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

Common allergy medication’s risks outweigh its usefulness, experts say (CNN)

Dr. Anna Wolfson says she sees dangerous misuse of the allergy medication diphenhydramine in her clinic every day.
“If someone has an allergic reaction to a food, people will say, ‘Don’t worry, I have diphenhydramine in my purse,’ and I would say, ‘Really, epinephrine is the first-line treatment for food allergies,’” said Wolfson, an allergist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Diphenhydramine can be harmful if people take it after having an allergic reaction to food, she said, because the drug – best known by the brand name Benadryl – makes them drowsy and can cause them to miss signs that their symptoms are getting worse.
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Source: CNN, 1 August 2025
Patient_Safety_Learning

'I'm in control of my sexual health' - UK gonorrhoea vaccine rollout begins

Gonorrhoea vaccines will be widely available from today in sexual health clinics across the UK, in a bid to tackle record-breaking levels of infections.
The jabs will first be offered to those at highest risk - mostly gay and bisexual men who have a history of multiple sexual partners or sexually transmitted infections.
NHS England say the roll out is a world-first, and predict it could prevent as many as 100,000 cases, potentially saving the NHS almost £8m over the next decade.
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Source: BBC News online, 4 August 2025
Patient_Safety_Learning

Three million on NHS England waiting lists have had no care since GP referral

Almost half of the 6 million people needing treatment from the NHS in England have had no further care at all since joining a hospital waiting list, new data reveals.
Previously unseen NHS England figures show that 2.99 million of the 6.23 million patients (48%) awaiting care have not had either their first appointment with a specialist or a diagnostic test since being referred by a GP.
The Patients Association described the situation as “an invisible waiting list crisis” that was “staggering” in scale, with millions living in limbo, anxious as their health deteriorates.
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Source: The Guardian, 1 August 2025
Patient_Safety_Learning

Obstetricians and gynaecologists: Suicidal thoughts and burnout rose after pandemic, survey suggests

Obstetricians and gynaecologists have become more likely to report suicidal thoughts since the Covid pandemic, a UK survey has found.
Researchers at Imperial College London surveyed 1400 practising doctors who had been registered with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) from June to August 2022 and compared the findings with the previous questionnaire results from 2018.
They found that 72% (805) of respondents met the criteria for burnout, up from 36% (1116) in 2018. Trainees experienced the highest levels of burnout at 80% (344), while consultants reported the lowest levels at 67% (393).
The proportion of doctors reporting anxiety and depression had also risen: anxiety increased from 33% of doctors (1008) to 62% (643), and depression rose from 14% (416) to 31% (317). Doctors having suicidal thoughts rose from 3% (90) to 9% (98).
However, researchers highlighted that the post-pandemic study had a smaller response rate of 19% (1400 of 7388 members)—much lower than the 55% rate (3102 of 5661) in 2018. 
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: BMJ, 30 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Neighbourhood health ‘can’t be line managed’

A government neighbourhood health lead has warned the service “can’t line manage organisations outside the NHS into change”, which will instead rely on “frontline involvement” organised in relatively small patches.
Sir John Oldham, a former GP who is chairing the government’s neighbourhood health implementation programme, launched a call three weeks ago for applications to join its first wave.
The “large-scale change programme” will be joined up with parallel national 10-Year Health Plan  delivery work, including developing two neighbourhood health provider contracts, and changing funding flows.
But Sir John told HSJ that successful implementation “requires the meaningful frontline involvement of partners at a neighbourhood level… You can’t line manage organisations outside the NHS into change, you have to engage and facilitate. Yet it is their contribution that will be needed [to achieve] the hard deliverables”. 
The senior adviser to health and social care secretary Wes Streeting also said the programme would not accept applications from multiple places working as one, because they would be too wide to properly engage local teams. “The connectivity between place and neighbourhood will be very important, which is why a single application from multiple places won’t be accepted,” he said. “The definition of a place is up to local people.
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Source: HSJ, 1 August 2025
Patient Safety Learning

