A staggering 18,915 new referrals for ADHD assessments arrived in mental health services in December 2025 alone — up 17.3% on the previous year. As of that month, up to 735,157 people in England had open referrals that may relate to ADHD, with more than 562,000 recorded in core mental health datasets. NHS spending on ADHD services is projected to hit £314 million in 2025/26 for just 32 integrated care boards — more than double the original £150 million budget ...
Savile’s knighthood was the ultimate evidence of a national blindness. Jimmy Savile was not merely a television personality; he was a highly functional predator who turned his own psychopathology—a lethal cocktail of grandiosity, narcissistic entitlement and a chameleon-like ability to mimic authority—into a master key for manipulation of the British establishment. By positioning himself as the state’s indispensable ‘fixer’ and a prolific fundraiser, he successfully mesmerised swathes of people and institutions, buying a decades-long immunity that allowed him to colonise ...
The locum “Assignment Schedule” is often treated by agencies and NHS HR departments as a trivial bit of admin—a template filled with blanks and vague placeholders. It is a lazy habit. For a consultant, an ambiguous contract threatens clinical safety and professional standing. The defence that “I am not a lawyer” is an admission of incompetence in a high-stakes environment. In specialist medical practice, fuzzy arrangements lead to systemic failures. When a contract fails to define start times, shift durations, ...
The Quantitative Landscape of Patient Homicide in the United Kingdom Over the past decade, homicides by individuals in contact with mental health services have posed a persistent challenge for the NHS and the criminal justice system. Data from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety (NCISH) and various independent investigations show a troubling pattern. Patient homicides represent a minority – 11% – of total homicides in the UK. However, they constitute a significant group of incidents where timely service ...
The Sunday Times (06/07/2025) published a wide-ranging interview with Dr Penelope Dash, the newly appointed Chair of NHS England. Her insight is expected to resonate deeply with the widespread frustration experienced across the healthcare profession. However, it is not merely the content of her remarks but the authority of the individual delivering them that warrants attention. Some doctors say that ‘Politics is not the business of doctors’ – except when politics hits them in the pocket of course i.e. pay, ...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionise healthcare, offering exciting opportunities to enhance the way doctors work. Tools like DeepSeek, Claude.ai (Amazon), Gemini (Google), Copilot (Microsoft) and Tulu3 are not here to replace medical professionals but to support them. By automating repetitive tasks, simplifying complex information, and uncovering patterns in data, AI can free up valuable time for doctors to focus on what matters most—their patients. While AI is still in its early stages in healthcare, its potential to transform ...
Fast on the heels of Lord Darzi’s report, Sir Keir Starmer has set out sweeping plans for NHS reforms. The first component of Starmer’s reform blueprint focuses on the digitalisation of healthcare services. This involves leveraging technological advancements to enhance patient empowerment and streamline healthcare delivery. Key elements include the development of a comprehensive NHS application serving as an integrated digital interface for healthcare services, the implementation of fully digitised patient records to ensure seamless information exchange across care settings, ...
Lord Darzi was commissioned to undertake this rapid investigation of the state of the NHS by the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. The report was prepared over a nine-week period between July and September 2024. Lord Darzi was tasked with examining areas such as the health of the nation and the social care system insofar as they impact the NHS, although these were outside the formal scope of the investigation. Read Lord Darzi’s letter to the Health ...
Crown Indemnity was a historical arrangement in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) where the government would cover the cost of clinical negligence claims against medical professionals working in NHS hospitals. This meant that doctors employed by the NHS in England did not need to purchase their own medical malpractice insurance, as the government would handle any claims made against them. In essence, the CNST has replaced the old Crown Indemnity arrangement for NHS trusts in England. It serves ...
The term sounds great, but what is it? Who invented this? Can we have it in the NHS or any other public sector service in the UK? This and more will be explored. Radical Transparency Radical Transparency is a management and organisational philosophy that emphasises open, honest, and direct communication within a company. It was popularised by Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds. At its core, Radical Transparency involves encouraging employees at all ...
