Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Preet Kaur Gill MP seeks independent review into claims of bullying at University Hospitals Birmingham

“It needs to be a fully independent review, not something that sounds like an NHS tick box exercise, as that will not go down well with those who have raised concerns.”

Preet Kaur Gill MP seeks independent review into claims of bullying at University Hospitals Birmingham

Preet Kaur Gill MP has sought an independent inquiry into the allegations of historic toxicity and bullying at University Hospitals Birmingham.

She said reviews already announced by the NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) would not go far enough.

The MP Birmingham Edgbaston MP and shadow cabinet minister for international development said she would urge health secretary Steve Barclay to hold a “fully independent inquiry” into the allegations raised by BBC Newsnight.

She claimed dozens of doctors and consultants spoke to her over the working conditions and claims of bullying at the NHS trust and some of the complaints were “distressing”.

Gill claimed the trust and the ICB were “rushing into a review, deciding who to appoint,” instead of doing it in a “very careful” and “measured way”.

"It needs to be a fully independent review, not something that sounds like an NHS tick box exercise, as that will not go down well with those who have raised concerns,” BiminghamLive quoted her as saying.

She said she was holding discussions with Barclay and would meet University Hospitals Birmingham’s new chair, Dame Yve Buckland.

"I will be telling her that I am very concerned that this sounds like the two NHS organisations have come together and planned how this will work,” which would not satisfy the “distressed people I have been in contact with," the Labour and Co-op MP said.

She said she had seen "evidence of staff threatened with disciplinary action over absences, issues raised about patient safety concerns and the extreme pressure staff say they are under."

"We cannot have staff safety and patient harms being compromised, which, she said, "has happened on the watch of the UHB Board."

On Thursday, the ICB announced three reviews into University Hospitals Birmingham to address the allegations made by Newsnight and any broader leadership and cultural issues at the trust.

The first review focuses on the specific allegations and the concerns of patient safety and bullying.

It said a senior independent clinician from outside the local health system agreed to oversee the review.

The Trust will also commission a broader external review of the culture at UHB. The third one will be an external well-led review to be conducted in partnership with NHS England and NHS Birmingham and Solihull.

More For You

Rajnath Singh

The council that approved the initiation of procurement for arms and equipment is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

India starts process to procure arms worth $12.31 billion

INDIA’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the initiation of procurement for arms and equipment worth $12.31 billion (£9.05 billion), the defence ministry said on Thursday.

The council is headed by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk weather

Forecasts indicate that the weekend will be unsettled

Getty Images

Cooler conditions bring relief as UK heatwave ends

Key points

  • UK's second heatwave of 2025 ends with cooler temperatures setting in.
  • Tuesday recorded the year’s highest temperature at 34.7°C in London.
  • No return to heatwave conditions forecast for early July.
  • Showers expected in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, with drier weather ahead.

UK heatwave fades as cooler weather returns

Following a stretch of record-breaking heat, the UK has now entered a cooler phase, with no heatwave conditions forecast for the first half of July. This change comes after Tuesday became the hottest day of the year so far, with 34.7°C recorded in London’s St James’s Park.

However, the high temperatures that marked the start of July have now given way to more comfortable conditions. In many parts of the country, temperatures have dropped by more than 10°C, bringing relief from the extreme heat.

Keep ReadingShow less
Families slam Hancock's 'insulting' care home defence at Covid inquiry

Matt Hancock arrives ahead of his latest appearance before the Covid-19 Inquiry on July 02, 2025 in London, England.(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Families slam Hancock's 'insulting' care home defence at Covid inquiry

BEREAVED families have condemned former health secretary Matt Hancock as "insulting" and "full of excuses" after he defended the controversial policy of moving untested hospital patients into care homes during the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Speaking at the Covid-19 inquiry on Wednesday (2), Hancock described the decision to discharge patients into care homes as "the least-worst decision" available at the time, despite the devastating death toll that followed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Getty

Starmer has said the NHS must 'reform or die' and promised changes that would control the rising costs of caring for an ageing population without increasing taxes. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Starmer outlines 10-year NHS reform strategy

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer will on Thursday launch a 10-year strategy aimed at fixing the National Health Service (NHS), which he said was in crisis. The plan seeks to ease the pressure on overstretched hospitals and shift care closer to people’s homes.

The NHS, which is publicly funded and state-run, has faced difficulties recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. It continues to experience annual winter pressures, repeated waves of industrial action, and a long backlog for elective treatments.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Reeves-Getty

Starmer and Reeves during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton, to mark the launch of the Government's Industrial Strategy on June 23, 2025 in Nuneaton. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Reeves ‘going nowhere’, says Starmer after tears in parliament

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer on Wednesday said that Chancellor Rachel Reeves would remain in her role for “a very long time to come”, after she appeared visibly upset in parliament as questions were raised about her future.

Reeves was seen with tears rolling down her face during Prime Minister’s Questions, after Starmer did not confirm whether she would remain chancellor until the next general election, expected in 2029.

Keep ReadingShow less