ICBs can scrap chief nurse and medic, says NHSE

Integrated care boards can now scrap the roles of chief nurse and chief medical officer – despite previous guidance saying they are required – NHS England has indicated.
NHSE told HSJ it was “for each ICB to determine which specific roles they require at board level to deliver their core functions”, after saying systems should reduce executive headcounts as part of its “model ICB blueprint”.
It comes as North East London ICB announced to staff it was scrapping its chief nurse and chief medical officer roles from its executive management team. It is restructuring in order to cut its costs in half and focus on “strategic commissioning” (see below), as instructed by government and NHSE.
The Royal College of Nursing has criticised NEL ICB’s removal of the chief nurse role – and said other systems may follow suit.
Patricia Marquis, executive director of RCN England, said: “The decision to remove the chief nurse post by the North East London ICB shows poor insight into the importance of nursing in ensuring safe patient care. Worryingly, we are now hearing that other ICBs across England are planning to follow suit. The RCN is monitoring the situation and will be supporting members to challenge decisions locally.
“As the biggest and most trusted profession in the NHS workforce, it is vital that nursing continues to have leaders in place to influence decision-making. Failure to do so risks devaluing the nursing profession and undermining the delivery of the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, which is so heavily dependent on the expertise and leadership of senior nursing staff.”
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Source: HSJ, 1 August 2025
Patient Safety Learning

First NHS AI-run physio clinic in England halves back-pain waiting list

The first NHS AI-run physiotherapy clinic has halved the waiting list for back pain and musculoskeletal services, according to the NHS trust where the pilot has taken place.
More than 2,500 patients living in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were able to access Flok Health, a physiotherapy platform run by AI, over a 12-week period starting in February.
The platform, which was created using video footage of a human physiotherapist, provides same-day automated video appointments with a digital physiotherapist via an app that responds to information given by a patient in real time.
When the clinic was first launched in Cambridgeshire, waiting times for elective community musculoskeletal (MSK) services in the region were about 18 weeks.
The waiting times for all MSK conditions decreased by 44% over the course of the 12-week period due to the use of Flok combined with other initiatives such as community assessment days, according to Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS trust (CCS), which deployed the services in those areas of England.
Anna-Marie Cooper, from Cambridge, had a positive experience using Flok despite being initially sceptical when she was referred to the AI physio for her back pain.
“I have used private physiotherapy services in the past, but I found my experience with the AI physio as good as, if not better than any care I’ve received before,” she said. “Flok’s service was so intuitive, and having the flexibility to schedule and rearrange appointments whenever I wanted really suited me.”
But the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said that although AI holds great potential for the future of healthcare treatments, it was concerned about widening health inequalities for other patients who couldn’t or didn’t want to access physiotherapy care via an app.
John Cowman, the chief executive of the CSP, said: “When tackling the problem of waiting times, it is important to address the root causes, one of which is the recruitment freezes currently stopping graduate physiotherapists from finding work in the NHS. We have a workforce ready to provide proven, safe care which will help cut waiting times and ensure people get the appointments they need.
“AI will certainly play an increasing role in healthcare in the coming years as a tool to support services, but should be run in conjunction with increasing the physiotherapy workforce.”
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Source: The Guardian, 31 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Review uncovers misogyny and paternalistic culture at major trust

An independent review of a major trust has uncovered claims of misogyny and a failure to deal with “unwanted romantic advances”, HSJ can reveal. 
The damning report into University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust found that multiple women reported eye-rolling and dismissiveness in meetings. Female surgeons in particular felt “constantly excluded” by their male colleagues.
The review team also learnt that no action was taken after a female staff member reported unwanted romantic advances and inappropriate comments from senior male colleagues.
The report was written by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting, which specialises in independent investigations. It was commissioned after a poor Care Quality Commission report and “undertakings” from NHS England. It was based around interviews and focus groups with staff, governors and leaders, a survey of board members and a wider survey of more than 1,000 staff members.
The review team found senior leaders said there was a “paternalistic culture” in the organisation, with all decisions passed through the executive.
It called on the trust to build “psychological safety” in the organisation, which was also described as having a “medically dominated culture”, where doctors were “pandered” to.
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Source: HSJ, 31 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

'It makes me sad and angry': Bereaved mother urges parents to get their children vaccinated

The mother of a 10-year-old girl who died from complications of measles has urged parents to have their children vaccinated amid a surge of cases.
Renae Archer was too young to have the MMR vaccine when she caught the infection at just five months old.
A decade later, she was diagnosed with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a very rare brain disease. She died in 2023.
Her mother Becky believes Renae might not have caught measles if more people had inoculated their children.
The warning comes as rates of vaccine uptake continue to fall. The recent death of a child with measles at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool put the focus on a surge of cases in a city with low levels of vaccination.
It has left communities with rates of vaccination below the 95% level seen to provide herd immunity, where enough people are protected to prevent the virus spreading.
Becky Archer said: "It does make me quite sad and angry because they are potentially putting their children at risk.
"We just want people to open their eyes to someone that's actually been through it and not the nonsense that's being spread out on social media or on telly.
"I just want people to be knowledgeable of how serious a situation can be."
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Source: Sky News, 31 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Yusuf Nazir: New report examines death of boy who was sent home from hospital due to a 'lack of beds'

