NHS

Nurse Shortfall Could Be Double Official Figures, RCN Says

The Royal College of Nursing links nurse shortages to patient safety incidents and urges more funding in the upcoming NHS Workforce Plan. Medscape News UK

Medscape15m ago

‘Ghost patient’ policy wrongly removing at-risk people from GP lists, doctors say

NHS England initiative to reduce cut-off period to three months ‘disproportionately affecting’ most deprived areas An NHS policy to remove “ghost patients” from GP lists is inadvertently leaving some of the poorest people in England without vital healthcare, analysis has found. Under previous NHS rules, inactive patients at risk of being removed from their GP practice were given six months to respond to outreach. But under NHS England’s accelerated list validation timeline, introduced last October, patients now have only three months to reply. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent5h ago

Child ketamine users getting bladder damage describe 'peeing a jellyfish'

Doctors running the UK's first and only dedicated NHS clinic for children with ketamine bladder say they are seeing patients as young as 13.

BBC14h ago

Minority ethnic NHS staff pay a heavy price for speaking up about patient safety | Letter

Providing psychological safety to Black, Asian and ethnic minority staff so they can raise concerns about patient care without fear would save lives, write Dr Jennifer Creese, Dr Joy Spiliopoulos and Prof Carolyn Tarrant Your report ( One in five black, Asian and minority ethnic NHS managers in England plan to quit amid racism, report finds, 15 September ) rightly highlights racism, exclusion and blocked career progression in the NHS. But it also points to a wider risk: patient safety. Care mistakes already cost the NHS £14.7bn a year . A March 2025 report by the NHS Race & Health Observatory notes that Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff, who make up more than 40% of the medical and dental workforce, still face harassment and discrimination in promotion, everyday work and disciplinary processes. This fuels stress, burnout and poorer mental health. Bullying and harassment are estimated to cost NHS England £2bn a year through staff turnover, sickness and lost productivity. In such environments, BAME staff are less likely than white colleagues to speak up about patient safety, fearing that their concerns will not be understood or taken seriously. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Guardian Staff20h ago

• critical toward NHS · 86%

The UK Government Faces a Reckoning Over Palantir

Andy Burnham once kept Palantir out of Greater Manchester. His first test as prime minister is whether to cut the company’s £330 million NHS contract—and risk a rupture with Big Tech and Washington.

WIRED•Ben Gartside22 Sept

Sisters with life-limiting condition taking NHS fight to Parliament

Olivia Dews and sister Charlotte Casey have a life limiting neurological condition.

BBC22 Sept

• neutral toward NHS · 96%

Martha’s rule to be expanded to every A&E in England

System gives patients, loved ones and health workers the right to ask for a second opinion on care Martha’s rule, which lets NHS patients, staff and relatives request a review of their care, is being expanded to every A&E in England, health officials have announced. The system gives patients, their loved ones and health workers the right to ask for a different medical team to examine the care being provided on inpatient wards and to recommend changes. It has already potentially saved hundreds of lives, official figures show . Continue reading...

The Guardian•Andrew Gregory Health editor21 Sept

Cut NHS red tape and boost productivity to prevent 20,000 early deaths a year in England, report urges

Changes could save £33bn and result in average of four extra years of good health for people, report says The NHS in England could prevent 20,000 deaths and save £33bn a year by cutting red tape and boosting productivity, a report says. Research by the Health Foundation found the health service has been held back for decades by excessive regulation, short-term planning and insufficient capability to deliver major change. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Andrew Gregory Health editor21 Sept

• neutral toward NHS · 78%

Lucy Letby, the NHS and the rise of managerialism | Letters

Pete Dorey believes most public services are thoroughly over-managed, Michael Barrett says whistleblowing policies are essential. Plus letters from Frances Kirkham and Jenny Webb Tom Dolphin’s excellent article on the failings of NHS management made sombre reading ( The Letby inquiry report makes one thing crystal clear: too much NHS management is scandalously poor, 16 September ). Yet I believe that most of our public services are thoroughly over-managed, with frontline professionals neither listened to nor respected by their institutional superiors, and at risk of damaging their careers if they speak out about poor decisions, excessive workloads and impossible targets or “performance indicators”. Like so many of our current woes, the rise of managerialism can be traced back to the public service reforms of the Thatcher governments in the 1980s, and the mantra of “management’s right to manage”. As professionals were supposedly self-serving vested interests, the transfer of power to managers was supposed to increase efficiency and responsiveness to service users. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Guardian Staff21 Sept

• neutral toward NHS · 74%

Adults with severe mental illness die 15 to 20 years earlier from diseases such as cancer

Exclusive: Stark health inequalities in terms of deaths before age of 75, NHS data reveals Adults with severe mental illness are nearly five times more likely than their peers to die from serious physical diseases before the age of 75, according to research. The analysis of NHS data by the Rethink Mental Illness charity reveals that people with severe mental health problems die 15-20 years earlier than the wider adult population, largely due to preventable physical conditions. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Anna Bawden Health and social affairs correspondent20 Sept

Dining across the divide: ‘He suggested the Clacton byelection was a vanity project. Obviously I disagree’

A Reform politician and an NHS worker had different takes on Nigel Farage, but could they agree on renewable energy or tax policies? Chris, 42, London Occupation Electrical supervisor of the maintenance team at an NHS hospital Continue reading...

