There are not enough public health policies designed to prevent illness, a Holyrood committee has found.MSPs on the Health and Sport Committee found that the health service was over-reliant on tackling existing problems rather than preventing them from happening.Most activity focuses on treating illness at an early stage or preventing…

A hospital trust has been placed into special measures after it emerged that more than 100 cases of alleged poor care are to be reviewed.NHS Improvement confirmed on Thursday that Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust has been placed into special measures following recommendations from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).Ian…

A grandmother would not have been murdered if mental health staff had assessed the danger posed by a mentally ill woman properly, a coroner has concluded.Paranoid schizophrenic Nicola Edgington virtually decapitated Sally Hodkin, 58, with a butcher's knife in a random attack six years after killing her own mother.The now…

New data released by Public Health Wales shows that despite an overall decrease in hospital admissions for illicit drugs, the number of cocaine-related hospital admissions has increased by 114 per cent in the last five years to 2017-18. This increase has been observed in all age groups from young people…

England's top doctor has called on the NHS to use more technology and innovation to reduce the thousands of unnecessary outpatient appointments carried out every day.NHS England medical director Professor Stephen Powis said health leaders should embrace technology such as Skype, apps and online tools so patients can avoid hospital…

South East Coast Ambulance Service is to remain in special measures despite showing improvements in care, according to a report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).A team of inspectors from CQC visited the service which covers Kent, Surrey and Sussex between July and September 2018 to check the quality of…

Also known as bed-blocking, delayed discharge happens when patients are medically fit to return home but unable to leave hospital, frequently due to the lack of a social care package.Official statistics show 1,529 people were affected at the September census point, the most since October 2016 when 1,576 patients were…

A mother left traumatised by her disabled daughter's difficult birth has been awarded more than £75,000 in damages by a High Court judge.The woman, who cannot be identified, suffered a psychiatric injury following the birth of her daughter at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent, in 2012.The baby was…

Labour has attacked Bedlam-like conditions for people with learning disabilities.Shadow health minister Barbara Keeley said the current situation was "nothing short of a national scandal" with patients being treated in a way that has "no place in the 21st century".Recent reports of an autistic teenager called Bethany who was locked…

Fresh concerns have been raised over a nursing shortfall post-Brexit after a new review found that Britain could be left an additional 10,000 nurses short.In England, the latest nursing vacancy rate figure is 41,722.A new report explores the trends in the health and social care sector's workforce, including the role…

A struggling health board has been criticised after an official report revealed it is looking to shed 10% of its workforce. NHS Tayside is aiming to shed around 1,300 members of staff as part of efforts to balance the books, through “natural staff turnover”. It comes despite the Scottish Government…

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has indicated he is ready to consider calls to close all institutions for people with learning difficulties or autism. The call came from Sir Stephen Bubb, who said recommendations for reform of the system in his 2014 report into abuse at the Winterbourne View home have…