Doctors.net.uk

30 July 2026 By Paul Hunter and Julii Brainard There was an energetic push to install air-filtering devices in schools and care homes when the COVID pandemic struck. However, these devices had rarely been tested in real situations looking at infection outcomes in people. Because there was no solid proof that these devices actually worked, researchers ran a trial testing whether air filters can prevent viral respiratory infections in care homes for the elderly.

By Erin Dean The number of fitness to practise concerns about doctors submitted to the GMC increased by 25% in a year. The jump from 10,769 concerns in 2024 to 13,645 in 2025 is the third year in a row the number has increased and the largest increase for 20 years, the regulator said. The vast majority of the concerns, more than 10,700, came from members of the public – and were up by almost 30% over the previous year.

30 July 2026 By Ellie Broughton Dr Patricia Lohr examines shifting attitudes about contraception, how they have left doctors with too few options – and current efforts to develop a new kind of birth control. Public attitudes towards contraception have been changing in recent years.

By Daniel Pye Older patients are more likely to face long waits in emergency departments, with two in five waiting over 12 hours to be admitted, according to data. Experts have previously assumed that older adults spend longer in ED because they are more likely to be admitted to hospital. However, the Nuffield Trust analysis suggests that when looking at patients of all ages who are admitted, adults over the age of 80 are still likely to wait the longest.

By David Lynch, PA Media Palliative care and social care needs to be fixed before assisted dying is considered in the UK, Andy Burnham has said. The Prime Minister was asked to outline his position on assisted dying, as MPs are set to again debate a bill designed to legalise it when Parliament returns after its summer recess.

By Daniel Pye A district hospital has temporarily closed its maternity unit due to an “unsafe” shortage of senior doctors. North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple has suspended birthing services at the hospital from 11 August as it cannot guarantee women would consistently have access to senior medical support during labour.

By Daniel Pye A district hospital has suspended its birthing services due to an “unsafe” shortage of senior doctors. North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple will not take births at the hospital from 11 August as it cannot guarantee women would consistently have access to senior medical support during labour.

By Stephanie Wareham, PA Media A man has admitted false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking after an ambulance was taken from outside a hospital while a patient was being treated in the back. Staffordshire Police said they were called to a report of a man taking the emergency vehicle from the Royal Stoke University Hospital at about 8.15pm on March 25.

28 July 2026 By Daniel Pye Concerns that an emergency department simultaneously used two triage systems due to a lack of resources for training have been raised by a coroner investigating the death of a patient. Garth Pretorius, 36, had a 24-hour delay to treatment for sepsis after “effectively being sent home” from Hull Royal Infirmary, the coroner said. This wait more than minimally contributed to his death on 3 January, 2025, Professor Paul Marks, senior coroner for Hull, concluded.

By Daniel Pye Concerns that an emergency department simultaneously used two triage systems due to a lack of resources for training have been raised by a coroner who investigated the death of a patient. Garth Pretorius, 36, had a 24-hour delay to treatment for sepsis after “effectively being sent home” from Hull Royal Infirmary, the coroner said. This wait more than minimally contributed to his death on 3 January, 2025, Professor Paul Marks, senior coroner for Hull, concluded.