Lucy Letby: police and CPS handling of case raises new concerns about convictions
Exclusive: Letby’s barrister says application challenging verdicts is being prepared using expert medical evidence
When the public inquiry into the crimes of the former nurse Lucy Letby opened in Liverpool last month its chair, Lady Justice Thirlwall, dismissed concerns about the safety of the convictions as “noise”. The judge cautioned that questions being raised were increasing the distress of parents whose children had died or been harmed.
Letby was found guilty across two trials of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester hospital (COCH) in 2015 and 2016. Thirlwall pointed out that in May this year...
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We need person-centred mental health care, not more psychiatrists | Letter
Dr Jennifer Poole says a less medicalised approach using therapists other than consultant psychiatrists would be more effective in the long term
Regarding your article (Scottish NHS boards pay up to £837 an hour for locums amid psychiatry crisis, 7 October), the solution to this increasingly untenable situation is a change of approach to mental health. Psychiatrists (medically qualified doctors who go on to treat emotional and mental health issues with medications) are necessarily focused on diagnosis of a “disorder” as an illness in the person. However, there is little evidence that this is effective with mental health issues in the vast majority of cases...
Disgraced breast surgeon Ian Paterson refuses to attend inquest
Families of former patients condemn refusal to give evidence, which lawyers say is due to health reasons and ‘inadequate facilities to prepare’
The jailed former breast surgeon Ian Paterson has refused to give evidence at an inquest into the deaths of 62 of his former patients, in a move labelled “unacceptable” and “atrocious” by families of the deceased.
Paterson had been due to speak at the judge-led inquest at Birmingham and Solihull coroner’s court, which is investigating whether 62 of Paterson’s former patients “died an unnatural death as a result of his actions”.
Continue reading...
By Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent
Disgraced breast surgeon Ian...
Robert Jenrick rejects claim Tory MPs put him in final two for leadership ballot by mistake – UK politics live
Jenrick says he thinks Tory MPs voted for ‘the best placed people to lead this party forward’
Robert Jenrick, one of the final two Tory leadership candidates, is delivering a speech in London. There is a live feed on his X account.
Jenrick started by promising “a complete break with Labour’s failing agenda”. He said:
The real choice this country faces is between Labour’s failing agenda and the new approach I want us to take, the new approach we need as a country.
Because if I am chosen as the next leader of this party we will stand to offer a complete break with Labour’s failing agenda.
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By Andrew...
Teachers regularly helping pupils in distress in attempt to fill NHS funding gap
Three in four teachers put a pupil’s psychological needs before teaching at least once a week, UK survey reveals
Teachers are picking up the pieces of the deepening crisis in children and young people’s mental health, with many regularly helping pupils in distress on top of their classroom duties.
Teachers say they are playing an important role in supporting pupils’ often fragile mental wellbeing because so many who need help from the NHS are not receiving it, a UK-wide survey found.
78% of teachers say pupils’ mental health has got worse since they joined the profession.
76% say only half or fewer of the pupils who they believe need help with their...
Lucy Letby encouraged by manager to visit Alder Hey children’s hospital, inquiry hears
Countess of Chester senior nurse said placements would give Letby ‘break’ from stress, despite knowing she was under investigation over babies’ deaths
Lucy Letby was encouraged by a senior nurse to undertake regular visits to Alder Hey children’s hospital despite her being under investigation on suspicion of murdering babies, a public inquiry has heard.
Letby, 34, was told the placements would give her “a break from the stress here”, weeks before police were called over the unexplained deaths and deterioration of newborns at the Countess of Chester hospital.
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By Josh Halliday North of England editor
Lucy Letby encouraged by...
The Guardian view on the coroner’s role: if deaths can be prevented, they should be | Editorial
When inquests make recommendations, they must not be allowed to sink into a bottom drawer
The family of Maeve Boothby O’Neill, who died aged 27 after suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) for many years, is not the first to reach the end of an inquest only to be faced by uncertainty regarding its results. The coroner issued a prevention of future deaths notice (PFD) addressed to Wes Streeting and five health organisations, including NHS England. This criticised the lack of specialist care and training for doctors, and raised concerns about clinical guidelines and nutrition. But while there is a legal obligation on any body in...
