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Content ArticleCommunication during a medical encounter can be challenging, even when both the patient and their healthcare provider speak the same native language. So, imagine the added difficulty of discussing symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment when there’s a language barrier. Research shows that such communication issues can lead to longer hospital stays, greater risk of falls, delayed diagnosis and treatment, medication errors, and even death. An analysis of safety events reported in Pennsylvania—where more than 1.4 million residents speak a non-English language at home and more than 500,000 have limited English proficiency—reveals that language barriers continue to pose a risk to patient safety, despite policies requiring certified interpreters and translated materials be available to patients who need them. Patient Safety Authority researchers identified 336 events reported to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) in 2024 relating to language barriers. The two languages most commonly involved in these reports were Spanish and Nepali, with issues including the lack of a certified interpreter, the lack of translated materials, and materials with inaccurate or incomplete translations. This study closely examines the interpretation and translation challenges faced by Pennsylvania patients and providers, and how they affect patient safety. It also provides strategies and recommendations for facilities to supplement available language services, such as hiring staff bilingual in English and the common languages of the service area and explaining common procedures with visual aids and pre-translated materials.
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News Article
Black people in England twice as likely to suffer stroke as white counterparts
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People from black backgrounds in England are twice as likely to experience strokes as their white counterparts, while also being less likely to receive timely care, according to the largest study of its kind. The study, conducted by researchers at King’s College London and presented at the European Stroke Organisation conference, analysed 30 years of stroke incidents from the South London Stroke Register, one of the longest-running population-based stroke registers in the world. Within a population of 333,000 people, according to the analysis, 7,726 strokes occurred. And while stroke incidence fell by 34% between 1995-99 and 2010-14, the rate rose again by 13% between 2020 and 2024. The analysis also found that during this period where stroke incidents were on the rise, people from black African and Caribbean backgrounds were more than twice as likely to experience a stroke compared with their white counterparts. More specifically, stroke incidence was 131% higher in black African and 100% higher in black Caribbean populations in comparison with their white counterparts. People from black backgrounds are up to 47% more likely to have high blood pressure, and are also up to twice as likely to have diabetes than their white counterparts, even after adjusting for other risk factors including socioeconomic background. Dr Camila Pantoja-Ruiz, of King’s College London, the lead author of the study, said: “This trend may partly reflect the lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which reduced access to primary care, blood pressure monitoring and prescribing, particularly affecting black and deprived communities.” She added: “These patterns of increased stroke risk in these communities may also be influenced by broader factors, including racism, unconscious bias and socioeconomic circumstances, which can impact access to and quality of care." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 May 2026 -
News ArticleStress from racism and deprivation could explain why black women are more likely to die during childbirth, a study has found. Researchers reviewed 44 existing studies that examined three physiological pathways associated with worse pregnancy outcomes: oxidative stress, inflammation, and uteroplacental vascular resistance, and found black women had higher levels of the three metrics. Such physiological differences are not the result of genetic differences, according to the researchers, but rather suggest that socioenvironmental stressors such as systemic racism and deprivation, which are known to have a measurable biological effect, may influence the body’s ability to function healthily during pregnancy. Grace Amedor, of the University of Cambridge, the first author of the peer-reviewed study published in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, said: “Pregnancy and childbirth put great stress on a woman’s body. Black women may experience additional strain due to factors including systemic racism, socioeconomic disadvantage and environmental stressors. “During pregnancy, this strain may affect key biological processes in ways that increase the risk of conditions such as pre-eclampsia. I was surprised that although this disparity had been known for a long time, there was little research into the potential underlying physiological reasons. “It’s important that we don’t stop trying to tackle the root causes that lead to worse pregnancy outcomes in black women, which are the socioeconomic disparities and the systemic racism they can experience throughout their lives.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 April 2026
