After her frightening admission at age 12, Ms Ahmed’s severe symptoms resurfaced again when she was in Year 11 at school.
She suffered periods so painful and frequent that they would leave her crying in her teacher’s office, and she was forced to miss school weekly.
“I had really bad pain. But it wasn't just when I was on my period; it was all the time now.
“I thought period cramps were normal, but when I was on my period. So if I was getting them all the time, then that wasn’t normal. It was hard to understand.”
While she had been referred to gynaecology services previously, she received no appointment, but she was finally referred again after a second A&E visit.
To help others in a similar situation, Ms Ahmed is now taking part in a research project that aims to improve care for young people living with period pain.
However, the long waiting list, worsened by delays caused by the Covid pandemic, meant it took four years for her to be seen by a specialist.
She is calling for more young people, aged 18 to 24, to join by signing up to Be Part of Research, as part of a national recruitment campaign from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 11 October 2025
“I think that a lot of young girls shouldn’t have to go through that on their own because, regardless of whether they have supportive parents or teachers, or friends around them, if you don’t know what they are dealing with, there’s not much that you can do.”
Patient Safety Learning

Sharp global rise in antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals, WHO finds

Hospitals across the world have recorded an alarming rise in common infections that are resistant to antibiotics, with doctors saying the number of deaths driven by drug resistance will increase sharply in the years ahead.
One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotic treatments in 2023, with more than 40% of antibiotics losing potency against common blood, gut, urinary tract and sexually-transmitted infections between 2018 and 2023, records show.
The problem was most severe, and worsening, in low and middle-income countries and those with weaker healthcare systems, according to the World Health Organization’s Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance report, which gathered data on more than 23m bacterial infections from 104 countries.
“These findings are deeply concerning,” said Dr Yvan Hutin, the director of the WHO’s department of antimicrobial resistance. “As antibiotic resistance continues to rise, we are running out of treatment options and we are putting lives at risk, especially in countries where infection prevention and control is weak and access to diagnostics and effective medicine is already limited.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 13 October 2025
Further reading on the hub:
Top picks: Key resources on antimicrobial resistance
Patient Safety Learning

Millions of over-50s have undiagnosed sight and hearing problems, UK study suggests

Millions of people aged 50 or over in the UK have undiagnosed sight or hearing problems, according to research, prompting calls for that age group to have checkups more regularly.
Doctors involved in the research said the findings were “deeply concerning” and warned that those affected were at risk of falls, mental ill-health and of leading socially restricted lives.
One in four people aged 50 and over – 6.7 million people – cannot see clearly out of one or both eyes, according to a pilot stage of the UK national eye health and hearing study.
And three in four older Britons – 20.3 million people – suffer from some form of hearing loss in one or both ears, according to the study, the first of its kind.
The research uncovered “widespread hidden sensory loss”, the sight and hearing experts involved in the study said, with many of those affected unaware of their condition.
Rupert Bourne, a professor of ophthalmology at Anglia Ruskin University and the study’s principal investigator, said: “These figures are deeply concerning. They show that sensory health is being overlooked, even among high-risk groups. We are missing critical opportunities to prevent avoidable sight and hearing loss.”
Read full story
Source: The Guardian, 10 October 2025
Patient Safety Learning

National scheme to support families after baby deaths faces axe

An “overwhelmingly valued” pilot support scheme for families who have lost a child before or shortly after birth has been paused to new referrals and is being “brought to a close”, HSJ has learned.
The Maternity and Neonatal Independent Senior Advocate role was proposed as an “immediate and essential action” in the 2022 review of maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust by leading midwife Donna Ockenden.
Pilot schemes were put in place in 16 integrated care board areas in early 2024 to run until March 2026. As of an evaluation in May this year, there had been 20 MNISAs in place who had supported 253 families. The majority of cases were still ongoing at that point.
But NHS England has now said that the pilot phase will be “brought to a close” with learning from it feeding into the Amos independent investigation of maternity and neonatal care.
Baroness Amos is expected to produce an interim report by Christmas and a final report in the spring of next year – although that may slip. Even if that report supports the continuation of the scheme, it is likely there would be a gap before it could be re-established, HSJ understands.
In several parts of the country, the advocates are already no longer taking new referrals. NHSE said those currently supported by an advocate will be given a “personalised care plan”, including a named contact to go to if they have any concerns or need more support.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 13 October 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Health leaders urged to ‘fix situation’ as patients left in hospital corridors for ‘dangerously long periods’

