Adele Waters
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As seen in:
The BMJ,
MSN,
Daily Mail,
Irish Daily Mail,
MSN South Africa,
Nature,
Scottish Daily Mail,
Wiley Online Library,
In Practice Magazine,
Veterinary Record,
Which? Conversation
and
Covers:
Health care Medicine; Veterinary; General + Management; Lifestyle; Relationships
Journalist - on the health beat for 25 years+. Currently at BMJ plus freelancing. Also writing local stuff again as I've moved to Surrey + gone all posh..:)
Articles by Adele Waters
Doctors concerned PAs still being employed to treat 'undifferentiated patients'
By Adele Waters Doctors have expressed concern over NHS employers continuing to recruit physician assistants to treat patients who have not been assessed or diagnosed by a doctor first.
Implant confirmed as safe treatment for unstable angina patients
By Adele Waters The growing population of patients with difficult-to-treat or refractory angina who have exhausted conventional treatments would benefit from coronary sinus reducer (CSR) implantation as a standard treatment, research has confirmed. That is the conclusion of a national audit of the procedure across 19 UK specialist centres.
Hospital doctors ‘propping up’ GP advice and guidance scheme, survey suggests
By Adele Waters Hospital specialists are being forced to spend their own time advising GPs about potential referrals, with many reporting that they complete this advice work during the evenings and on weekends. That is the key finding from a survey carried out by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), which found almost half (47%) of physicians do not have NHS Advice and Guidance (A&G) work factored into their work contracts.
Claire is desperate to find a cure for her twin's rare disease, and is on the cusp of succeeding
Claire Bergstrom Johnson vividly remembers the moment her childhood changed for ever. At the age of seven her non-identical twin, Maegan, suddenly collapsed in the school playground. ‘I remember running when the bell rang to go back inside from recess and found her on the ground in the sandpit, unable to get up,' Claire, now 30, recalls. ‘Maegan kept trying to get back up but she just couldn't.
What challenges await the new health secretary?
By Adele Waters and PA Media Within hours of taking office as the UK’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham announced Yvette Cooper — a seasoned Labour Party heavyweight — as his new health secretary. What will that mean for doctors and the NHS? Why is there a new health secretary? Andy Burnham has just taken office as new UK prime minister, following Sir Keir Starmer stepping down last month.
What is in the new health secretary’s in-tray?
By Adele Waters and PA Media Within hours of taking office as the UK’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham announced Yvette Cooper — a seasoned Labour Party heavyweight — as his new health secretary. What will that mean for doctors and the NHS? Why is there a new health secretary? Andy Burnham took up office as new UK prime minister this week (20 July). This followed Sir Keir Starmer stepping down last month.
Detransitioners are “abandoned” as NHS fails to offer specialist care
Adele Waters, freelance journalist Author affiliations adele.waters@me.com Thousands of former trans patients want to call a halt to their medical transition, but the NHS doesn’t offer them specialist care. Adele Waters asks what service the UK should offer this group of patients with complex needs Michael Kerr remembers the exact day he decided to detransition (discontinue his gender transition).
Women will be a key focus of medical training review, says Dacre
By Adele Waters The current training system for doctors does not provide adequate support for women and addressing it will be a priority in the ongoing major review of medical training, its independent chair has said. Speaking at the BMA Medical Academic Staff Committee (MASC) conference (12 June), Professor Dame Jane Dacre said with the majority of those on the medical register being women, training for doctors needed to adapt.
Resident doctor strikes called off as vote to be held on government offer
By Adele Waters Strikes planned to begin today by resident doctors have been cancelled after a last-minute offer from the government. The four-day strike—due to begin at 7am this morning — was called off to allow the BMA’s UK resident doctors committee (UKRDC) to put the offer to tens of thousands of frontline doctors in a referendum vote.
NHS England fails to update major change to how patient sex and gender are recorded
NHS England (NHSE) has failed to implement changes to ensure that a patient's sex, as well as gender, is recorded in all medical records. Last month the Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB), which advises health providers on what information should be recorded and shared by staff, revised its requirements on sex and gender.