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News ArticleThousands of stroke victims are being denied access to a crucial, life-altering treatment, a charity has warned. The Stroke Association has highlighted "stark inequalities" in whether patients receive a thrombectomy – a procedure that removes a blood clot from a blocked blood vessel in the brain. Getting this treatment in the hours after stroke symptoms start can save a person’s life or reduce the risk of life-long disability, as it reduces brain damage caused by a clot. Analysis by the Stroke Association reveals that 1,222 patients missed out on a thrombectomy between October and December last year, despite the procedure needing to be carried out within the first 24 hours. The charity attributes these disparities to the fact that some parts of the country lack access to round-the-clock thrombectomy services. NHS plans, introduced in 2019, had set ambitious targets to expand thrombectomy provision from just 1% to 10% of stroke patients, predicting this would enable 1,600 more individuals to live independently each year. But the Stroke Association said that this critical target remains unmet Read full story Source: The Independent, 29 April 2026
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Content ArticleThis week is Black Maternal Health Awareness Week. Black women in the UK are still four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than white women. In this article, Sandra Igwe, Founder of the Motherhood Group, says Black Maternal Health Awareness Week is not a PR moment. It is a reckoning. For generations, Black women have been told, implicitly and explicitly, that they are built differently. That they can handle more. That their pain is manageable. That asking for help is weakness. That speaking up is aggression. This is not a cultural truth. It is a stereotype, and it is one that has been absorbed into healthcare systems in ways that cost lives. Further reading on the hub: House of Lords roundtable on Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation: reflections from The Motherhood Group Addressing critical gaps in Black maternal mental healthcare: a new partnership project is launched (interview with Sandra Igwe)
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News Article
NHS improves genetic testing for minority ethnic cancer patients
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Thousands of cancer patients from minority ethnic backgrounds will have access to “groundbreaking” genetic testing on the NHS that previously discriminated against them. This routine form of genetic testing, used before chemotherapy treatment, could save the lives of Black and minority ethnic cancer patients who already face poorer health outcomes after diagnosis compared with their white counterparts. Before undergoing chemotherapy, cancer patients across England undergo genetic testing that can lead to changes in treatments to reduce the adverse side-effects chemotherapy can have, including mouth sores, hair loss, nausea and fatigue, and which can also be fatal. Up to 40% of the 38,000 patients treated with fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy in England will develop an adverse drug reaction to the treatment. Until last year, these genetic tests only looked for four types of DPYD gene variants, which are mainly found within the DNA of people from white European backgrounds. Consequently, this genetic testing was less effective on Black cancer patients, leading them to be more likely to experience severe side-effects including death after chemotherapy. These genetic tests are now being offered by the NHS across England to include testing for a fifth DPYD genomic variant, which is more prevalent among people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Dr Veline L’Esperance, the senior clinical adviser at the NHS Race and Health Observatory, said that the introduction of these new genetic tests represents “tangible results for patients who have historically been left behind”. “Patients of African ancestry deserve the same standard of safety as everyone else, and now clinicians have the means to deliver it,” L’Esperance said. “What makes this significant is that it moves the conversation about ethnic health inequality in cancer care from words to action. This is the first concrete, clinical response to the evidence that Black and ethnic minority patients were being failed by tests designed around white European genetics.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 April 2026 -
News ArticleAn inquiry into the preventable deaths of babies in Sussex will fail to learn the lessons as it “systematically” excluded dozens of families, Wes Streeting has been warned before a meeting with bereaved parents. The health secretary has ordered a review of nine infant deaths at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust amid maternity scandals across England. However, families are calling on Streeting to expand the investigation to all those who died and might have survived with better care. To date, the families of more than 60 babies who died between 2019 and 2023 have expressed concerns about their care, although the true figure is expected to be higher. Dr Marija Pantelic, a public health expert whose baby Sasha died in the care of UH Sussex in January 2022, said the narrow scope and opt-in nature of the review was dangerous and potentially harmful as it would be based on the experiences of an “overwhelmingly white and British” group of parents. Parents want an expanded investigation to be led by Donna Ockenden, the senior midwife who is leading maternity inquiries into preventable deaths at NHS trusts in Nottingham and Leeds. They also want the Sussex investigation to actively seek out families who are affected so it is not based only on the nine cases whose parents have raised the alarm. Pantelic, an associate professor in public health who specialises in health inequalities, said it should alarm Streeting that the review would be based on the experiences of the “overwhelmingly white and British” families who had come forward. “If you only hear from certain groups, you will only see certain problems,” she said. “For instance, you can be sure not to identify racism if you only hear from white families. If you fail to identify the real drivers of harm, the solutions you propose will be partial at best, and harmful at worst.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 April 2026
