Healthcare

Petition

Petition urges UK Government to strengthen COVID-19 monitoring in healthcare settings

— A petition urges the UK Government to mandate UKHSA to monitor and report healthcare-related COVID-19 infections, enhancing data-driven infection control strategies to protect vulnerable populations and improve healthcare safety.

Assisted Dying

Assisted dying: How to understand the increasingly angry debate between MPs over this controversial bill

— A Labour MP’s assisted dying bill faces its first major test amid intense criticism over its procedural handling as a private member’s bill. MPs remain divided ahead of Friday’s vote.

NHS

Wes Streeting must rule Palantir out of his NHS technology revolution

— Wes Streeting is planning to put our intimate health data on central care records. It’s time for him to address the elephant in the room.

UK Politics

Donations to Wes Streeting: Is private money shaping NHS policy?

— Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s advocacy for NHS reforms faces scrutiny after revelations that over 60% of his donations since 2015 come from private healthcare-linked entities, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

Fixing the NHS

The NHS is in ‘serious trouble’ and needs major reform – here are the pitfalls the government must avoid

— The NHS faces serious challenges unless major reforms are made, according to Lord Ara Darzi’s report. Key recommendations include shifting focus to digital transformation, community care, disease prevention, and avoiding centralised restructuring.

NHS

Racism, harassment and discrimination takes a terrible toll on ethnic minority NHS staff

— The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep-seated racial inequalities within the NHS, with ethnically minoritised staff facing discrimination and barriers to healthcare provision.

Healthcare

Hospital privatisation is linked with worse quality care for patients

— The NHS faces critical challenges post-pandemic, with long waits and increasing privatisation. Though outsourcing may cut costs, a review reveals worse patient care and outcomes, advocating for public funding and management instead.

Public Health

How much could the NHS save if people had healthier lifestyles? Hundreds of millions, according to research

— Encouraging lifestyle changes like vaping, moderate alcohol intake, and increased exercise could save the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds annually, improving public health and reducing economic strain.

Racism

Discrimination is the biggest career obstacle for women of colour in the NHS

— Black and minority ethnic women are the most likely of all NHS staff groups to experience discrimination from patients or colleagues. Systemic discrimination is the single biggest impediment to their career progression.

Public Health

Vaccine hesitancy is one of the greatest threats to global health – and the pandemic has made it worse

— The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decline in childhood vaccinations worldwide, contributing to outbreaks of infectious diseases. Tackling misinformation will be a big part of addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Analysis

NHS at 75: Problems abound but founding principles are unshaken

— Prophets of the NHS’s demise have been proved wrong year after year.