Patients are being left in hospital corridors for “dangerously long periods” health leaders have warned. The long waits mean patients are missing timely access to specialist care.
New data shows fewer than one in five acutely unwell patients are receiving their first assessment in an acute medical unit (AMU), the The Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) said.
AMUs are short stay assessment and admission units for patients who need specialist assessment and/or opinion. Patients are referred to AMUs by emergency department (A&E) doctors, other hospital departments, or directly by a GP.
Read full story.
Source: The Independent, 10 October 2025
Related Reading
Corridor care and patient safety
Mark Hughes

More than 153,000 people harmed in Canada's hospitals last year, study finds

One in 17 hospitalizations in 2024-2025 — representing more than 153,000 people — resulted in someone experiencing a potentially preventable harm such as a drug error, hospital-acquired infection, a “patient accident” like a fall or radiation burn or some other incident serious enough to require treatment or a prolonged stay, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
In a quarter of those cases, people experienced two or more harmful “events” during their stay. The data are based on 2.6 million hospital stays. 
The overall rate of harm has remained at six per cent for the fifth year in a row, higher than pre-COVID years. 
Read full story.
Source: National Post, 9 October 2025
Mark Hughes

NHS waiting list rises for third month in row

The hospital waiting list in England has risen for the third month in a row with experts warning the government's key NHS priority - tackling the backlog - is at risk.
At the end of August the waiting list for routine treatments hit 7.41 million – in May it was 7.36 million. The proportion waiting longer than the target time of 18 weeks has also risen.
Experts said the government was facing a significant challenge reducing waits, but ministers said its investment in the NHS would pay off. The government has promised that by the end of this parliament it will hit the 18-week waiting time target – something that has not been done for a decade.
Read full story.
Source: BBC News, 9 October 2025
Mark Hughes

Patient Safety Commissioner pushes government on valproate redress almost two years after report

In a statement made to The Pharmaceutical Journal, Henrietta Hughes has urged the government to provide a full response to recommendations made in her February 2024 report.
The Hughes Report, published in February 2024, called on the government to set up a two-stage redress scheme, including a possible £100,000 for each patient harmed as a result of valproate use, followed by a main scheme payout, based on the individual needs of each patient.
Hughes’ exclusive statement to The Pharmaceutical Journal follows a letter written by campaigners from the Independent Fetal Anti-Convulsant Trust and Fetal Anti-Convulsant Syndrome Association to the government calling for compensation and clarity.
The letter, addressed to Keir Starmer, UK prime minister, and Rachel Reeves, chancellor of the exchequer was written by Janet Williams and Emma Murphy, both of whom are mothers of children with foetal valproate syndrome.
Read full story.
Source: The Pharmaceutical Journal, 9 October 2025
Related reading
The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh (Patient Safety Commissioner for England, 7 February 2024) Reflections on The Hughes Report: Pelvic mesh, sodium valproate, hormone pregnancy tests and options for redress (a blog from Patient Safety Learning) A year on from The Hughes Report: Urgent action needed on redress (Patient Safety Learning, 7 February 2025)
Mark Hughes

GPs face unsafe workload and fear neighbourhoods will make it worse, RCGP warns

A total of 73% of GPs say patient safety is compromised by the workload pressure they face, the survey of more than 2,300 GPs found.
Around three in five GPs (58%) reported a lack of time to adequately assess and treat patients during consultations and 57% said they did not have enough time to build relationships with patients that are key to high-quality care, according to findings published ahead of the 2025 RCGP annual conference, in Newport, Wales.
The polling also exposes deep concern over the impact of NHS neighbourhoods, with 68% of respondents voicing fears that there are not enough GPs to deliver the model proposed in the government's 10-year health plan and that it will deepen the workload crisis in general practice.
In her final speech as college chair, Professor Kamila Hawthorne told the conference that she has met GPs across the country who are 'pushing themselves, day after day, to look after their patients in the face of ever-growing demand and an unsustainable lack of capacity'.
She said: 'In our recent survey, 73% of members told us that patient safety is being compromised by workload pressures. Fewer than 30% said they had enough time during consultations to provide high quality patient care. And more than half reported that their own mental health had declined in the last year. It’s hard to find a GP who doesn’t feel they have to cut corners.'
Read full story
Source: GP Online, 9 October 2025
Sam