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News ArticleNearly one in five NHS organisations are "rationing" crucial joint replacement surgeries based on patients' weight, a new report has claimed. Arthritis UK has warned that this practice is creating a "postcode lottery" of care across the country, leaving individuals in urgent need of operations at risk of enduring prolonged pain. The charity also expressed concerns that these policies are being implemented "in a bid to cut waiting lists and costs". An analysis conducted by Arthritis UK found that 31 out of 42 NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) currently have policies linking body mass index (BMI) to hip and knee replacements. Specifically, eight ICBs, representing 19% of the total, are "rationing" procedures by setting defined BMI thresholds as a criterion for surgical referral. A further 23 have policies that encourage or mandate weight loss to become eligible for these operations, the report said. According to Arthritis UK, ICBs justify the use of BMI policies by highlighting risks. However, it said research only shows a significant risk for people with a very high BMI, and these policies have “been inappropriately used” to cut off patients with lower BMIs, such as 35. This move has affected thousands of people “who would have received the significant improvements in their joint pain and function,” the charity said. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) advises against using BMI to exclude patients from referral to surgery. Read full story Source: The Independent, 26 March 2026
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Content ArticleHospitalised patients in the US tended to have a lower chance of dying or being readmitted within 30 days when they were treated by female physicians rather than male clinicians, a recent study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found. The difference in outcomes for patients examined by female vs male physicians translated into 1 fewer death per 417 hospitalizations, and 1 fewer readmission per 208 hospitalizations, according to the researchers. The data were based on about 776 900 Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or older who were treated by more than 42 100 clinicians.
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News Article
‘It’s weird how white you are’, Alliance boss tells ambulance leaders
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Ambulance chiefs have been urged to take greater efforts to ensure their workforce is more diverse by NHS Alliance chair Lord Victor Adebowale. Lord Adebowale told the Ambulance Leadership Forum that it was “weird” to be in an environment which was so predominantly white. The NHS Alliance is the body formed by the union between NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation. Its chair told the annual forum of ambulance chiefs: “I can’t believe how white you are”, noting most of the other meetings he went to had at least 5 per cent non-white participants. He praised the work ambulance trusts had been doing to improve the treatment of LGBT+ and neurodiverse staff but added the sector had a “problem” with racial diversity. Lord Adebowale said: “It is not sustainable, it’s not credible. So whatever you are doing it is not working fast enough.” Rates of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff in ambulance trusts are lower than in other parts of the NHS. In part, this reflects a paramedic population that is predominately white, with overseas recruitment tending to focus on countries like Australia which have similar training. There is only one BAME CEO in the sector – North West Ambulance Service’s Salman Desai – and a sprinkling of executive directors. None of the 10 English ambulance trusts are led by a woman. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 23 March 2026 -
News Article“Medical misogyny” in the UK is letting women down, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, has admitted, as a survey showed half of female patients felt they had been dismissed or ignored because of their sex. A report from Mumsnet, which examined data taken from the site over the past decade, warned of “structural and deeply embedded” sexism in UK healthcare. A survey of women using the site found that more than half believed the NHS was institutionally misogynistic. The survey also found that: 50% of women believe they have been dismissed, ignored or not believed by an NHS professional because of their sex. 64% say they have been explicitly told their pain or symptoms were “normal” or “in their head”. 68% think the NHS does not take women’s health concerns seriously. Ahead of the publication of a women’s health strategy, which was announced in 2022 and is expected imminently, Streeting said the report showed that the NHS had let women down too often and for “far too long”. The health secretary said he was “driving change” through more funding, menopause support, moving health services into the community and the introduction of Martha’s rule, which gives patients a right to an urgent second opinion. He added: “Medical misogyny has no place within our NHS. It was founded on the principles of equality, yet time and time again, women are ignored and not believed. I want women across the country to know we’re going to tackle this.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 8 March 2026 Related reading on the hub: Top picks: Women's health inequity
