NHS IT, Records and Data

‘Damaging’ NHS targets ‘have had their day’ claims Lord Prior

15.02.19: NHS targets “have had their day” according to Lord Prior as the head of the health service launches an attack on 25 years of flawed health policies. On the same day A&E performance slumped to the worst level on record, NHS E...

A&E waiting time performance hits all time low as NHS ‘buckles under the strain’

15.02.19: A&E waiting time performances in NHS trusts in England have hit their lowest level since regards began, according to the latest NHS statistics. The NHS’s performance against the flagship four-hour target has hit its lowest level s...

‘No end in sight’: CQC takes urgent action at East Kent FT as children put at risk by staffing levels

14.02.19: The CQC has taken “urgent action” to protect the children being cared for by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust after they were being put at risk by “unsafe” staffing levels. Inspectors found that th...

GP at Hand cleared to expand to Birmingham after NHS England lifts objections

14.02.19: Babylon’s controversial GP at Hand is to be expanded to Birmingham after NHS England reversed its decision to block the doctor app. Babylon applied last year to launch its remote video consultation service in Birmingham, but the appli...

ICO: Cyber security and the NHS

14.02.19: Peter Brown, acting head of technology policy at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), explains the importance of good practice in data protection and cyber security for the NHS, almost two years on from the WannaCry cyber-attack. If...

Thousands of X-rays to be reviewed amid fears of surgical errors

13.02.19: Thousands of NHS patients who had bone fractures repaired with a metal plate now need to have their X-rays reviewed after the NHS has admitted the wrong plates may have been used. NHS Improvement (NHSI) has issued the national patient safet...

NHS workforce lacks digital literacy as Tesco knows more about its customers than the health service, warns Matt Hancock

12.02.19: Tesco knows more about its customers than the NHS does about its patients, and staff need far greater digital literacy, Matt Hancock has said, announcing a review on how to prepare the NHS workforce for a digital future. A major review just...

Ex-financial special measures trust leaps to ‘good' CQC rating

07.02.19: The former special financial measures trust behind Gloucestershire’s three main hospitals has jumped to a ‘good’ rating after the CQC found “vast improvements” and lessons learnt. Inspectors have praised Glouce...

88-year-old NHS secretary become oldest ever person to win age discrimination case

07.02.19: An 88-year-old hospital secretary has become the oldest person to ever win an age discrimination case after she was marched out of her office by security and sacked when colleagues complained about her age and “frailty.” Eileen...

Operating room inefficiencies costing the NHS 300,000 operations a year

04.02.19: Nearly 300,000 more operations could be carried out through better management of surgical lists and holiday booking, an NHS watchdog report has found. In a review commissioned by NHS Improvement (NHSI), it was found that theatres regularly...

Backlog of 150,000 cervical screenings revealed as all major health screenings failing to hit targets

01.02.19: A backlog of more than 150,000 cervical screening samples awaiting testing has built up in laboratories across England, according to a damning report on NHS screenings by the National Audit Office (NAO). The watchdog found that all three of...

Woman sues NHS for £1m compensation to start new family after medical mistakes left her infertile

28.01.19: The NHS has been ordered to pay over £1m for a woman to have four surrogate babies in America after medical failures left her infertile – but health chiefs have applied to the Supreme Court for permission to challenge the decision. ...

First chief digital officer appointed to CQC ahead of ‘ambitious programme of digital transformation’

25.01.19: The CQC has appointed its first chief digital officer, who will have the responsibility of transforming core IT services and driving digital innovation within the health inspectorate. Mark Sutton will join the CQC’s board and executiv...

Hancock unveils antibiotic resistance action plan to fight ‘urgent global’ threat

25.01.19: The NHS has unveiled a five-year national action plan pledging to reduce its use of antibiotics by 15% by 2024 after the health secretary declared drug-resistant superbugs are now as big a threat as climate change or war. Matt Hancock, laun...

Outgoing NHS digital chief wrote ‘puff piece’ for future employer in ‘jaw-droppingly inappropriate’ behaviour

23.01.19: NHS England’s outgoing chief digital officer has been criticised for “jaw-droppingly inappropriate” behaviour after she announced her departure for a health technology start-up she had praised in a “puff piece” arti...