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STV News
5 days ago
- Health
- STV News
Government launches national investigation into NHS maternity services
A national investigation into NHS maternity services has been launched by the UK government following a series of maternity scandals. The new rapid investigation is intended to provide truth to families suffering harm, as well as driving urgent improvements to care and safety, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. It follows health secretary Wes Streeting meeting families who have lost babies and comes amid the ongoing investigations at some NHS trusts into poor maternity care. It is expected that the investigation will report back by the end of the year. DHSC said it is also launching a 'National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce', which will be chaired by Streeting. The health secretary said that 'up and down' the country, 'maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing' and there was 'too much passing the buck'. Speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) conference in London on Monday, Streeting said bringing life carried risk but 'that risk is considerably higher than it should be because of the state of the crisis in our maternity and neonatal services'. 'Within the past 15 years, we've seen appalling scandals that blew the lid on issues ranging from care, safety, culture and oversight – Shrewsbury, Telford, East Kent, Nottingham. 'The last government responded with initiatives like Better Births in 2016 and the maternity transformation programme. But despite improvements on some metrics, inequalities in maternal and neo-natal outcomes have become more visible, not less. The rate of late maternal deaths has been consistently rising. 'Babies of black ethnicity are twice as likely to be stillborn than babies of white ethnicity, and black women are still two to three times more likely to die during pregnancy or shortly after birth than white women. Tragically, that gap is closing slightly, but partly because more white women are dying in childbirth.' Streeting apologised on behalf of the NHS, having met families in Nottingham and around the country whose children have died or been injured. Senior midwife Donna Ockenden is currently examining how hundreds of babies died or were injured in the care of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust. Streeting said: 'All of them have had to fight for truth and justice, they describe being ignored, gaslit, lied to, manipulated and damaged further by the inability for a trust to simply be honest with them that something has gone wrong. 'I want to say publicly how sorry I am, sorry for what the NHS has put them through, sorry for the way they've been treated since by the state and sorry that we haven't put this right yet, because these families are owed more than an apology. They're owed change, they're owed accountability and they're owed the truth.' The government has launched a national investigation into maternity services. / Credit: PA He said risk is 'considerably higher' than it should be for women and babies because of a 'crisis' in maternity and neo-natal services. He said giving birth carries risk, but 'that risk is considerably higher than it should be because of the state of the crisis in our maternity and neonatal services.' The new investigation will consist of two parts. The first will investigate trusts of greatest concern at the moment, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, 'to hold them to account for improvement', Streeting said. He added: 'I'm currently discussing with Leeds families the best way to grip the challenges brought to light in that trust by their campaigning, reports in the media and the latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, and I'll be ordering an investigation into nine specific cases identified by families in Sussex…' The second part of the investigation will be a 'system-wide' look at maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past maternity inquiries to create one 'clear set of actions' designed to improve national NHS care. A new digital system will be rolled out to all maternity services by November to flag potential safety concerns in trusts. An anti-discrimination programme to tackle inequalities in care for black, Asian, and other communities is also being launched. The risk is 'considerably higher' than it should be for women and babies, the health secretary said as he launched a national investigation. / Credit: PA Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said: 'Despite the hard work of staff, too many women are experiencing unacceptable maternity care and families continue to be let down by the NHS when they need us most. 'This rapid national investigation must mark a line in the sand for maternity care – setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high-quality care for all. 'Transparency will be key to understanding variation and fixing poor care – by shining a spotlight on the areas of greatest failure we can hold failing trusts to account. 'Each year, over half a million babies are born under our care and maternity safety rightly impacts public trust in the NHS – so we must act immediately to improve outcomes for the benefit of mothers, babies, families and staff.' 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Telegraph
16-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Hospitals with most patients on clinical trials to get extra money
Hospitals that conduct clinical trials and offer experimental drugs to the most patients will be given more government funding. Health officials have also announced that patients will have improved access to clinical trials via the NHS app. Clinical trials can take several years and involve testing an experimental drug or process on a small number of patients to determine its safety and effectiveness. The trials may offer a potential treatment to patients with no other options, and this provides invaluable data to drug manufacturers. Trials are an essential part of a drug's lifecycle and allow companies to learn how well their medicine works, any side effects it may have and any unexpected benefits. Data subsequently inform regulators who decide whether to authorise a new medicine for widespread use. Officials then also determine if it is cost-efficient to purchase the drug. But these processes can take decades from invention to authorisation, and, in the meantime, patients who may benefit from a new drug go without access. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) stated on Monday that as part of the Government's 10-year health plan, the NHS will have more closely integrated access to the database of ongoing experiments. DHSC officials have said that people will be able to search the NHS app for trials. It is hoped that in future, patients may receive notifications on their phone if they are a good fit for certain trials. It comes as upgrades to the NHS app will allow millions more people to receive appointments, reminders and test results there. Trusts are set to be graded on how well they perform clinical trials, and their ability to get patients enrolled, with the use of new league tables. It is understood that trusts performing the best will be prioritised for further government investment. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has previously said that NHS managers who perform poorly in such league tables would face the sack. On Sunday, he said: 'The UK has been at the forefront of scientific and medical discovery throughout our history. One country will lead the charge in the emerging revolution in life sciences, and why shouldn't it be Britain? 'The 10-year plan for health will marry the genius of our country's leading scientific minds, with the care and compassion of our health service, to put NHS patients at the front of the queue for new cutting-edge treatments. 'The NHS app will become the digital front door to the NHS, and enable all of us as citizens to play our part in developing the medicines of the future.' Covid-19 vaccine trials At the height of the pandemic in 2020, the Government launched the NHS Covid-19 Vaccine Research Registry, which saw more than 100,000 Britons volunteer for trials of experimental jabs in a bid to speed up the discovery and testing of potential vaccines. This allowed people to be vaccinated before the mass rollout, and data from their inoculation and recovery were vital in finding which jabs performed best. Mr Streeting said: 'The British people showed they were willing to be part of finding the vaccine for Covid, so why not do it again to cure cancer and dementia? 'By slashing through red tape and making it easier for patients to take part, reforms in our 10-year plan will grow our life sciences sector, generate new funds for the NHS to reinvest in front-line care and benefit patients through better medicines.' This Covid-19 clinical trial initiative was spearheaded by Dame Kate Bingham, the then-head of the vaccine task force, who had extensive experience in clinical trials and drug discovery. The former vaccine tsar told The Telegraph that this latest step by DHSC and the NHS could have a huge economic benefit for the UK. She said: 'This is a welcome step in supercharging the UK's national clinical trials capabilities. With universal NHS numbers and digital reach via the NHS app, the UK is uniquely positioned to lead. 'Theoretically, it has the potential to massively accelerate the growth of the UK life sciences sector.' Dame Kate petitioned for the vast NHS database of patient data to be better leveraged after the pandemic, following the success of the vaccine initiative. But she warned that the entire plan could be undermined by penny-pinching in Whitehall. The UK pays poorly for new medications compared to other markets, she said, and therefore, drug manufacturers will likely prefer to run trials in countries that are willing to spend more money. This could result in British patients never being offered experimental drugs in the first place, as trials are run abroad. Dame Kate, who is also the managing partner of DV Health Investors, told The Telegraph: 'There is a risk that pharma companies will not run clinical trials on innovative drugs here in the UK if there is no prospect of patients ever getting access to those drugs. 'They will question whether it is ethical to do so. The UK pays some of the world's lowest prices for branded medicines, and under VPAG – where companies must pay back a percentage of branded drug revenues [this year a rebate of 23 per cent], the model risks making the UK commercially untenable.'
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Signing up for clinical trials to be new feature on NHS App
Browsing and signing up to clinical trials will become a new feature on the NHS App as part of the Government's healthcare plan. Eventually the app will automatically match patients with studies based on their own interests and health data – and send push notifications with relevant new trials, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. The NIHR's (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Be Part of Research service on the app is part of the Government's 10-year health plan. It takes around 100 days to set up a trial in Spain, but approximately 250 days in the NHS, DHSC said. The department projected the plan will see commercial trial set-up times fall to 150 by March 2026, which it described as 'the most ambitious reduction in trial set-up times in British history'. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'The 10-year plan for health will marry the genius of our country's leading scientific minds, with the care and compassion of our health service, to put NHS patients at the front of the queue for new cutting-edge treatments. 'The NHS App will become the digital front door to the NHS, and enable all of us as citizens to play our part in developing the medicines of the future.' He added: 'The British people showed they were willing to be part of finding the vaccine for Covid, so why not do it again to cure cancer and dementia? 'By slashing through red tape and making it easier for patients to take part, reforms in our 10-year plan will grow our life sciences sector, generate news funds for the NHS to reinvest in frontline care, and benefit patients through better medicines.' The number of trials sponsored by commercial and non-commercial entities at specific NHS trusts, as well as organisations including universities, will be made public. This will reveal which are 'performing well and which are falling behind', DHSC added. Funding for NHS trusts will be prioritised for those who perform the best, DHSC said. The app announcement comes as the NIHR launches a UK-wide clinical trials recruitment drive. Studies are 'too slow' to set up in the UK because of 'unnecessary bureaucracy and duplication of activities across different agencies and sites', DHSC said. Researchers must currently agree separate contracts with each relevant area of the NHS, but the Government has pledged to introduce a 'national standardised contract'. Professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser at DHSC and chief executive of the NIHR, said: 'Ensuring all sites are consistently meeting the 150-day or less set-up time will bring us to the starting line, but together we aim to go further, faster to ensure the UK is a global destination for clinical research to improve the health and wealth of the nation.' The global clinical trials market is estimated to be worth at least 80 billion dollars (around £59 billion) by 2030, said Professor Andrew Morris, president of the Academy of Medical Sciences, which is a fellowship of leading scientists. Those who are under-represented – including young, black and South Asian people – are particularly encouraged to register for trials, DHSC said. Professor Morris added that the app will 'accelerate the translation of cutting-edge treatments from laboratory to bedside' and that making research accessible to all communities can help 'ensure that medical innovation benefits reach every corner of society.' 'The focus on improving participation from under-represented communities is important, though success will depend on earning trust and addressing the broader barriers to diverse participation', he said. Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer's Society, welcomed the initiative and said it could 'really increase the number and diversity of people taking part in critically-important dementia research'. 'With a growing pipeline of drugs for Alzheimer's disease currently in trials, it's vital programmes like this streamline recruitment so we can ensure these emerging treatments work for everyone,' he added.