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Content ArticleIndependent investigations into failings in NHS maternity services have repeatedly exposed serious shortcomings in safety, quality, and organisational culture. These reviews were intended to generate learning and drive improvements, but with so many issues linked to racial and socioeconomic inequities, failure to build this into inquiries risks perpetuating avoidable harm. The NHS Race & Health Observatory conducted a document analysis of the three major independent investigations published over the past 15 years: Morecambe Bay, Shrewsbury & Telford, and East Kent. These high-profile, government commissioned reports were examined through an intersectional, antiracist lens to assess whether ethnicity, racism, and deprivation were meaningfully considered as drivers of maternal outcomes. Findings Patients’ ethnicity Across all three investigations, ethnicity was inconsistently addressed and often minimised. The Shrewsbury & Telford report acknowledged national disparities but failed to analyse local data, with nearly 9,300 missing ethnicity records. The East Kent and Morecambe Bay reports briefly noted poor treatment of ethnic minority women and to those born overseas but did not investigate systemic discrimination. In Morecambe Bay, concerns raised by families of ethnic minority patients were dismissed without comparative analysis. The limited attention to ethnicity undermines the relevance of recommendations for ethnic minority women. Workplace racism and staff experiences Workplace culture was a recurring theme, yet only the East Kent report explicitly identified racism among staff as a contributing factor to poor care. Allegations of racial abuse were often dismissed without resolution. In contrast, the Shrewsbury & Telford and Morecambe Bay reports described negative cultures but did not consider ethnicity as a source of conflict or harm. This reflects a broader failure to recognise racism within NHS workplaces and its impact on patient safety. Deprivation and maternal outcomes The Morecambe Bay and Shrewsbury & Telford reports acknowledged deprivation using national data but did not analyse its local impact. The East Kent report overlooked deprivation entirely. None of the investigations examined how deprivation intersects with ethnicity to worsen outcomes, despite evidence that economically disadvantaged ethnic minority women face compounded risks. Leadership failures Leadership failures—including poor oversight, defensive cultures, and high turnover—were common across all three reports. However, none explored whether racial discrimination contributed to leadership breakdowns or staff tensions. This omission reflects a reluctance to confront structural racism within NHS governance.
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News Article
Revealed: The trusts with ‘unacceptable’ outcomes for Black and low-income women
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The trusts where Black women and those from the most deprived communities are facing “unacceptable” disparities in outcomes against a range of maternal care metrics have been identified in a new NHS England dashboard. HSJ’s analysis of the new dataset, the publication of which was mandated by health and social care secretary Wes Streeting in June, comes as Baroness Valerie Amos is due to publish the next stage of her report of maternity services later this month. The data suggests that those identifying as Black and living in the “most deprived” communities experienced higher rates of pre-term birth nationally last year – with rates almost three times as high as white and less deprived women at some providers. Pre-term birth rates for Black and “most deprived” women were nearly three times as high as white and “least deprived” women at Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals Foundation Trust, which had one of the highest overall rates nationally. And although Homerton Healthcare and Kingston and Richmond FTs had low overall pre-term birth rates, Black women receiving care there had rates twice as high as white women. Black women also experienced higher rates of postpartum haemorrhage nationally, according to the data. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 17 February 2026 -
Content ArticleAutism has long been regarded as a condition that predominantly affects the male sex. More recent research, as well as common self-reported experiences of autistic women, suggest that the true ratio is less skewed and that current practices are failing to recognise autism in many women until later in life, if at all. The harms of underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis of autism in women—harms that are infrequently reported in medical research but are often discussed in the autistic community—extend beyond barriers to appropriate interventions, supports, and accommodations afforded to correctly diagnosed autism in women. For example, in a report from the Autistic Women’s and Nonbinary Network, patient Helena described how before her autism diagnosis, her misdiagnosis of borderline personality disorder led to a stay for a year and a half on a psychiatric ward. “I think they were misinterpreting everything I did and assigned me motivations I didn’t have . . . Possibly that partly explains why the treatment was quite ineffective and why I stayed so long and they didn’t know what to do with me.” This BMJ editorial discusses the recent research from Fyfe and colleagues that suggests that autism may actually occur at comparable rates among male and female cohorts.
