Health and care sector latest developments
MPs call for tighter restrictions on cosmetic procedures
MPs have called for tighter restrictions on high-risk cosmetic procedures.
The BBC reports that the Women and Equalities Committee has said that only doctors should be able to carry out such procedures, due to the associated risk.
This would lead to a de facto ban, since doctors would only act in essential cases.
Committee chair Sarah Owen accused the government of "not moving quickly enough", emphasising that the "'wild west' of procedures is placing the public at risk."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson pledged that "new measures will ensure only qualified healthcare professionals will be able to perform the highest-risk procedures", but did not confirm when such measures would be implemented.
RCPsych raises alarm over 'silent mental health pandemic'
The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) has warned of a 'silent mental health pandemic'.
The college highlights that 4.1 million people made contact with mental health services in England in 2024/25, an increase of 56 per cent compared to 2016/17.
RCPsych president Dr Lade Smith said people are being left "to suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses with insufficient support and treatment".
Dr Smith described the situation as being "of pandemic proportion", adding that it is "atrocious" that patients "are increasingly only able to access care when they reach a crisis point".
The college is calling for a variety of reforms, alongside investment, to ensure better mental health outcomes.
NHS urges millions to seek anxiety support
The NHS has launched a nationwide campaign, encouraging people with anxiety-related conditions to seek free talking therapies, warning that millions are still going without help.
New figures reveal that more than 670,000 people received treatment last year, with growing numbers also accessing employment support, yet an estimated one in five adults in England lives with a common mental health condition and many delay coming forward because they feel that their problem is “not serious enough”.
NHS England’s national medical director for mental health and neurodiversity, Dr Adrian James, while praising the increased uptake, stressed that “millions more could benefit”.
He described the initiative as “a critical step” to ensure people know that support is available, arguing “through proven treatment and support available for free on the NHS, these conditions can be overcome”.
NHS delays hip and knee operations
Tens of thousands of hip and knee replacements will be postponed for at least two months after a German manufacturer reported a major machine failure, leaving the NHS short of bone cement.
According to The Telegraph, health leaders have agreed that hospitals will prioritise urgent trauma cases like hip fractures, while non-urgent and many private procedures are paused.
Officials have stressed that a shortage will worsen the already significant orthopaedics backlog, leaving hundreds of thousands of patients waiting longer for surgery.
Prince William calls for action on male suicide
Prince William has called male suicide rates in the UK a “national catastrophe”, urging more men to speak openly about their struggles and saying conversations about mental health should become “second nature to us all”.
As reported by The Guardian, he encouraged people to “learn to understand yourself”, arguing that greater awareness and education could push the idea of suicide, “further and further away”, while backing national prevention efforts supported by his Royal Foundation.
