New global guidelines warn against obesity drugs for children under 10
Wednesday 7th October 2026
Children under 10 should not be given obesity drugs or GLP-1 weight-loss injections such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, new global guidelines, external from the World Health Organization say. Most of these medications are only licensed for children or adolescents older than this, but some doctors prescribe them off-label, and drug companies are testing them in children as young as six. WHO says the care should focus on healthy eating and exercise, not medicine or surgery, although they do not oppose drug trials.
Broken social care will in the end break the NHS,' says Burnham
Friday 2nd October 2026
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has proposed a national care service, free at the point of use, to tackle England's "threadbare" social care services. In an interview with BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, the prime minister said "broken social care will in the end break the NHS" and that he would not look in the other direction. Burnham went on to say that he will develop a clear plan for a new national care service that is then put to the public at the next general election.
From weeks to hours - the rapid new test transforming brain tumour diagnosis
Friday 25th September 2026
A rapid new test for brain tumours that the NHS has started using can slash the time it takes for an accurate diagnosis from up to eight weeks to two hours. The test, which is used by doctors to diagnose which type of tumour a patient has, should mean patients can start treatment including radiotherapy and chemotherapy sooner, and are spared weeks of uncertainty.
Martha's Rule rolled out at every A&E department in England
Thursday 24th September 2026
The NHS is expanding Martha's Rule to all hospital emergency departments in England to help patients and families challenge staff and seek a rapid review of their care if they want. It is named after Martha Mills, who died aged 13 in 2021 after developing blood poisoning, or sepsis. Her family's concerns were not listened to, which later prompted her parents, Merope and Paul, to change that culture by creating the rule. Patients, loved ones and staff in A&E units will be able to call a dedicated phone number to trigger an urgent review if a patient's condition is deteriorating and they are concerned this is not being taken on board. The nationwide expansion should be complete by March 2028, after a trial…
PMR (polymyalgia rheumatica)
Wednesday 23rd September 2026
PMR (polymyalgia rheumatica) is an inflammatory condition that mainly affects people over 50. The simplest way to think of it is: your immune system causes inflammation around the shoulders, hips and nearby tissues, making the muscles feel painful and stiff. It isn't actually a disease that damages the muscles themselves. Typical PMR symptoms are: Pain and stiffness in the shoulders and upper arms, often on both sides. Pain/stiffness around the hips, thighs and sometimes the neck. It is usually worst first thing in the morning or after you've been sitting or lying still. Moving around often gradually makes things easier. Some people also feel unusually tired or generally under the weather.
New hope for breast cancer patients as life-extending drug now on NHS in England
Thursday 17th September 2026
Patients in England with a specific type of incurable breast cancer can now access a life-extending drug on the NHS, two years after it was deemed too expensive by a health body. Enhertu can give patients almost seven extra months to live on average - with some living up to three years longer. Women in Scotland have had access to the drug on the NHS since 2023, and it is available in 26 other European countries. Charities and patients have campaigned for it to be more widely available since 2024, when the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said Enhertu was not good value for money. From Thursday, doctors in England are now able to prescribe it, with Wales expected to follow…
Very hot drinks may damage the food pipe and increase cancer risk
Friday 11th September 2026
Regularly drinking beverages like tea and coffee at very hot temperatures increases the risk of cancer of the food pipe or gullet, known as oesophageal cancer, UK research suggests. Researchers say the findings, external, from a study of nearly a million people, make this the largest to date to establish the link. In the study, people who had their drinks "very hot" had around a three times higher risk of the cancer than "warm" tea or coffee drinkers - although experts stress the overall chances of developing this cancer are low.
Migraines and acne among five more conditions pharmacists can treat
Thursday 10th September 2026
People will be able to go to their local chemist in England this autumn and get on-the-spot treatment for 12 common conditions without going to their GP first. Pharmacists can already prescribe medication for seven conditions - sore throat, earache, sinusitis, shingles, impetigo, infected bites and urinary tract infections. Five more - migraines, acne, scabies, ear infections and badly blocked noses - are now also being added to that list. NHS England said the move was to ease pressure on busy GPs and A&E departments while making sure people could get treatment quickly and conveniently. After a very hot summer and three of the busiest months on record in A&Es in England, the NHS says it wants to make it as easy as possible…
Transplanted pig kidney works in US man's body for record 271 days
Monday 7th September 2026
A kidney transplanted from a pig has worked inside a patient for 271 days – the longest on record, say US doctors. Tim Andrews said the transplant gave him "hope" and spared him months of needing to go to hospital to have his blood filtered by a dialysis machine. The team at Mass General Brigham hospital say their work shows pig organs can be used as a "bridge" until a human transplant becomes available. But the pig organ eventually failed and was removed so Andrews needed a short bout of dialysis before a donor was found. Doctors and scientists are exploring xenotransplantation – using organs from other species – due to shortages of organs for transplants.
HPV home-testing kits available for women in England who have missed cervical screening
Wednesday 26th August 2026
Women who have missed a cervical screening appointment in England are to be offered HPV self-testing kits by the NHS. Over the next year, nearly four million will receive invites on the NHS App or via text message, email or letter to order a free kit to use at home. Figures show around a third of women who are eligible cervical cancer screening have not taken up the offer recently. The self-testing kits are designed to get more women checked for high-risk HPV virus, which causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer.
Vaccine breakthrough stops cancer returning in trial
Thursday 20th August 2026
A new personalised vaccine given in combination with a drug has stopped skin cancer returning in patients during a trial, representing a potentially watershed moment in cancer treatment. The vaccine, developed by drug companies Merck & Co or MSD, and Moderna, was given to patients with high-risk melanoma, a type of skin cancer, after they had surgery. Early results show this new jab extended the length of time these patients were cancer free, but it's unclear for how long, according to an announcement by the two firms. Cancer experts say this is a breakthrough, but emphasise caution as the full results have not been released or peer-reviewed whereby independent experts examine and check the trial findings. And even after the trials process has finished,…
One dead and hundreds ill in UK salmonella outbreak
Wednesday 19th August 2026
A person has died and hundreds have fallen ill with salmonella food poisoning in an outbreak that UK experts believe is linked to eating food made with imported eggs.