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News Article
Autistic girls much less likely to be diagnosed, study says
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Females may be just as likely to be autistic as males but boys are up to four times more likely to be diagnosed in childhood, according to a large-scale study. Research led by the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden scrutinised the diagnosis rates of autism for people born in Sweden between 1985 and 2020. Of the 2.7 million people tracked, 2.8% were diagnosed with autism between the ages of two and 37. They found that by the age of 20, diagnosis rates of men and women were almost equal, challenging previous assumptions that autism is more common among males. “Our findings suggest that the gender difference in autism prevalence is much lower than previously thought, due to women and girls being underdiagnosed or diagnosed late,” said the lead author, Dr Caroline Fyfe. The research calculated that in childhood, boys were diagnosed on average nearly three years earlier than girls – the median age at diagnosis was 15.9 for girls, but 13.1 for boys. Overall, boys were three to four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with autism under the age of 10, although girls were found to “catch up” by the time they were 20, owing to a rapid increase in autism diagnosis during adolescence. “These observations highlight the need to investigate why female individuals receive diagnoses later than male individuals,” the authors conclude. Patient and patient advocate Anne Cary, writing in a linked editorial, said the research supported arguments that it was “systemic biases in diagnosis, rather than a true gap in incidence” that were behind the discrepancy in diagnosis rates. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 February 2026 -
Content Article"Too many people", says this report from the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee, "are continuing to fall through the gaps of our Community Mental Health Services". It says that many experience unacceptably long waits to access care, are discharged without ongoing support, and are denied care because they do not meet arbitrary thresholds. The Committee wants to see a 24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre in every community. But it says that the chances of this are threatened by short-term funding cycles, lack of digital interoperability, workforce shortages, and unclear plans for national scale-up of 6 pilot centres. More specifically, the report states that: Mental health accounts for over 20% of the disease burden but receives less than 10% of NHS expenditure. The lack of shared care records and data-sharing agreements, particularly with voluntary organisations, hinders collaboration and evaluation. The absence of national mental health access and waiting time standards for Community Mental Health services undermines parity of esteem with physical health. The removal of the annual physical health check target for people with severe mental illness is a step backwards. Layla Moran MP, the Committee’s Chair, urges the government and the NHS to recognise the continued disparity of esteem between mental and physical health and to continue to battle against it. But, she says, 'we still have a very long way to go'.