Advanced foundation trusts: what changes will they bring for doctors?
By Adele Waters As the government announces the first six advanced foundation trusts, Doctors.net.uk looks into what they are and what they mean for doctors and patients. What are advanced foundation trusts? They are high performing NHS hospital trusts granted greater freedom to make decisions, plan services and accelerate improvements for patients.
Sexual harassment at medical school: “Shame has to change sides,” says student at heart of Manchester University campaign
News & Views Sexual harassment at... Sexual harassment at medical school: “Shame has to change sides,” says student at heart of Manchester University campaign News BMJ 2026; 393 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2026-674390 Cite this as: BMJ 2026;393:e674390 Medical students who are found to have sexually harassed fellow students could be barred from graduating at the University of Manchester.
Rules for single-sex spaces: what they mean for the NHS
Getty/tirc83 By Adele Waters The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published new guidance on how to implement UK equality law. Doctors.net.uk examines what this means for the NHS – including the impact on toilets, changing rooms and wards. What is the new guidance?
Allergy patients betrayed by NHS: Millions like Jess, 9, live in fear of a fatal reaction
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Allergy patients betrayed by NHS: Millions like Jess, 9, live in fear of a fatal reaction
At just nine years old, Jess Hoque has already experienced several episodes of a life-threatening reaction due to a dairy allergy he's had since birth. For his mum Billie, that means constant worry and vigilance about what her eldest son is eating and touching. ‘Every meal is a calculated risk,' says Billie, a mum of three boys from Luton, Bedfordshire. ‘I micro-manage his diet,' she adds.
Lelia Duley: epidemiologist whose eclampsia trials transformed maternal health worldwide
Obituary BMJ 2026; 393 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s669 Cite this as: BMJ 2026;393:s669 Adele Waters London awaters{at}bmj.com Lelia Duley was twice told to forget her ambitions in medicine. The first time was at her comprehensive school in Oxford, when a careers adviser suggested that because her “father wasn’t rich” she did not have the right background for medicine.
Consultants demand action to protect their freedom of speech in wake of Abu-Sitta case
Consultants have urged unions and regulators to protect their freedom of speech after high profile cases of doctors facing regulatory action. At the annual BMA consultants conference this week (4 March), consultants overwhelmingly backed a motion (88%) outlining their right to freedom of expression. This included the ability to speak out on matters of public conscience, international conflict, and humanitarian law.
Puberty blockers trial: Professor Jacob George “excused” from involvement as data linkage study is greenlit
A UK clinical trial aiming to assess the effect of puberty blockers on young people with gender incongruence continues to be mired in controversy. Just a week after the trial was paused by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on 20 February,1 the regulator announced that it was excusing its chief medical and scientific officer, Jacob George, from any further involvement with the Pathways clinical trial.
Why doctors are uniquely vulnerable to domestic abuse
Feature Domestic Abuse BMJ 2025; 391 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r2575 Cite this as: BMJ 2025;391:r2575 Linked Opinion Courage is contagious: we need to talk about the domestic abuse experienced by female doctors in the NHS Domestic abuse in NHS workers is a “silent pandemic,” with some research finding that they are three times as likely to experience it.
Long covid: Government failure to recognise disease as occupational is “unconscionable,” say unions
Long covid and severe post-covid complications must be recognised as a prescribed industrial disease for health and social care workers, health unions have said. The BMA and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have written to work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden urging the government to “act quickly” to provide support to the many doctors and nurses, and their families, who experienced serious financial losses as a result of contracting covid-19 in the workplace and then developing long covid.
“Fantastic” deprescribing programme closes due to lack of funding
The National Polypharmacy Programme, a successful patient safety programme set up by doctors and pharmacists and run by the NHS’s Health Innovation Network to cut the number of medicines patients take, has been forced to close owing to lack of funding.