Colleague of disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson raised concerns two decades ago, inquest hears
Paterson is serving a 20-year sentence for wounding after being found guilty in 2017 of carrying out unnecessary and damaging breast cancer operations
A colleague of the disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson raised concerns about him carrying out “incomplete” breast cancer operations two decades ago, an inquest has heard.
A judge-led inquest into the deaths of 62 of Paterson’s former patients commenced at Birmingham and Solihull coroner’s court on Tuesday, and is to be one of the biggest inquests in British history.
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By Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent
Colleague of disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson raised concerns two...
Scottish ministers ‘mismanaging NHS’, say opposition, as huge hourly rates revealed
SNP government lambasted by Lib Dem, Labour and Tory MSPs over sums paid to locum emergency psychiatrists
Scottish opposition leaders have accused ministers of mismanaging the NHS after the “jaw-dropping” costs of hiring emergency psychiatrists came to light.
The Liberal Democrats, Labour and Conservatives will press Scottish health ministers this week to explain why the health service has spent more than £130m over the past five years hiring temporary psychiatrists for routine mental health appointments.
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By Severin Carrell Scotland editor
Scottish ministers ‘mismanaging NHS’, say opposition, as huge hourly rates revealed to...
Doctor secured Lucy Letby hospital placement while she was suspected of murder
Registrar who exchanged more than 1,000 messages with nurse tells public inquiry he believes he was misled
A doctor who exchanged more than 1,000 “inappropriate” and “frivolous” Facebook messages with Lucy Letby secured her a placement at another hospital while she was suspected of murdering babies, a public inquiry has heard.
The registrar, who can only be named as Dr U, said he had supported the nurse because she was “struggling with her mental health” but that he now believed he had been “misled and maybe manipulated”.
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By Josh Halliday North of England editor
Doctor secured Lucy Letby hospital placement while she was suspected...
Inquest to open over deaths of patients treated by breast surgeon Ian Paterson
One of UK’s largest ever inquests to begin at Birmingham and Solihull coroner’s court with cases of 62 people
When Stuart Coyne received a letter to say his wife’s death, now 16 years ago, was being investigated to see if she had died unnecessarily after being operated on by the disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson, he was taken aback.
“It was a shock; it came out of the blue. When Catherine died, we all thought that she’d had the best treatment for the breast cancer that she had,” said Coyne, 70, who lives in Solihull. “Now, of course, it raises that question – would she still be here today?”
Continue reading...
By Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent...
Address ‘non-existent’ severe ME care or risk further deaths, UK health minister told
Coroner who heard inquest into death of Maeve Boothby O’Neill calls for action to tackle chronic fatigue syndrome
A coroner has urged the UK health secretary, Wes Streeting, to address the “non-existent” care available to people with severe ME or risk further deaths like that of Maeve Boothby O’Neill.
The Devon coroner, Deborah Archer, who heard Boothby O’Neill’s inquest, also called on the government and NHS leaders to ensure there is more training for medics on treating patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis, and additional funding for research on the condition.
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By Steven Morris
Address ‘non-existent’ severe ME care or...
Scottish NHS boards pay up to £837 an hour for locums amid psychiatry crisis
Quarter of posts in adult psychiatry vacant, forcing hospitals to rely on expensive private cover
Scotland’s health boards have paid up to £837 an hour for locum psychiatrists to help cope with a deepening staff shortage crisis in mental health services.
They have been charged more than £130m by dozens of private health care companies to provide temporary psychiatrists over the past five years, including one firm now owned by two billionaires from Texas.
Annual spending by Scotland’s 14 health boards on locum psychiatrists reached nearly £35m last year, up from £20m five years ago.
NHS Tayside has spent more than £30m since 2019, and NHS Fife nearly £26m...