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Content Article
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NHS England has set a target that cervical cancer will be eliminated in England by 2040. Although progress has been made in detecting and treating cervical cancer, there are still many women who are reluctant to go for cervical screening, or who face barriers to accessing screening. These barriers include perceived discrimination, lack of understanding the risk of cervical cancer and unmet access needs. This contributes to persistent health inequalities amongst particular groups. Patient Safety Learning has pulled together 13 useful resources shared on the hub about how to improve access and overcome barriers to cervical screening. 1. Cervical screening, my way: Women's attitudes and solutions to improve uptake of cervical screening This research by Healthwatch explored why some women are hesitant to go for cervical screening. Based on the findings of a survey of more than 2,400 women who were hesitant about screening, it makes recommendations to policymakers on how to improve uptake, including: improvements to the way data about the disability and ethnicity of people attending screening. producing an NHS-branded trauma card for affected women to bring to appointments. ensuring staff are effectively trained on accessibility and adjustments to care. looking at the possibility of home-based self-screening. 2. Facing a smear test after my trauma In this BMJ article, Ruth Ajayi shares her experience of cervical screening after a traumatic childbirth, and how healthcare professionals could offer more compassionate, flexible care. 3. Exploring the inequalities of women with learning disabilities deciding to attend and then accessing cervical and breast cancer screening, using the Social Ecological Model Women with learning disabilities are less likely to access cervical and breast cancer screening when compared to the general population. In this study, the Social Ecological Model (SEM) was used to examine the inequalities faced by women with learning disabilities in accessing cervical and breast cancer screening in England. The study highlights key barriers to access for women with learning disabilities. 4. “We’re not taken seriously”: Describing the experiences of perceived discrimination in medical settings for Black women Black women continue to experience disparities in cervical cancer despite targeted efforts. One potential factor affecting screening and prevention is discrimination in medical settings. This US study in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities describes experiences of perceived discrimination in medical settings for Black women and explores the impact of this on cervical cancer screening and prevention. The authors suggest that future interventions should address the poor quality of medical encounters that Black women experience. 5. Top tips for healthcare professionals: Cervical screenings This article by the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists and the My Body Back Project offers tips for healthcare professionals to make cervical cancer screening attendees feel as comfortable as possible during their appointments. Cervical screening can be very daunting for some women, and for those who have experienced sexual violence it can be triggering and cause emotional distress. The article provides tips on communication, making the environment calm and safe, sharing control and building trust with women. 6. Cervical screening uptake: supporting positive patient experiences is key In this blog, Steph explains why Cervical Cancer Prevention Week is an opportunity to validate and help improve patient experiences. She calls for more information to be shared with both patients and doctors that helps to increase compassion, understanding and accessibility. 7. Cervical screening for people with learning disabilities: Learning resource for sample takers This learning resource from the NHS Wessex Cancer Alliance explains the misconceptions and barriers to cervical screening, the consent and best interest decisions, and the role of the sample taker and the reasonable adjustments that can be made. 8. The Eve Appeal: What adjustments can you ask for at your cervical screening? The Eve Appeal want to raise awareness of what adaptations women and people with a cervix can ask for during their screening to make the appointment more comfortable. 9. How can reframing women’s health improve outcomes? An interview with Dr Marieke Bigg Dr Marieke Bigg is the author of a 2023 book, This won’t hurt: How medicine fails women. In this interview, Marieke discusses how societal ideas about the female body have restricted the healthcare system’s approach to women’s health and describes the impact this has had on health outcomes. She also highlights areas where the health system is reframing its approach by listening to the needs of women and describes how simple changes, such as allowing women to carry out their own cervical screening at home, can make a big difference. 10. Having a smear test. What is it about? This download A4 Easy Read booklet from Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust uses simple language and pictures to talk about smear tests. It explains what a smear test is, has tips for the person having the test and has a list of words they might hear at their appointment. 11. Health Improvement Scotland: Cervical screening standards Published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland in March, the new cervical screening standards include recommendations to ensure women receive accessible letters and information about screening and healthcare professionals are trained to support women to make informed choices. 12. Cervical cancer screening in women with physical disabilities This US study explored how the cervical cancer screening experiences of women with physical disabilities (WWPD) can be improved. Interviews with WWPD indicated that access to self-sampling options would be more comfortable for cervical cancer screening participation. The authors highlight that these findings that can inform the promotion of self-sampling devices for cervical cancer screening. 13. Cervical screening - a guide for survivors of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse This guide by The Eve Appeal and The Survivors Trust gives information about attending cervical screening for survivors of rape, sexual abuse or assault. It offers tips that may help patients feel more comfortable about their appointment. It is part of the #CheckWithMeFirst campaign to help raise awareness of the challenges survivors of rape, sexual abuse and sexual violence may face when accessing cervical screening. Have your say Are you a healthcare professional who works in women’s health or cancer services? We would love to hear your insights and share resources you have developed. Perhaps you have an experience of cervical screening or cervical cancer that you would like to share? We would love to hear from you! Comment below (register as a hub member for free first) Get in touch with us directly to share your insights -
Content ArticlePatient safety is a central pillar of healthcare quality. However, with repeated examples of failure emerging across healthcare, there is an ongoing need to better understand how the safety of care can be improved for patients. Evidence suggests that some population groups are more likely to inequitably experience healthcare harm. This article provides an overview of a new review which will look at what evidence exists on understanding patient safety harm and its causes and impact on different population groups and particularly those from marginalised backgrounds. It will also focus on what actions can be taken to address patient safety disparities and service improvements, including with patient and public involvement.