Sexual misconduct of doctors: New tribunal guidance welcomed but experts say inconsistencies will remain
Medical tribunal panels that decide whether UK doctors who are guilty of sexual misconduct are fit to continue practising will work under fresh directions from next month. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) published updated guidance on 1 October that introduces several key changes aimed at helping tribunal panels improve their decision making.
Puberty blockers: Planned trial for gender questioning children should not proceed, say experts
A planned clinical trial to assess the safety of puberty blockers in children with gender distress poses too many ethical and methodological problems to proceed. That was the verdict from experts discussing their concerns at a webinar on 16 September organised by the Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender (CAN-SG), a group of UK and Irish clinicians calling for higher standards of evidence based care in transgender medicine.
“Dangerously unsafe”: Doctor tribunal service’s handling of sexual misconduct cases condemned by victims and researchers
The process for dealing with UK doctors who are guilty of sexual misconduct is “deeply flawed” and requires major reform, researchers tell Adele Waters A team of academics and clinicians from six organisations have reviewed how the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) manages sexual abuse cases and found the guidance that underpins sanctioning of doctors is “wildly inadequate.” Their article, published today in The BMJ, concludes that tribunal panels are too reliant on subjective...
“It was easier to retrain as a teacher than return to work as a doctor”: the struggle of doctors returning to work
Many doctors face huge difficulties when trying to return after a career break. Adele Waters explores the support available Leaving medicine for the second time was devastating for former GP trainee Vicky Tate. “Deciding to resign was such a hard decision to make. Part of me still regrets it,” admits the mum of three from Oxfordshire.
John Davis: academic and paediatrician who helped revolutionise understanding of newborn babies
“The most scholarly and imaginative paediatrician of his generation” was how paediatrician Peter Tizard described John Davis. Davis made profound contributions to child health, particularly in the understanding and care of newborn babies. He was also a polymath and renowned for his maverick spirit and unwavering moral commitment. He became the first professor of paediatrics at Cambridge University’s clinical school, transforming it into one of the UK’s liveliest centres.
Medical misogyny and “harrowing” experiences: what are doctors doing to improve outpatient gynaecological procedures?
Adele Waters London adele.waters{at}me.com Intrauterine procedures for outpatients, such as hysteroscopy, have attracted negative media and parliamentary attention for being poorly tolerated by some women, causing pain and even trauma. Adele Waters reports on how doctors are tackling the problem During her training in gynaecology and general practice Nikki Ramskill, a Buckinghamshire GP, twice had a coil fitted.
Rob Sapsford: cardiologist whose generalist knowledge, humour, and calm authority made him “virtually irreplaceable”
News & Views Rob Sapsford:... Rob Sapsford: cardiologist whose generalist knowledge, humour, and calm authority made him “virtually irreplaceable” Obituaries BMJ 2025; 389 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r992 Cite this as: BMJ 2025;389:r992 In early April 2020, staff at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust gathered to prepare for the wave of covid-19 patients they knew were coming their way. The UK’s first lockdown had been announced a week before and London had already seen a huge spike in cases.
Will the next president of the Royal College of Physicians bring the change its members want?
Elections are under way for a new RCP president. But what does the college want in its new leader, Adele Waters asks, and, perhaps more importantly, what does it need? Since last year the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) of London has been under pressure to make appreciable changes to its operations. An emergency general meeting in March 2024 was followed by a shaming external review last September, which identified a range of collective failures in leadership.
Revealed: The ‘barbaric’ procedure that leaves women traumatised, in agony and no longer wanting to have sex
When Maria Waters, a 58-year-old GP from Richmond, in Surrey, went for her hospital outpatient appointment last summer, she carefully prepared. She was booked in to have a hysteroscopy – an examination of the inside of the uterus (womb) using a narrow telescope containing a camera – after experiencing unusual vaginal bleeding, to rule out cancer.
