NHS staff across the South West are working around the clock to keep patients safe as a red heat-health alert combines with severe weather and rising demand to put services under pressure. Temperatures are set to soar even higher from 1am Wednesday 24 June to 11pm Thursday 25 June, meaning the heat could seriously affect […]

This Cervical Screening Awareness Week (15 to 21 June 2026), the NHS in the South West is reminding people how they can help eliminate cervical cancer by attending their cervical screening and getting the HPV vaccine when invited. Cervical screening (previously known as a smear test) can help to prevent cervical cancer by checking for high-risk types […]

Health and care professionals from the South West have been recognised in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours. Awards have been given for contributions to genomic medicine, ophthalmology, and public health and suicide prevention. Professor Andrew Mumford, Professor of Haematology at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), has received an MBE for services […]

Patients across the South West are being urged to continue accessing NHS care as usual during next week’s resident doctors’ strikes. Industrial action will take place from 7:00am on Monday 15 June until 6:59am on Friday 19 June 2026 — the 16th round of strikes since March 2023, which coincides with higher temperatures on the […]

A hospital trust in Somerset has been named the national winner of the Digital Innovation category at the first NHS Excellence Awards. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust working with NHS England’s NHS 111 Online service won the title following a national judging process that assessed entries against criteria including innovation, measurable impact and collaboration. The awards, […]

Eligible people in the South West are being urged to get their spring COVID-19 vaccine before the offer ends on 30 June. So far this spring, almost half a million (498,615) people in the South West have chosen to top up their protection by getting a COVID-19 vaccine. However, time is running out for those […]

Nearly 115,00 adults in the South West have been tested and treated for high blood pressure over the past two years, to protect them against heart attack and stroke. New NHS data reveals that between September 2023 and December 2025, an additional 114,910 South West adults, aged 40 years old and older, were checked and treated […]

Thousands more patients across the South West are waiting less time for treatment, as the region has beaten a key NHS target after a major drive to cut waits and boost access to care. Since March 2025, the proportion of patients waiting 18 weeks or less has risen by 4.3 percentage points*, driven by new […]

More people in the South West will get the opportunity to train as a nurse as part of the Government’s commitment to fund more nurse degree apprenticeships and break down long-standing barriers into healthcare careers. Announced on International Nurses Day, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB), along with NHS Devon […]

Somerset children who have not received their routine childhood vaccinations by the recommended age are to benefit from a pilot which will support families facing barriers to accessing healthcare.   The Health Visitor team in Somerset is testing a new way to help some families get routine childhood vaccinations, by offering jabs during health visiting appointments. The scheme is aimed at families […]