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The annual Cancer in the UK report summarises key data across the cancer pathway, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes. It looks at where progress is being made and what challenges remain in the UK. Evidence in this report shows that improvements can be made across the cancer pathway – preventing cancers, diagnosing patients earlier and ensuring patients have access to the best treatment options – to attain outcomes that are among the best in the world. The report concludes by setting out the priority actions that are vital to addressing challenges faced by cancer services and lays out how data-led insights can strengthen our ability to beat cancer

At 10.45am on 23 November 2024, Peter Anzani sadly died from a pulmonary embolism in Birmingham Heartlands Hospital. He had been admitted to hospital the day before and was receiving treatment for a community acquired pneumonia when he suddenly and unexpectedly collapsed due to a pulmonary embolism. Peter had previously suffered a number of falls at home in August and September 2021 and was subsequently diagnosed with suffering a spontaneous infection of the cervical vertebral canal which caused a complete spinal cord injury and left him tetraplegic. This made him more vulnerable to chest infections and pulmonary embolisms which he experienced in the years that followed. There is no evidence of any human intervention that rendered his death unnatural.  Based on information from the Deceased’s treating clinicians the medical cause of death was determined to be:  1a Pulmonary Embolism 1b 1c 1d II Pneumonia Spinal cord injury resulting in Tetraplegia Matters of concern To The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust I considered evidence from a [REDACTED] who indicated at paragraphs 20-21 of his statement, “I did not see any record of his pulse, blood pressure or oxygen saturation. The normal practice is to complete these observations, and I would expect this to be done, especially with him presenting with chest issues. However, I am unable to comment why this was not recorded or confirm that these were carried out. (21) This is a learning point for the department, and I have taken steps to ensure this learning is taken forward by theTrust. I have alerted the Sister in charge of the Spinal Injuries Outpatients’ Department and requested that adequate measures are taken to ensure that all observations made are recorded in the outpatient forms…” It was unclear whether this was a single one-off event involving human error or indicative of a wider and systemic issue involving a lack of training. There was no evidence before the court that this “learning point” had been actioned or that any adequate steps had been taken to ensure proper and accurate recording of records by staff. There is a real risk of future deaths occurring where staff do not have adequate training and that patient records are not being properly completed. To NHS England / Department of Health and Social Care I heard evidence that The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (“The Trust”) have been experiencing difficulties with patient waiting lists – due to both an increase in the quantity of patients being treated and staffing shortages – which has led to patients waiting longer than is reasonable or necessary for reviews and treatments. As part of the inquest, there was evidence that Peter Anzani himself had been waiting for nearly a year for a follow-up review, which should have been carried out after no more than 6 months. I heard evidence from representatives of the Trust that they have repeatedly requested additional funds for workforce development and expansion to assist with cutting patient waiting lists and waiting times. I understand that an initial Workplace Funding Review was submitted in 2023 but was rejected by NHS England due to a funding shortage. I understand that a further Workplace Funding Review was submitted in the Autumn of 2024, but in February/March of this year, NHS England indicated that the same would again be rejected under a “no growth policy”. Whilst naturally I am aware of the pressures on the public purse and on the NHS generally, it is concerning to hear that the Trust do not appear to be being adequately supported financially by NHS England, and do not currently appear to be able to address their workplace staffing issues without additional financial support (which does not appear to be forthcoming). It is obvious that where patients are waiting for longer than is reasonable or necessary for treatment or reviews, there is a real risk of deaths occurring. No patient should be waiting longer than absolutely necessary for treatment. In light of HM Government’s decision on 13 March 2025 to abolish NHS England and for its role to be subsumed within the Department of Health and Social Care, this report is being sent to both Agencies to consider, as it relates to issues of both a local and national significance.

