House byline
Health correspondent
Bridget O'Neill is a house byline for InfoHandle’s Health desk.
Scottish Health Secretary Angela Constance said corridor care is unacceptable and pledged to count it, as an emergency doctor told broadcasters A&E can no longer guarantee safe care.
A Royal College of Emergency Medicine leader told BBC Scotland she is “completely terrified” of winter pressures as patients wait up to 72 hours on trolleys despite a ministerial pledge to end corridor care.
Severe heart-disease patients across London are receiving hospital-level monitoring at home under an NHS scheme that early data suggest could save millions of pounds and hundreds of lives annually.
Regulators told shops and caterers to pull every shell egg stamped 3UA1012066 from Yasensvit Ltd in Kyiv after Salmonella Enteritidis was detected; major supermarkets say they are not affected.
From 1 October, people aged 16 and over who are rough sleeping or in hostels joined the free NHS flu programme alongside the usual adult cohorts.
Community Pharmacy England activated paediatric flu pathways so at-risk two-year-olds can be vaccinated on the high street from 1 October alongside the adult rollout.
From 1 October most English adults can book NHS flu jabs through GPs and pharmacies as staggered vaccine deliveries address a three-strain formula change.
All ten English ambulance trusts escalated to REAP level 4 on Tuesday as near-record 999 demand, Covid-related staff absences above 20,000 and heat warnings strained hospitals.
NHS trust executives warned ministers of tight autumn budgets and staffing gaps as hospitals brace for winter respiratory admissions on top of elective recovery targets.
Rough sleepers and hostel residents aged 16 and over joined the NHS autumn flu programme on 1 October under JCVI advice implemented across England.
UKHSA sentinel labs reported rising rhinovirus positivity among Midlands ICU samples, an early signal that autumn respiratory pressure may hit critical care before GP waiting rooms publish full flu statistics.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust enrolled the first participants in Pfizer's phase-three BEATRIX trial of a maternal Group B strep vaccine.
UKHSA syndromic surveillance for week 39 showed COVID-like GP consultations rising fastest among people aged 65 and over while children's respiratory indicators stabilised.
NICE opened consultation on draft guidance that could widen NHS access to newer obesity injections for adults with weight-related comorbidities from 2027, setting cost-effectiveness tests that hospitals say will strain endocrinology clinics.
GP leaders warned of appointment backlogs as NHS England opens adult flu bookings on the eve of the 1 October rollout for people aged 65 and over.
NHS England’s 1pm webinar introduces the 2026-27 Oversight Framework compartment inside the Model Health System and a new public data gateway report for trust benchmarking.
The UK Health Security Agency issued an early cold weather alert as NHS trusts in England refreshed accident and emergency escalation plans before flu season overlaps with freezing nights.
School-age flu vaccinations continue across England in late September while most adult cohorts must wait until 1 October on the National Booking Service.
NHS England has expanded a rapid genomic test for brain tumours to five specialist centres in a £2m+ pilot aimed at returning diagnoses in days rather than weeks. The programme is phase one, not a national rollout, and the key questions are who gets tested and whether turnaround times actually change care.
NHS England counted 92,177 cases of corridor care in August, an average of 2,973 patients a day, in the second monthly release of a measure ministers say they will eliminate by the end of this Parliament — after a summer of record A&E attendances, 2.4 million ambulance callouts and £1.5bn of new estate funding.
NHS England’s accelerated FP69 validation—three months instead of six since October 2025—is stripping lists faster in deprived areas, with doctors warning vulnerable patients are losing GP access before practices can reach them.
NHS England asked pharmacies to extend walk-in flu capacity after weekly respiratory admissions rose in the first fortnight of September, while urging eligible adults to book jabs before October tariff and heating season overlap with ward pressure.
NHS England is urging care home operators to upload rota extracts before pharmacy flu slots go live on the National Booking System, so night-shift carers can book jabs that match handover windows instead of missing appointments.
NHS Blood and Transplant launched its first urgent organ-donation response plan on Monday as waiting lists reached about 8,700 patients and officials said nine people a week are dying because no suitable organ is available.
Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust will run Saturday ophthalmology laser lists through October after a planned summer theatre shutdown left more than 400 YAG and retinal cases waiting past the 18-week referral target.