Hospitals Keep Improvising Through Heatwaves — the Plan Has to Come First
Europe's latest extreme heat shows health systems built for an older climate cannot keep writing heatwave plans after the wards are already hot.
Sophie Bennett 4 min read
NHS
NHS coverage here holds the service's crises and reforms side by side. The Nottingham maternity scandal runs deepest, from the review finding avoidable harm and deaths to arrests over hospital mortuary practices. Industrial relations stay live as resident doctors vote on the pay offer that suspended a four-day strike. Meanwhile the service keeps changing shape: GPs prescribing the Mounjaro weight-loss jab, dental contract reforms bringing complex care pathways, an MMR catch-up drive with the new MMRV vaccine, and hospitals improvising through heatwaves without a settled plan.
Nottingham maternity review finds avoidable harm and deaths
The Donna Ockenden review uncovers widespread failures in maternity and neonatal care at Nottingham hospitals, prompting families to demand a public inquiry.
Sophie Bennett 5 min read
NHS dental contract reforms bring complex care pathways from 23 June
The second wave of NHS dentistry reforms in England introduces new complex care pathways for patients with serious decay and gum disease, alongside changes to denture payments, as ministers try to improve access to NHS care.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Nottingham maternity review set to lay bare a decade of failings affecting thousands
Donna Ockenden's review into maternity care at Nottingham University Hospitals, billed as the largest of its kind in NHS history, is expected to detail deaths, stillbirths and serious injuries spanning 2012 to 2025.
Sophie Bennett 6 min read
Two arrested over Nottingham hospital mortuary practices ahead of maternity review
Nottinghamshire Police have arrested two men on suspicion of misconduct in a public office over mortuary practices at Nottingham University Hospitals, a separate inquiry that has compounded scrutiny of the trust.
Eleanor Whitfield 5 min read
GPs to prescribe Mounjaro weight-loss jab from late June
From 23 June, family doctors in England will be able to prescribe the weight-loss injection tirzepatide to prioritised patients, with eligibility widening and every patient required to take part in wrap-around lifestyle support.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Resident doctors vote on pay offer that suspended four-day strike
A four-day walkout planned for the heatwave-hit week of 15 June was called off so that resident doctors in England could vote on a government offer worth an average 6.6 per cent and 4,500 new training places, with the ballot closing on 26 June.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Heat-health alert issued as second heatwave grips southern England
The UK Health Security Agency has warned of health risks across London, the South East and parts of eastern and central England as temperatures climb, with older and unwell people most at risk.
Sophie Bennett 7 min read
MPs to debate infected blood compensation amid anger over delays
A cross-party debate on the £12.8bn compensation scheme will press ministers to speed up payments to the victims of one of the NHS's worst disasters.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
NHS launches MMR catch-up drive as new MMRV vaccine rolls out
A national catch-up campaign running from June targets young children who have missed measles vaccinations, as a new combined MMRV jab protecting against chickenpox is introduced into the routine schedule.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Resident doctors call off June strikes as BMA puts new pay offer to members
Planned strikes by resident doctors in England have been suspended after a last-minute government offer including an average 6.6% pay rise and thousands of new training places, which will now go to a membership referendum.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Ministers pledge AI-driven NHS overhaul, insisting service must 'transform its way out' of crisis
The Health and Social Care Secretary has set out plans to accelerate the digitisation of the NHS, telling the ConfedExpo conference that the service cannot manage its way out of pressure but must reform through technology.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Resident doctors call off five-day strike after last-minute pay deal
A walkout that threatened to coincide with a heatwave and the World Cup was suspended hours before it began, after the BMA and government struck a revised pay and jobs offer now heading to a members' vote.
Sophie Bennett 8 min read
Opinion: The Palantir row is really a question about what the NHS is for
MPs want ministers to walk away from a £330m contract over the firm's 'values'. The instinct is understandable, but ditching a working system on principle alone would be a serious mistake unless we are honest about what replaces it.
Sophie Bennett 7 min read
NHS widens access to weight-loss jab as GP prescribing threshold lowered
From 23 June, more people in England will qualify for tirzepatide on the NHS as the BMI threshold for primary-care prescribing drops, in the next phase of a carefully managed rollout.
Sophie Bennett 7 min read
NHS waiting list progress slows as cancer and A&E targets missed
The latest figures show the elective waiting list in England standing at more than 7.2 million cases, with progress on bringing it down described as sluggish and key cancer and emergency targets still being missed.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Resident doctors in England to strike for five days over pay
Members of the British Medical Association are set to walk out from 15 to 19 June after talks over pay restoration failed to produce an improved offer.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Reeves sets out multi-year spending plans with billions for NHS and defence
The chancellor unveiled her first multi-year settlement, boosting health, defence and nuclear power, but warned that some departments would lose out.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
NHS A&E departments record busiest May ever after heatwave
Hospitals in England managed nearly 2.46 million A&E attendances in May, the highest for any month on record, as a heatwave drove a surge in demand and June set a fresh record for the month.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
More patients to qualify for weight-loss jab as NHS lowers BMI threshold
GPs in England will be able to prescribe the weight-loss drug Mounjaro to a wider group of patients from late June, as the NHS lowers the BMI threshold for the next phase of its rollout.
Sophie Bennett 7 min read
Reeves pours billions into NHS, defence and nuclear in make-or-break spending review
The Chancellor set departmental budgets for the rest of the decade, prioritising health and security while conceding that some areas would feel the squeeze.
Eleanor Whitfield 8 min read
NHS to offer five-session 'precision' radiotherapy for prostate cancer
NHS England has announced that eligible men with early prostate cancer will be offered SABR, a targeted treatment that cuts the number of sessions from at least 20 to five.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
NHS rolls out 'multi-beam' precision radiotherapy for prostate cancer
Thousands of men with localised prostate cancer will be offered SABR, a high-precision radiotherapy that can be delivered in five sessions instead of 20 or more, after a £70 million investment in new machines across England.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
NHS rolls out first new ovarian cancer treatment in two decades for hard-to-treat disease
Around 400 women a year with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer will be offered Elahere, a targeted therapy shown to extend survival compared with standard chemotherapy.
Sophie Bennett 7 min read
NHS rolls out first new ovarian cancer drug in over 20 years
Up to 400 women a year with hard-to-treat ovarian cancer will be offered mirvetuximab soravtansine, a targeted therapy shown to extend survival, after NICE recommended it for use on the NHS in England.
Eleanor Whitfield 7 min read
Gene test could spare around 5,000 breast cancer patients a year from chemotherapy
A major international trial led by UK researchers found that a 50-gene tumour test can safely identify many women who gain no benefit from chemotherapy, with near-identical survival five years on.
Sophie Bennett 8 min read