The mother of a five-year-old boy who died after being sent home from hospital because of a "lack of beds" has told Sky News that the second report into his death "has not brought closure for the family". 
Yusuf Nazir died in November 2022. His mother Soniya had rushed her son to Rotherham Hospital's A&E, only to be told "there were no beds available".
Yusuf was eventually seen by a doctor but then sent home. Soniya says the doctor told her that "Yusuf had the worst case of tonsillitis he had ever seen".
But the child's health continued to deteriorate, and his desperately worried mother called an ambulance to rush him to the nearby specialist children's hospital in Sheffield.
It was here, the report says, that a number of critical interventions were missed. Yusuf's family say that, if doctors had acted sooner, he would still be alive.
Speaking in her first interview since Yusuf's death, Soniya described the panic she felt as a mother watching her son "dying in front of her eyes".
"I carried Yusuf to the nurse, floppy with his eyes rolled back, struggling to breathe, myself to the nurse," Soniya said.
"She said: 'We're too busy, we can't get a doctor, you'll have to wait.'"
This second independent report was backed by Wes Streeting when he was shadow health secretary.
A previous internal NHS report found no wrongdoing on the part of Rotherham Hospital. The family have described that report as a "whitewash".
Their claim will be supported by this second report, which says: "It's clear that across all settings - primary care, pre-hospital, emergency and inpatient - the healthcare system failed to truly hear the family's voice."
It also says staff should have listened to the "mother's instinct".
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Source: Sky News, 31 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Major healthcare equipment firm on brink of failure

A major supplier of healthcare equipment to people who are being discharged from hospital or need support in their own homes, is on the brink of going bust.
NRS Healthcare, which works with the NHS and about 40 councils in England and Northern Ireland, is expected to run out of cash by the end of the week, the BBC understands.
The government said it was working with local authorities to minimise "any potential disruption" and find alternative suppliers.
In a letter, sent to the government early in July and seen by the BBC, councils warned of "a devastating impact" and "risk to life" and asked for a short-term loan for NRS while new arrangements were put in place.
It is believed no loan was offered, but most councils have now managed to get plans in place to keep services running.
Council leaders and social services bosses have since confirmed they are "exploring all options to maintain services, including alternative providers and local solutions".
"We are committed to ensuring that services remain as reliable as possible, especially to those people with the highest levels of need during this period of uncertainty," said the Local Government Association, which represents councils in England, in a joint statement with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
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Source: BBC News, 30 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

'I'm utterly lost': Patients' anger over doctors strike cancellations

The resident doctors strike in England begun after a dispute over pay between the government and the British Medical Association (BMA).
Thousands of doctors walked out over five days, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting insisting that disruption would be kept to a minimum.
But several NHS patients have told the BBC they fear their conditions could become worse after delays to scheduled procedures, while some have also expressed sympathy over the concerns the doctors are raising.
Peter Plant, 58, of Tamworth, who has kidney cancer, said his surgery to remove the organ on Friday was cancelled on Thursday morning. The operation has been rescheduled for 20 August, but he fears the delay could be a "death sentence".
"Resident doctors do not care that delaying operations like mine are very likely a death sentence," he said.
"I'm absolutely angry and frustrated. It is not just about me, it's about our whole family.
"You try and gear yourself up for it and then it's utter deflation."
Mr Plant said he and his family had been living in "limbo" and that he felt "utterly lost".
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Source: BBC News, 25 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Parents 'horrified' by maternity services report

There are "significant'' concerns about the safety and quality of maternity services at an NHS trust, a report has revealed.
Issues with staffing, a "challenging'' culture and a lack of learning from previous incidents were identified at Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTH) NHS Trust.
NHS England published its findings following a visit to the trust in March this year. It made 101 recommendations to improve the quality of care and ensure the "wellbeing'' of mothers and babies.
NHS England placed the trust under its national Maternity Safety Support Programme (MSSP). Its teams work to improve services where serious concerns have been identified.
Areas of concerns the MSSP report highlighted included:
Staff describe safety concerns being de-escalated without resolution, and learning from incidents was not robust which meant there was a continuation on previously identified themes. Lack of cardiotocography (CTG) machines to enable women to be effectively and safely monitored. Issues with escalation process especially out of hours with no clinical or midwifery management on call. Challenge in responding to families who have experienced harm and poor outcomes. Poor communication and staffing issues with maternity leadership needing improvement. A group of Leeds bereaved families said the MSSP report, which also highlights good practices, is "truly shocking and horrifying reading".
"As bereaved and harmed families this most recent report, yet again, totally vindicates what we have been saying for years. The culture of denial, the failure to listen and the absence of real accountability are systemic and persistent," a spokesperson said.
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Source: BBC News, 29 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