Pippa Tyrrell: Manchester’s first ever dedicated stroke physician whose overhaul of the city’s services led to change throughout the UK
Before Pippa Tyrrell led the overhaul of Manchester’s stroke services, patients were admitted to general medical and geriatric wards in their local hospital and had limited access to emergency brain scans, treatment, or coordinated care. But as the city’s first ever dedicated stroke physician, Tyrrel believed that specialised units were the way forward.
Leaky pipelines: I track the ‘pink collar’ parallels between nursing and academia
Alison Leary’s career spans engineering, nursing and data science. In her current role as a workforce-modelling researcher at London’s South Bank University, she uses data-mining and pattern-recognition skills to model complex systems. Leary also works for the World Health Organization, advising national agencies and governments on workforce modelling. Her work has contributed to global and national policy in various countries; in health care, she has studied more than 70 specialist workforces.
Robert Geoffrey Twycross: palliative care physician, pioneer of the modern hospice movement, and staunch opponent of assisted dying
News & Views Robert Geoffrey... Robert Geoffrey Twycross: palliative care physician, pioneer of the modern hospice movement, and staunch opponent of assisted dying Obituaries BMJ 2024; 387 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q2630 Cite this as: BMJ 2024;387:q2630 Adele Waters awaters@bmj.com As befitting someone whose life’s work was to enable patients to have a good death, Robert Twycross had mapped out his own to the last detail. Every aspect of his funeral was planned.
RCP fellows demand correction from academy chair over her claim that PA concerns were “devoid” of facts
News & Views RCP fellows demand... RCP fellows demand correction from academy chair over her claim that PA concerns were “devoid” of facts News BMJ 2024; 387 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q2193 Cite this as: BMJ 2024;387:q2193 Forty fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of London have called for the chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges to correct her assertion that there is a lack of evidence for medical professionals’ concerns over the regulation of physician associates.
Child protection medicals must be carried out only by doctors, not PAs, say safeguarding experts
Physician associates (PAs) should not be carrying out medical examinations of children who have reported abuse or who are at risk of abuse and should not produce evidence for courts, forensic doctors have said in guidance.
Child protection medicals must be carried out only by doctors, not PAs, say safeguarding experts
News & Views Child protection... Child protection medicals must be carried out only by doctors, not PAs, say safeguarding experts News BMJ 2024; 387 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q2172 Cite this as: BMJ 2024;387:q2172 Physician associates (PAs) should not be carrying out medical examinations of children who have reported abuse or who are at risk of abuse and should not produce evidence for courts, forensic doctors have said in guidance.
Medical students must be protected from sexual abuse, say campaigners
Sexual safety campaigners have written to the health secretary Wes Streeting to call for action over what they deem a failure of medical schools to acknowledge the problem of sexual assault and abuse of students at university and during clinical placements. In an open letter published on 30 September, Becky Cox and Chelcie Jewitt, co-founders of the campaign group Surviving in Scrubs, urged the health secretary to meet them to discuss the need for robust action to protect medical students.
Doctor suicide: “All I could see were tasks mounting, appointments being booked, and people constantly knocking on my door”
Adele Waters, freelance journalist London adele.waters{at}me.com A recent report has set out recommendations that could prevent doctors from taking their own lives. Adele Waters speaks to doctors and families touched by suicide Sarah Jacques remembers the day she came close to killing herself. The 46 year old former GP from Battle, East Sussex, says she “just snapped” one day at work, drove to the seafront, parked her car, and got out to watch the sea.
Medical training at breaking point: will an increase in learners push the system over the edge?
Intended for healthcare professionals News & Views Medical training at... Medical training at breaking point: will an increase in learners push the system over the edge? Feature NHS Workforce BMJ 2024; 386 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q1556 Cite this as: BMJ 2024;386:q1556 Adele Waters, freelance journalist London Medical education is already under extreme pressure, and there are fears that the planned expansion of medical training places will cause the system to collapse.