‘No care left in the system’: patients on use of locum psychiatrists in Scotland
Patients angry at getting contradictory advice, inconsistent care and facing indifference from locums, survey finds
The complaints about locum psychiatrists have a clear pattern. Patients say they routinely experience inconsistent care or get contradictory advice. Some describe an indifference that borders on box-ticking.
“I had 14 locums [and] they all had different views and opinions on my care,” said one respondent to a survey of 469 patients by the advocacy group Vox Scotland. “The last locum did not bother to call me back. That was four months ago. I’ve had no contact from my mental health team since then.”
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By Severin Carrell...
NHS restricting access to obesity services across England, BMJ finds
<p>Budget cuts to local services fell disproportionately on care for obese patients, leading to ‘postcode lottery’</p><p>The NHS is restricting access to obesity services across England, leading to patients in nearly half the country being unable to book appointments with specialist teams for support and treatments such as weight-loss jabs.</p><p>An investigation by the British Medical Journal found budget cuts to local services fell disproportionately on obesity care, with patients living with the condition often deemed less worthy of care than others.</p> <a href="NHS restricting access to obesity services across England, BMJ finds">Continue reading...</a>
Budget...
NHS maternity staff to receive mandatory training to improve patient safety
Obstetricians, midwives and obstetric anaesthetists will take part in pilots after damning report by health regulator
NHS maternity staff will take part in a mandatory training programme to improve patient safety after a damning report by the health regulator said that poor care and harm in childbirth was in danger of becoming “normalised”.
Obstetricians, midwives and obstetric anaesthetists at nine maternity units across England will all have to do extra training from Monday under government plans to raise care standards for women and babies. The scheme will be rolled out to every maternity unit in the country if the pilots are successful.
Continue...
GP care analysis casts doubt on Labour pledge to ‘bring back the family doctor’
Patients will increasingly see nurses, physiotherapists or pharmacists instead of GPs, says Frontier Economics study
Keir Starmer’s pledge to “bring back the family doctor” is in doubt because more and more patients will not see a GP over the next 10 years, according to research.
By 2034, qualified GPs in England will deliver just 70% of all appointments at surgeries, down from the 90% who did so as recently as 2015, the analysis forecasts.
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By Denis Campbell Health policy editor
GP care analysis casts doubt on Labour pledge to ‘bring back the family doctor’ to Continue reading...
NHS Forums - For NHS Staff | Patient Forums
I thought I was fine with being bald. But the chance of a cure has stirred up all sorts of feelings | Emma Beddington
It’s almost 30 years since I lost my hair to alopecia. What if Pfizer’s drug Litfulo could bring it back?
My hair looks incredible at the moment. I know because people keep telling me – in bakeries, cafes and when I was getting my tattooed eyebrows touched up yesterday.
What to say? “Thanks!” feels conceited. “My hairdresser’s a genius,” is (part of) the truth. I often narcissistically worry what would happen if he were to slip away before me; how wrong would it be to bring him five or six wigs to cut on his deathbed? In a similar vein, I was thrilled yesterday, when S, who has done my brows for decades, told me her...
Three local NHS CEOs join NHS England as directors
Two integrated care board chief executives and a trust CEO have been appointed as part-time national directors at NHS England.
Continue reading this article about Three local NHS CEOs join NHS England as directors
by Health Service Journal
NHS Forums - For daily discussion by NHS Staff.
Coroners warn of risk to lives without urgent reform of NHS adult care
Health secretary Wes Streeting told to speed up changes as inability to free up hospital bed linked to deaths of patients
Health secretary Wes Streeting has been urged to speed up reforms to the adult care system in the wake of patient deaths after two coroners warned him of the impact insufficient care beds and service provision are having on the NHS.
Last month, coroners sent two prevention of future deaths (PFD) reports to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) after the inability to discharge patients at two hospitals was linked to the deaths of others awaiting treatment.
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By Chaminda Jayanetti
Coroners warn of risk to lives...