BBC News
14-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Sainsburys and Morrisons told to stop advertising heated tobacco
The government has written to Sainsbury's and Morrisons asking them to stop "advertising and promoting" heated tobacco products, which it says is against the BBC reported in February the supermarkets were displaying posters and video screens showing devices which create a nicotine-containing vapour by heating tobacco with an electric the time, both supermarkets said they believed the adverts were response to the letter, Sainsbury's said it was in "close contact with the government", while Morrisons said it would reply "in due course". In 2002, the Labour government under Tony Blair passed a law banning tobacco advertising. It defined a tobacco product as something designed to be "smoked, sniffed, sucked or chewed".Morrisons has argued that this means that it doesn't apply to heated tobacco products, as they don't produce for Philip Morris International's (PMI) iQos heated tobacco device on posters and video screens was still on display in Sainsbury's and Morrisons stores visited by the BBC in June, where they were visible to said it believes the Department of Health's interpretation of the law is wrong, and said it has "complied with all applicable laws and regulations" since it launched iQos in government has now written to the supermarkets clarifying that in its opinion, the law does apply to these products.A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson told the BBC: "In May, we wrote to supermarkets reiterating that the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002… applies to all tobacco products currently on the market, and formally requested they stop advertising and promoting heated tobacco products in stores."All tobacco products are harmful to health," the spokesperson added. Surveys by the charity Action on Smoking and Health suggest that awareness of heated tobacco products has risen sharply over the past year, and is even higher among young adults, compared with those over 40. Among 11 to 17-year-olds, nearly a quarter had heard of heated tobacco, up from 7.1% in 2022, the last time they were 3.3% of respondents to their survey said they had tried heated tobacco, and for 11 to 17-year-olds, the figure was 2.7%. While low, the charity said this was still "worryingly similar to the levels of use among adults".Experts say that although research on the health effects of heated tobacco is limited, it is likely to be less harmful than cigarettes, but worse for you than vapes, and less effective at helping smokers heated tobacco products a new health risk?A spokesperson for Morrisons said it was reviewing the letter and would respond "in due course".Sainsbury's said it believed its ads were compliant with the law. A spokesperson said: "We remain in close contact with the government and industry partners and are planning our transition to ensure we also comply with planned incoming legislation."It would be for a court to rule definitively whether the government is right that heated tobacco advertising is banned under current law - but so far no-one has brought a law will be clarified when the government passes the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which is expected to conclusively ban all tobacco and vape advertising and bill is making its way through parliament and is currently at the committee stage in the House of Cheeseman, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, urged the government to pass the law as quickly as possible. "It is outrageous that certain supermarkets still do not seem to be prepared to comply with the law, even when told they are in breach."The longer this takes to resolve, the more children will be exposed to tobacco product marketing," she Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act applies UK-wide, but health is a devolved issue. The devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland all said they agreed with the DHSC in England that advertising heated tobacco is and Tesco both said they do not accept tobacco advertising.
Spectator
13-06-2025
- Health
- Spectator
How exactly will Reeves's funding boost fix the NHS?
The NHS was a big winner at the Spending Review, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a 'record cash injection'. Two hundred miles from the Commons in Manchester, NHS England Chief Executive Sir Jim Mackey, told healthcare leaders gathered at the NHS confederation's annual 'expo' that the government had 'done us a good turn'. There will be a £29 billion real-terms increase in day-to-day spending for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with its annual budget reaching £232 billion by 2028-29. The budget for the NHS in England alone will rise to £226 billion. Government spending on health and care will have doubled in a decade. The DHSC budget will eclipse the national income of Portugal and more than 40p in every government pound will be spent on the NHS. There was a strong sense of déjà vu listening to the Chancellor, as she reflected a growing fiscal orthodoxy.