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News ArticleBabies born to black mothers in England and Wales and those from the most deprived areas are significantly more likely to die while in neonatal units, according to analysis revealing the “deeply concerning” figures. The study, led by academics at the University of Liverpool, examined data on more than 700,000 babies admitted to an NHS neonatal unit across England and Wales between 2012 and 2022. Babies born to black mothers had the highest mortality rates for the majority of years in the study, with an 81% higher risk of dying before discharge compared with babies born to white mothers. The highest mortality rate for black babies stood at 29.7 deaths per 1,000 babies, with the highest rate for white babies at 16.9 deaths per 1,000 babies. For babies born to mothers living in the most deprived areas of England and Wales, the elevated risk stood at 63% compared with the least deprived babies. The highest mortality rate for babies born to the most deprived mothers was 25.9 deaths per 1,000 babies in 2022, compared with 12.8 deaths per 1,000 for their least deprived counterparts. Samira Saberian, a PhD student at the University of Liverpool and the lead author of the study, said the analysis showed that “socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities independently shape survival in neonatal units, and maternal and birth factors explain only over half of the socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities”. She added: “To reduce these inequalities, we need integrated approaches that strengthen clinical care while also tackling the wider conditions affecting families. “By improving services and addressing the root drivers of inequality, we can give the most vulnerable babies a better chance of survival.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 November 2025
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News Article
‘It’s like the NHS would rather pay a hospital bill over a cheap jab’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Independent readers expressed frustration and disbelief over the government’s decision to restrict free Covid booster jabs to a smaller group of people, describing the move as “a national scandal”. Many shared stories of being denied the vaccine despite chronic or respiratory illnesses, saying the policy risks leaving vulnerable people like Ella Halpern-Matthews – who has caught Covid three times since losing eligibility – without adequate protection. Several said they had been forced to pay privately for the jab, effectively creating what they saw as a two-tier health system. One reader remarked that it felt “as if the NHS would rather pay the hospital bill than for a cheap jab”, while others highlighted the inconsistency of vaccinating care home residents but not staff, and the false economy of cutting the rollout. Some questioned why countries such as France and Germany continue to offer free or low-cost boosters to wider groups, while the UK “quietly withdrew” access. Overall, readers urged the government to review eligibility urgently – calling for clearer communication, fairer access, and stronger protection for those still at risk. Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 November 2025 -
News ArticleToo often, young people with serious illnesses are dismissed or told they’re “too young” to be sick – and Independent readers have been sharing their own experiences of being ignored by the NHS. Readers shared experiences of being dismissed by healthcare professionals, and speculated whether that was down to age, gender, or assumptions about their symptoms. One reader’s story mirrored the challenges faced by patients like 19-year-old Milli Tanner, who went to 13 GP appointments and A&E visits over two years before being diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer. She was initially told her symptoms were caused by piles, IBS, or her age, and faced long waits for urgent testing before finally receiving a diagnosis. Readers highlighted the emotional and physical toll of such dismissal, with one sharing being misdiagnosed for three years despite a private MRI showing multiple active MS lesions. Another described how a family’s Lynch Syndrome history was overlooked, contributing to preventable deaths from bowel and uterine cancer. Overall, Independent readers stressed that listening, taking symptoms seriously, and empowering patients are crucial to prevent young people from being failed by the system. Read full story Source: The Independent, 2 November 2025