The Guardian•Erica Buist20 Sept

Families missing out on NHS money for healthy food

Figures show as few as 64% of eligible families are claiming NHS money to buy milk, fruit and veg.

BBC20 Sept

• neutral toward NHS · 96%

Disabled people in UK need right to travel abroad, say MPs, after ‘ridiculous’ restrictions

Campaigners describe ‘brazenly discriminatory’ practices around funding from NHS care boards UK politics live – latest updates Disabled people must have a guaranteed right to travel abroad, MPs and peers have warned as further cases emerged of individuals barred from taking holidays as a result of “ridiculous” rules imposed by local NHS care boards and local councils. Leading figures have called on the government to bring in clear national guidelines to ensure people who require full-time personal assistants (PAs) are not prevented from using funding for their 24/7 support team for breaks and work trips. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Frances Ryan and Patrick Butler18 Sept

Twenty women had breasts removed needlessly, says NHS trust

The trust's new chief executive says he apologises unreservedly - "What happened was utterly unacceptable."

BBC18 Sept

• neutral toward NHS · 94%

Twenty women had breasts removed unnecessarily during NHS cancer care

Patients among hundreds who suffered harm at County Durham and Darlington foundation trust’s breast unit Twenty women had their breasts removed unnecessarily while being treated for cancer at an NHS trust in north-east England. The County Durham and Darlington foundation trust (CDDFT) told the BBC that the women were among hundreds of patients who came to harm during treatment at its breast unit. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Jamie Grierson18 Sept

• neutral toward NHS · 80%

Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joins Palantir

Peer takes full-time position at the controversial company as it fends off pressure from both Andy Burnham’s government and Sadiq Khan Another former government minister has been hired by a controversial US AI company, this time Palantir, which has appointed Andy Burnham’s former ministerial colleague Tom Watson. The Labour peer and former deputy leader will operate alongside Palantir’s UK and Europe chief executive, Louis Mosley, as the company attempts to fend off pressure on Burnham’s government to axe its £330m NHS contract . It is also fighting Sadiq Khan in court over the Labour London mayor’s block on a £50m contract to use its AI in Metropolitan police investigations . Palantir also wants to win more public sector work in the UK, where it already has an annual turnover of £427m. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Robert Booth UK technology editor18 Sept

A fresh approach to supporting unpaid carers | Letter

Social care reform must reflect the variations in the type, intensity and duration of care provided, says Dr Louise Lawson Patrick Butler’s article on the rising number of people leaving employment to provide unpaid care resonated with me, both as an unpaid carer and as a researcher in this field ( About 1,500 Britons a day quitting their jobs to become unpaid carers, 16 September ). The juggle between paid work and caring responsibilities is a daily reality for millions. The report from Carers UK is a welcome reminder of this often-hidden issue, highlighting not only the growing care needs of older people but also the increasing numbers of younger people who rely on unpaid care. The midwife Jacqui Hylton’s observation in the article that caring for her mother is “harder than working in the NHS” deserves serious attention. What is often missing from these debates, however, is recognition of the diversity and number of caring responsibilities. There is no such thing as a typical unpaid carer. Caring roles vary enormously, whether supporting a disabled child, a working-age adult with a progressive condition or an older relative with dementia. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Guardian Staff17 Sept

Plan to limit number of NHS patients diagnosed with ADHD attacked as ‘rationing’ healthcare

Review due next week expected to say patients should be ‘triaged’ and offered support without formal diagnosis Proposals to limit the number of patients being formally diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been atacked as “rationing” healthcare and pushing children and adults to self-diagnosis via social media. The comments came before a government review due next week, which is expected to say that patients with ADHD symptoms should not automatically be formally diagnosed, but should be “triaged” and offered support without the need for a formal diagnosis. Continue reading...

The Guardian•Anna Bawden Health and social affairs correspondent17 Sept

• neutral toward NHS · 84%

AstraZeneca-Daiichi breast cancer drug cleared for NHS use in England

NICE U-Turn Brings Life-Extending Therapy to NHS Patients

NICE has reversed its decision and approved Enhertu for NHS use in England, benefiting around 1000 women with advanced breast cancer. Press Association

Medscape17 Sept

• neutral toward NHS · 90%