I've stopped life-saving medication says man exhausted by fight for NHS care

Tim Hull can point to many achievements during his 56 years. But it is a life Tim has decided to end. His quality of life, he says, is "very, very low". Tim has a medical condition that weakens his muscles, and his health has declined rapidly over the past two years.
It is the battles to get the health and care support he needs which have driven him to make the desperate decision, says Tim. He feels abandoned by health professionals, has been moved from one waiting list to another, has not been provided with the right equipment to help him and has been bed-bound for nearly seven months.
In February, he stopped taking the medication that prevents his kidneys from failing. They are now beginning to give up and he knows he has months, if not weeks, to live.
"I don't feel that things are going to get any better than this," he tells BBC News. "I just feel [ending my life] would be a better option than lying in bed 24 hours a day."
Tim's neurological condition is rare, however, many of the difficulties he has faced feel familiar to many.
Over the past two years, BBC News has been contacted by the families of more than 250 people with serious disabilities or illnesses about their struggles to access health and care services.
Many described the impact of very long waits for assessments, appointments, and for vital equipment that can help them cope at home.
They also highlighted the frustrations of trying to get someone to signpost the right services, being passed from department to department, and the feeling that they were only listened to when they reached a crisis.
Read full story
Source: BBC News, 30 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

GPs urged to join forces to avoid ‘imposition’ of neighbourhood providers

GPs should rapidly start “collaborative discussions” with peers about developing joint “models” to fit in with the government’s proposed development of “neighbourhood health”, the British Medical Association’s GP committee has said.
The GPC has previously issued strong criticism of the government’s 10-Year Health Plan, because it does not commit to a new core GP contract, and opens the door to trusts running more GP practices.
However, a document issued by the committee on Friday says GPs should “quickly” begin talks with other practices, federations and primary care networks, with a view to “develop[ing] collaborative models”. They should “think about how they may operate” in neighbourhood systems.
The 10YHP proposes the introduction of two new “neighbourhood” contracts from next year to coordinate and provide local services, which it says will also encourage GPs to work across larger areas.
Some believe there are few parts of the country where large-scale GP providers are mature enough to take on these roles, meaning NHS trusts and foundation trusts are likely to step in.
The BMA’s GPC England appears to be encouraging GP practices to accelerate “collaboration” – such as creating or developing larger providers and federations – with a view to taking on neighbourhood contracts. 
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 30 July 2025
Patient Safety Learning

Coroners reveal concerns over trust safety investigations

Trusts are beginning to run parallel safety investigations because a compulsory new national process does not meet the demands of coroners, HSJ has learned.
One provider said it had already established a separate process for deaths likely to result in an inquest, while others confirmed they were reviewing how they carry out investigations.
National officials admitted separate investigations might be required.
It follows the rollout in recent years of NHS England’s new “patient safety incident response framework” (PSIRF) for all NHS trusts, as well as other providers on the NHS standard contract.
It is meant to be a more “proportionate” process than the previous “serious incident framework”, with a focus on learning and engaging with those affected, rather than attributing blame. One consequence is that fewer incidents – including some deaths – are likely to receive a full investigation.
HSJ has uncovered seven cases – covering nine people – where coroners have issued Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) reports which raised concerns that the PSIRF is producing inadequate reports or there had been no safety investigation at all.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust has reverted to using root cause analysis as a parallel process for all cases that may be subject to a coroner inquest. This was required “to ensure the coroner received the necessary information, while maintaining the integrity of the PSIRF investigation”, the trust’s board heard last month. Chief medical officer Andrew Deaner said: “Nationally coroners were finding some issues with the PSIRF process.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Under the [PSIRF], all deaths thought likely to be down to problems in care must be subject to a patient safety incident investigation.” However, they added: “It is vital that NHS trusts continue to engage with coroners and work with them to ensure that coroners get the information they need.”
NHS England has also said it is aware some coroners had raised concerns, although it consulted the chief coroners’ office in developing the PSIRF. It acknowledged the methodology may differ from a coroner’s remit, and said NHS organisations could use other methods in addition.
The judiciary office and the Coroners’ Society did not want to comment.
Read full story (paywalled)
Source: HSJ, 29 July 2025
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