Government to fund £120 blood test that could detect 12 most common cancers
Mionco screening has potential to be a ‘gamechanger’ in five years, says health secretary, Wes Streeting
The government will provide funding for a £120 blood test that has the potential to detect the 12 most common forms of cancer before symptoms develop.
The Mionco screening can identify 50 cancers before producing a false positive and is a form of the PCR test used during the Covid pandemic, according to the scientists involved in its development.
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By Nadeem Badshah
Government to fund £120 blood test that could detect 12 most common cancers to Continue reading...
NHS Forums - For NHS Staff and Patients Alike
Study of new personalised cancer therapies could ‘transform’ how the disease is treated
Large-scale clinical project could give real-time view of how well treatments are working and lead to earlier diagnoses
Scientists are embarking on a large-scale clinical study of new personalised cancer therapies which could give clinicians are real-time view of how well treatments are working.
The £9m partnership between the Francis Crick Institute, five NHS trusts, charities and bioscience companies will spend four years examining the effectiveness of new immunotherapy treatments and exploring new ways to detect cancer.
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By James Tapper
Study of new personalised cancer therapies could ‘transform’ how the disease is...
Less haste more speed will win Labour the race to fix 21st-century Britain
Rebuilding existing infrastructure is key for the government rather than rushed policymaking for new projects
There is an air of panic about how to fix Britain. We need to move quickly, shift the dial and jump up the rankings of rich countries. Investment is needed in new stuff to make the UK modern and its services delivered on time.
It’s a political imperative that galvanised Boris Johnson and then propelled Liz Truss from obscurity to becoming an almost revolutionary prime minister.
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By Phillip Inman
Less haste more speed will win Labour the race to fix 21st-century Britain to Continue reading...
NHS Forums - For NHS Staff and...
England urged to bring in minimum unit price on alcohol as deaths rise 10% a year
Health leaders tell government to follow Scotland and Wales on cost of cheap booze after Darzi report on death toll
Ministers are facing pressure to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol after Lord Darzi’s investigation into the NHS highlighted the “alarming” death toll in England caused by cheap drink.
Public health leaders are this weekend calling for urgent action to increase the price of cheap alcohol in supermarkets and off-licences. A two-litre bottle of cider can be bought in England for under £2, which equates to 22p per unit of alcohol.
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By Jon Ungoed-Thomas
England urged to bring in minimum unit price on alcohol...
Residential school students in England to get free dental, eyesight and hearing checks
NHS checks are expected to reach about 18,000 students with disabilities and additional needs
Young people with disabilities and additional needs in residential schools and colleges will soon be offered free NHS hearing, dental and eyesight checks.
NHS sensory checks that were piloted by the government in 2022 and 2023 will be rolled out to educational facilities across England from next year.
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By PA Media
Residential school students in England to get free dental, eyesight and hearing checks to Continue reading...
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News About the NHS
Three local NHS CEOs join NHS England as directors
Three local NHS CEOs join NHS England as directors
Two integrated care board chief executives and a trust CEO have been appointed as part-time national directors at NHS England.
Continue reading this article about Three local NHS CEOs join NHS England as directors
by Health Service Journal
NHS Forums - For daily discussion by NHS Staff.
Two integrated care board chief executives and a trust CEO have been appointed as part-time national directors at NHS England.
Continue reading this article about Three local NHS CEOs join NHS England as directors
by Health Service Journal
NHS Forums - For daily discussion by NHS Staff.
NHS privatisation and PFI - what Lord Darzi’s review missed
NHS privatisation and PFI - what Lord Darzi’s review missed
The much-anticipated review of NHS performance commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and conducted by Professor Lord Darzi, has now been published. The review identified several factors as
Continue reading this article about NHS privatisation and PFI - what Lord Darzi’s review missed
by We Own It
NHS Forums - For daily discussion by NHS Staff.
The much-anticipated review of NHS performance commissioned by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and conducted by Professor Lord Darzi, has now been published. The review identified several factors as
Continue reading this article about NHS privatisation and PFI - what Lord Darzi’s review missed
by We Own It
NHS Forums - For daily discussion by NHS Staff.