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News ArticleMillions of women are being exploited by a “menopause gold rush” as companies, celebrities and influencers take advantage of a “dearth” of reliable information on the issue, experts have said. Healthcare companies and content creators saw menopause as a “lucrative market” and were trying to profit from gaps in public knowledge, women’s health academics at UCL said. Researchers called for the rollout of a national education programme after finding a significant number of women do not feel well-informed about menopause. Writing in medical journal Post Reproductive Health, they said: “There has been a rapid expansion in unregulated private companies and individuals providing menopause information and support for profit; this has been termed the ‘menopause gold rush’. “This fragmented landscape of menopause support and education leaves people vulnerable to financial exploitation, may propagate misinformation and is likely to amplify existing menopause-related health inequities.” One woman who took part in the UK study told researchers: “Everything I know about the menopause I learnt on Instagram from other women.” Only one in five – 22% – of 1,500 women surveyed by the UCL team felt well-informed about menopause. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 20 October 2025
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News Article
Women’s healthcare stuck in the Nineties, says health tsar
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Women’s healthcare in the UK is stuck in the Nineties and red tape is blocking treatments on the NHS, the government’s women’s health ambassador has warned. Dame Lesley Regan said women and girls had been “let down” by successive governments’ failure to take their health seriously. She announced plans for an “open door” policy to make it easier for treatments, tests and technology to become available on the NHS. Speaking at the Women’s Health Week Europe conference in London this week, she said she was frequently asked if statistics about women’s health and access to care in the UK were from “1995 not 2025”. “This is a really sad state of affairs,” said Regan, who is a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Imperial College London. “We’ve got so complacent about the importance of women’s health that we’ve really let girls and women down.” She cited figures showing women suffered disproportionately from conditions such as osteoporosis, frailty and dementia in old age. More than 600,000 women are on the NHS waiting list for hospital gynaecology treatment and the gender health gap costs the UK economy £36 billion a year, mainly in lost productivity from women who are unable to work. Regan said she was “really frustrated” that developers of treatments, tests and technology aimed at improving women’s healthcare often experienced pushback when they approached the government or were blocked by complex bureaucracy from making their products available via the NHS. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 20 October 2025 Related reading on the hub: “It’s not menopause, you’re too young and don’t have the right symptoms"—the difficulties accessing menopause support and treatment Women’s heart health - a patient safety priority -
Content ArticleHealth disparities are systemic and deeply rooted in social and economic inequities. Patients living in deprived areas, from racially minoritised communities, or facing additional challenges such as homelessness or intellectual disabilities experience worse health outcomes. These disparities are compounded by mistrust in healthcare, low health literacy, cultural barriers, and discrimination. This report focuses on patients with blood disorders and/or cancers who experience health inequalities, and therefore have worse outcomes and experiences of care than patients who don’t. We looked at how social and economic factors affect the health of people living with blood disorders and cancer. Report key findings: Patients living with cancer and/or blood disorders experience significant barriers to care including delays in diagnosis, unequal access to services, and systemic discrimination, These patients also reported challenges navigating healthcare, a lack of communication, and economic burdens such as high transportation and medication costs, Social determinants of health like inadequate housing and living in deprived areas further worsened outcomes, Participants emphasised mistrust in the healthcare system, particularly among racially minoritised and LGBTQ+ communities, and highlighted the need for better coordination, cultural sensitivity training, and localised services. The project involved a literature review on health disparities and social determinants affecting patients with cancer and blood disorders. Discussions were held with local and condition-specific charities, and we conducted focus groups and a case study interview with patients and carers. These efforts aimed to gather diverse perspectives and first-hand accounts of lived experiences.
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Content ArticleThe estimated number of Americans who are medically disenfranchised—at risk of lacking access to primary care due to an inadequate supply in their local community—has nearly doubled since 2014. The insufficient number of primary care providers in the United States poses a serious public health threat, leaving nearly one-third of the population vulnerable to preventable chronic diseases and emerging threats like Covid-19 and influenza. This report describes America’s medically disenfranchised population and how, with expanded resources, Community Health Centers can begin to address gaps in primary care.
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