Hello everyone, Boris Johnson took the stand at the Covid-19 inquiry this week – a moment many couldn't quite bring themselves to watch. Luckily, Sean O'Grady has captured the key moments (and the mood) in a piece for The Independent. The government has also announced another maternity inquiry, this time into Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. After tireless campaigning from affected families, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has granted the investigation, which will sit alongside Baroness Amos's national review into 12 other trusts. But with growing calls for a full statutory public inquiry, there's a pressing question: will these reviews have the power to bring about real change? Meanwhile, winter has arrived – and with it, renewed strain on the NHS. Hospitals are already under immense pressure; this week, one was forced to turn its café into a temporary ward, something the health secretary himself called "appalling". And finally, from the future of healthcare to the frontier of technology – ChatGPT. While I don't use it often myself, it's clearly become part of daily life for many. This week, Daniel Fine shares a moving personal account of the shock response he received when he asked ChatGPT how long he had left to live after a stage four cancer diagnosis. |
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| Well Enough by Emilie Lavinia | Monday |
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I wanted to draw readers' attention to a report that risks slipping under the radar this week. NHS Resolution – the body that handles negligence claims against the health service – has published a review into missed cancer cases in general practice. It follows last week's warning from the National Audit Office over the NHS's soaring negligence bill. The review examined 105 cases and reached one particularly stark conclusion: 73.5 per cent of claimants aged under 50 were women. |
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The yearly cost of settling clinical negligence claims has more than tripled over the past two decades |
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It's a small sample, but it underlines a long-recognised gender disparity in NHS care. The report found that delays in onward referral typically ranged from six to 14 months, with many patients only diagnosed once their cancer had reached an advanced or metastatic stage. One case highlighted involved a patient in their 20s who reported intermenstrual bleeding and pain during and after sex. Swabs were taken, an ultrasound and smear test carried out, and a routine referral made to gynaecology – one of the busiest specialities, with some of the longest waiting times. Despite repeated visits to out-of-hours services, the patient was only prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for painful periods. It was later discovered they had a large tumour. |
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Have you ever thought about giving up alcohol? |
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This week, Lily Allen reflected on her life before sobriety, admitting she "turned into a bully" when she used drugs and alcohol. As we head into the final stretch of Sober October, I want to know – have you ever thought about giving up alcohol? Vote here. Following my piece on being diagnosed with endometriosis by text, many of you shared your own experiences of an NHS that feels increasingly impersonal and overstretched. I wanted to know whether you'd ever been in a similar situation – and how it made you feel. A third of readers (33 per cent) said they had received an important medical diagnosis by text or letter and found it impersonal. Almost as many (30 per cent) said they hadn't – and felt that's how it should stay. A further 26 per cent said they hadn't but wouldn't want to, while 11 per cent said they had and didn't mind. |
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