The NHS website saw more than 18,000 hits in an hour on its spina bifida pages following Sunday night’s episode of Call the Midwife. Spina bifida is a rare condition that occurs when a baby’s spine and spinal cord does not develop properly in the womb, causing a gap in the spine. In the BBC One episode, […]

Norovirus levels in hospitals in England are 80% higher than the same period last year, new figures show today as pressure on NHS services remains high.  New data published today shows that 784 patients a day were in hospital with norovirus last week (week ending 19 January 2025), up from 650 the previous week. Levels […]

Almost 70,000 people with mental health issues were given employment support last year as part of the NHS Talking Therapies Programme – up nearly two-thirds on the year before, latest NHS figures show. New data also shows almost 2 million referrals (1.8 million) to Talking Therapies were made last year, with more than 1.2 million […]

Last week was the busiest yet for the NHS this winter, amid sky-high virus rates which have left hospitals ‘jampacked’ with patients. New data published today shows that more hospital beds were occupied last week (w/e 12 Jan) than at any point so far this winter (97,636), with 96% of adult general and acute hospital […]

Hundreds of people with Jewish ancestry in England have been identified as being at increased risk of cancer and offered risk-reducing options, as part of a new NHS genetic testing programme. New data shows that over 25,000 free saliva test kits have now been requested and delivered as part of the NHS Jewish BRCA Testing […]

NHS staff have ramped up the flu vaccination campaign by jabbing almost a quarter of a million more people this winter compared to last winter. Services across the country have faced extreme pressures from one of the worst winters on record with 5,408 patients a day in hospital with flu in the first week of […]

Hundreds of thousands more people will be sent a home-testing kit that can help to detect signs of bowel cancer, as the NHS expands its lifesaving screening programme to those aged 50 in England. People aged 50 and 52 are now starting to automatically receive a home test kit every two years by post when […]

Online searches for NHS advice on common childhood illnesses surged in 2024, according to new figures compiled by NHS England. Five of the ten most visited health conditions on the NHS website last year mostly affect children, with three of them seeing significant increases compared to 2023. Visits to the hand, foot and mouth disease […]

NHS staff experienced the busiest year on record for A&E and ambulance services last year, new figures show today, as flu continues to pile pressure on hospitals into 2025. There was an average of 5,408 patients a day in hospital with flu last week, including 256 in critical care – 3.5 times higher than the […]

Hundreds of thousands of patients will be able to get directly referred and booked in for tests, checks and scans by their GP for a range of conditions as part of a radical new plan set to be launched by the NHS and government next week. People with conditions such as breathlessness, asthma in children […]