Dangerous 'gray-market' weight-loss drugs flooding US as experts warn of risks

As demand for GLP-1 medications continues to skyrocket for weight loss and diabetes, more Americans are skipping pharmacies and turning to unregulated sellers as a way to avoid high prices, insurance barriers and recurring shortages.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned that so-called "gray-market" GLP-1s (such as semaglutide or tirzepatide) are not evaluated for safety, quality or efficacy.
As they fall outside the legal drug supply chain, these unapproved drugs may be counterfeit, contaminated or improperly compounded, the agency states. 
Some are marketed online as "compounded semaglutide" or "research-use only," shipped directly to consumers with little oversight.
Recent research published in JAMA Health Forum also warned that some compounded products use unverified chemical forms of semaglutide that differ from FDA-approved versions. 
Fox News Digital spoke with Frank Dumont, M.D., medical director at Virta Health in Colorado, who said the rise of gray-market GLP-1s reflects growing desperation to access these medications outside regulated medical channels.
"Gray-market medications are versions of prescription medications that are obtained outside of the usual prescription process," Dumont said. 
"The usual safety precautions have been bypassed, in one way or another, and this increases the medical risk of using such a product."
Read full story
Source: Fox News, 7 October 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Death toll from toxic cough syrup in India rises to 20 children as WHO demands answers

The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked India for urgent reassurances after at least 20 children died from contaminated cough syrup.
The deaths have all taken place in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, and were confirmed by the deputy chief minister Rajendra Shukla on Tuesday after he visited a hospital treating the children. “Two of them died in the past 24 hours,” he said.
This is only the latest incident of child deaths from Indian cough syrup. Toxins found in Indian-made syrups have killed at least 141 children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022, and another 12 children in an incident in India in 2019, damaging the country’s image as one of the world’s biggest producers of pharmaceuticals.
The latest victims had reportedly been suffering from fever and cold before taking a cough syrup called Coldrif, after which they experienced vomiting and difficulty urinating. The first death was reported on 2 September.
The syrup was produced by Sresan Pharmaceuticals, based in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, in southern India.
Authorities have since banned the formulation in eight Indian states and territories – Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Puducherry.
The WHO told Reuters it was seeking clarification from the Indian government on whether the cough syrup involved in the deaths has been exported to other countries.
The UN’s health agency, which advises against the use of all cold syrups for young children, suggested it could issue a global warning over Coldrif depending on the Indian government’s response.
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 8 October 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Children harmed by decision to redeploy health visitors, Covid inquiry hears

A decision by the NHS to redeploy health visitors during the pandemic was "fundamentally flawed" and "children were harmed" as a result, the head of a health visiting charity has told the Covid inquiry.
Many health visitors were sent to work in other parts of the NHS at the beginning of the pandemic.
Alison Morton, CEO of the Institute of Health Visiting, told the inquiry it was "inappropriate" as they "were needed most on their own front line".
NHS England's Chief Nursing Officer Duncan Burton told the inquiry its response to safeguarding did not stop throughout the pandemic despite staff being diverted to critical services.
Health visitors in almost two thirds of trusts in England were redeployed in March 2020, according to research by University College London.
The intention was that they would go to work in hospitals to support acutely ill patients but some were sent to do administration, to deliver parcels and to answer telephones, the inquiry heard.
Some health visitors who remained in post were left with case loads of 750 children or more, way above the recommended 250, evidence provided by Prof Catherine Davies, of Leeds University, to the inquiry showed.
"We let families down", Ms Morton told the inquiry, saying protection was not afforded to babies and that "some children paid the highest price".
The inquiry was shown research by the child safeguarding review practice panel which identified Covid adaptions, such as virtual visits as opposed to home visits by health visitors, as factors in the deaths and serious incidents of some children.
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 8 October 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Trump pressure to hike UK drug prices could cost NHS billions, experts warn

Pressure from Donald Trump to hike UK drug prices could wipe billions from the NHS budget, causing suffering to the “vast majority of NHS patients”, experts have warned.
Health think tank, the Nuffield Trust, urged the government not to give in to the demands of pharmaceutical companies to raise prices, warning that the threshold for spending on new drugs is already too high.
It says a new deal will only trigger further increased price demands and make healthcare in the UK more expensive.
The warning comes as Sir Keir Starmer looks set to bow to President Trump’s demands to pay pharmaceutical companies more money, including increasing the threshold the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) sets for spending on new drugs by 25%.
The move is believed to be an attempt by the government to avoid a wave of new US tariffs over what President Trump believes to be anti-competitive practices by the UK.
Read full story
Source: The Independent, 8 October 2025
Patient Safety Learning
Registered address: Patient Safety Learning, China Works SB203, 100 Black Prince Road Vauxhall, London, SE1 7SJ

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications
Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.