“I’m not asking to be let off”-suspended climate activist GP Sarah Benn continues to stand her ground
Adele Waters, freelance journalist London adele.waters{at}me.com Sarah Benn—the first doctor to face disciplinary action after being convicted and jailed for actions relating to climate activism—tells Adele Waters why suspension from the medical register will not stop her protesting “I don’t feel guilty. I don’t feel I’ve dishonoured the profession, and I think I could explain myself very well to anybody who thought that I had,” says Sarah Benn, climate activist and former general practitioner.
LMC removes GP from committee amid row over attendance at meetings
News & Views LMC removes GP from... LMC removes GP from committee amid row over attendance at meetings News BMJ 2024; 385 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q1021 Cite this as: BMJ 2024;385:q1021 A row has broken out over a decision by a local medical committee (LMC) to remove a GP from its committee, citing her lack of attendance at its meetings.
Re: Much confusion around the meaning of real-terms income changes.
Dear Editor Thank you for your feedback and for pointing out the potential confusion in the article. You are correct that the ‘real terms’ value of salaries is directly related to the cost of living, and the two are not separate facts. The use of the word ‘combined’ in the sentence below is misleading and we apologise for this oversight.
Doctors’ pay should reflect the cost of where they live and work, say experts
News & Views Doctors’ pay should... Doctors’ pay should reflect the cost of where they live and work, say experts News BMJ 2024; 384 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q714 Cite this as: BMJ 2024;384:q714 Doctors need to be paid to live and work where they are needed, BMA negotiators and NHS pay analysts have said after pointing to “fundamental flaws” in the London weighting system and the way that NHS jobs are distributed.
Devalued: doctors’ real terms purchasing power has declined substantially over 15 years, independent economic analysis confirms
Reduced purchasing power The erosion of doctors’ salaries has coincided with a substantial increase in the cost of living, resulting in doctors’ purchasing power reducing considerably. The analysis, published after 13 months of industrial action across the UK by the BMA that started with junior doctors in England,2 found that this decline in purchasing power is disproportionately affecting lower grade doctors.
Covid-19: Doctors instruct law firm in bid for compensation after developing long covid
Inadequate protection Kelly Fearnley, LCD4A chair, highlighted the need to compensate UK healthcare workers whose lives “have been decimated” after occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2. “Many of our members contracted covid at work whilst providing vital care to patients in absence of adequate airborne protection,” she said. “Doctors that were young, and previously fit and healthy with no comorbidities, are now living a life of chronic disability.
Shepperton business helps women with hair loss feel confident again
Custom handmade wigs in Shepperton Wigs can give women back their confidence. Adele Waters meets some bringers of hope... It’s wonderful, reflects Linda Cooley, to see the difference that a visit to Shepperton Wigs can make. Often, women arrive at the workshop in a downbeat mood, almost apologetic in their demeanour. “But they leave feeling better about themselves, walking taller – and with a sense of hope,” she says.
Long covid: the doctors’ lives destroyed by an illness they caught while doing their jobs
Adele Waters, freelance journalist London adele.waters{at}me.com Unable to work or to play with their children, forced to sell their homes or facing insolvency—doctors with long covid deserve more support from the government and the NHS, writes Adele Waters When Kelly Fearnley first stepped on to a surgical ward as a doctor at Bradford Royal Infirmary in August 2020 her head was still buzzing with delight at having finally achieved her dream of qualifying in medicine.
Royal college president apologises to female surgeons for “misguided” comments that undermined diversity agenda
News & Views Royal college... Royal college president apologises to female surgeons for “misguided” comments that undermined diversity agenda News BMJ 2023; 382 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.p2163 Cite this as: BMJ 2023;382:p2163 The president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England has apologised for “gaslighting” female surgeons in comments he made about their clinical outcomes.
Trusts should review policies for handling sexual assault and harassment of staff and patients, NHS England says
News & Views Trusts should review...
Long covid: nearly half of doctors affected can no longer work full time, finds survey
News & Views Long covid: nearly... Long covid: nearly half of doctors affected can no longer work full time, finds survey
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