A&E departments are buckling under the pressure of a social care system that is reaching its "tipping point", a health watchdog has warned. Some people across the country are receiving "very poor care", the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said as it released its annual assessment of care in England. Overall,…

Plans to create 2,000 "nursing associate" roles across England have been announced by health officials. The first 1,000 nursing associates, who will deliver "hands-on" care for patients, are due to start training at 11 tests sites from December, Health Education England (HEE) said. Following "huge interest" in the role from…

Significant numbers of people with learning disabilities, particularly very young adults, remain inappropriately incarcerated in English hospitals, say researchers. That is despite Government targets, published in the wake of the Winterbourne View scandal, for everyone with a learning disability in England, who was inappropriately detained in hospital, to be discharged…

Nursing leaders have warned that the NHS "would not cope" without staff from abroad, as new figures suggest the number of EU nationals joining NHS hospitals has soared. Around one in five nurses recruited in England 2015/16 were non-British EU nationals - up from one in 14 in 2011/12. Over…

There has been a substantial drop in the number of young people with mental health problems who have to be treated in non-specialist wards, a new report revealed. In 2015-16 there were 135 cases where under-18s were treated either in an adult psychiatric ward or a hospital children's ward, down…

Almost nine out of 10 NHS groups are failing cancer patients, with low rates of diagnosis and treatment, new ratings show. Data from NHS England reveals that the vast majority of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across England are performing poorly when it comes to diagnosing patients quickly, ensuring they get…

Red tape is leading to mental health patients being trapped unnecessarily on hospital wards for weeks at a time, a new study suggests. And some new patients seeking help are being sent to treatment facilities hundreds of miles from their homes to get care as a result of this so-called…

A charity has called on health boards to take urgent action after a major survey found some cancer patients are facing delays in diagnosis, poor care and a lack of communication. Macmillan Cancer Support wants NHS boards to draw up plans to address the issues raised in the first Scottish…

One in five carers have taken their loved one to A&E due to failures in GP out-of-hours services and district nursing, figures suggest. A new report from the charity Carers UK found people turning to hospital emergency departments because they do not know where else to go. A&E attendances across…

The Government is being warned it will be in breach of minimum wage laws if it does not inject £280 million into the NHS by the end of the decade. Unions representing health workers said within five years the lowest paid could be on less than the statutory minimum. In…

A scandal-hit ambulance trust is to be put into special measures after a regulator found it was putting patients at risk. In a series of damning reports, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) detailed how patients had abandoned their telephone calls for help - particularly on weekends - due to problems…

Jeremy Hunt must set out how he intends to stop hospitals discharging patients in the middle of the night unless they specifically want to go home, MPs have said. The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) said night discharges between 11pm and 6am are "potentially dangerous" for patients and…