Brooke Nichols has launched online tracking tools that capture estimated increases in mortality and disease spread for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases as a result of the near-total freeze in US foreign aid funding and programming.  Over the last two months, the Trump administration’s slashing of US foreign aid and systematic dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have severely disrupted the lives of populations abroad who rely on this funding for disease detection and treatment, nutrition assistance, and other vital public health services. After pausing all foreign aid assistance by executive order on Inauguration Day, the administration permanently cancelled 83 percent of USAID’s global contracts just weeks later—a decision that public health experts warned would lead to preventable deaths and accelerate disease spread. If this foreign aid is not restored before the end of 2025, more than 176,000 additional adults and children around the world could die from HIV, according to excess death estimates from a new digital tracking initiative by Brooke Nichols, associate professor of global health. Her tracker also indicates that at least 62,000 additional people could die from tuberculosis (TB)—roughly one death every 7.7 minutes—if foreign aid does not resume by the end of the year, and these figures are steadily increasing. These estimates are listed on Impact Counter, a real-time digital tracking website that Nichols utilises to quantify the real-world human impact of the recent US policy changes on humanitarian aid. On the site’s dashboard, Nichols provides up-to-date calculations of increases in mortality, disease spread, and healthcare costs for HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea, neglected tropical diseases, and malnutrition.

This briefing from the Health Foundation compares trends in mortality within the UK and with 21 high-income countries, based on new research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The findings are stark, underlining deep inequalities in health between different parts of the UK and a worrying decline in UK health compared with international peers. Key points: Improvements in UK mortality rates slowed significantly in the 2010s, more than in most of the other countries studied. By 2023, the UK female mortality rate was 14% higher than the median of peer countries and the UK male mortality rate was 9% higher. For both, the gap to the median widened significantly after 2011, and the UK’s ranking relative to peer countries has now worsened. Improvements in mortality rates slowed across all UK nations and regions in the 2010s – but there are significant geographic inequalities. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have higher mortality rates than England. Scotland is performing particularly poorly – of the countries studied, in 2021 only the US had a worse mortality rate. In 2021, mortality rates were 20% higher in the North East and North West of England than in the South West. People aged 25–49 have seen a particularly pronounced relative worsening of mortality rates. In 2023, UK female mortality rates for this age group were 46% higher than the median of peer countries, while male rates were 31% higher. Of the other countries studied, only Canada and the US experienced a similar worsening of mortality rates among this age group over the 2010s. This worsening of mortality rates is a sign of ill health in the working-age population, acting as a drag on economic growth. Of the main three causes of death for people aged 25–49, mortality rates for cancers and circulatory diseases improved between 2001 and 2019, but rates worsened for deaths from external causes. Deaths from external causes explain between 70% and 80% of the divergence in UK mortality rates compared with the median of peer countries over this period. While in the 2010s alcohol-related mortality rates for people aged 25–49 plateaued or declined and mortality rates for suicide (and undetermined intent) slightly increased, the rate of drug-related deaths rose sharply. In contrast, rates of drug-related deaths continued to decline for peer countries. As a result, the drug-related mortality rate in the UK was more than three times higher in 2019 than the median of peer countries. Geographic inequalities in drug-related deaths are stark among people aged 25–49. In 2019, the drug-related mortality rate in Scotland was around 4 times higher than in England. Within England, the drug-related mortality rate in the North East was 3.5 times higher for men and almost 4 times higher for women than in London. With the UK comparing poorly with many other high-income countries, improvement is both possible and urgently needed. This will require long-term action for economic recovery in areas of long run industrial decline; a strong focus on prevention; investment in public health services and action to address risk factors such as smoking, alcohol and poor diet; and a concerted effort to tackle drug-related deaths. These actions should be brought together in a clear strategy for tackling health inequalities. The UK government’s health mission promised just such an approach, but progress so far has been slow. This needs to change or the UK’s health will fall further behind its international peers.

Many errors in surgical patient care are caused by poor non-technical skills (NTS). This includes skills like decision-making and communication. How often these errors cause harm and death is not known. This goal of this study was to report how many surgical deaths are associated with NTS errors in Australia by assessing all surgical deaths from 2012 to 2019. Some 64% of cases had an NTS error linked to death. Decision-Making and Situational Awareness errors were the most common. The results of this study can be used to guide improvement and reduce future errors and patient death.