The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1517
Partha Kar
{"title":"Partha Kar: The Leng review offers pragmatism along with lessons for the NHS","authors":"Partha Kar","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1517","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1517","url":null,"abstract":"One fundamental question that Gillian Leng’s review had to answer was whether the roles of physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) could continue in the NHS without any changes.1 Leng’s recommendations make it clear that substantial changes are needed in how the roles operate and are identified. This calls into question NHS England’s workforce team’s implementation strategy,2 the passivity of the medical royal colleges responsible for upholding standards, and the General Medical Council’s function as the medical regulator. Altogether, more should have been done to protect patient safety. The recommendations include renaming physician associates as “physician assistants” and anaesthesia associates as “physician assistant in anaesthesia.” The review further recommends that they wear distinctive uniforms and lanyards to help patients identify them. This will benefit patients and, most importantly, avoid any confusion with medically qualified professionals such as doctors. This is a big step, as it …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"112 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144669761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1528
Gareth Iacobucci
{"title":"Measles: Liverpool \"tragedy\" must be turning point, says nation's top paediatrician.","authors":"Gareth Iacobucci","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1528","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"17 1","pages":"r1528"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144678116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1500
Ben Kasstan-Dabush, Tracey Chantler, Helen Bedford
{"title":"Decline in UK childhood vaccine uptake","authors":"Ben Kasstan-Dabush, Tracey Chantler, Helen Bedford","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1500","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1500","url":null,"abstract":"Coordinate action to improve confidence and convenience In England, none of the childhood vaccine programmes attained the World Health Organization recommended 95% coverage target in 2023-24.1 Coverage across all childhood vaccine programmes has been gradually declining since 2013-14,1 but in view of its high infectivity, measles is a particular concern. Sustained high uptake (95%) of two doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is needed to prevent outbreaks; uptake of the first dose of MMR vaccine at age 2 years was 92.7% in 2013-14 and 88.9% in 2023-24.2 This decline is resulting in nationwide outbreaks disproportionately affecting children in disadvantaged areas.34 There were 2911 confirmed measles cases in England in 2024, the highest number in over two decades, and a child died in July 2025.5 The drivers of declining uptake are complex. The covid-19 pandemic disrupted services and raised public concerns about vaccine safety.6 Public confidence in childhood vaccination is generally high in the UK; 84% of over 3000 parents of young children surveyed in 2025 trusted childhood vaccines.7 However, confidence levels have declined since 2015.8 Infrastructural problems predating the pandemic have affected delivery, suggesting that confidence may …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"103 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144669700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1530
Kate Bowie
{"title":"NHS managers who silence whistleblowers to be disbarred.","authors":"Kate Bowie","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1530","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1530","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"115 1","pages":"r1530"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144678118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1524
Helen Salisbury
{"title":"Helen Salisbury: Physician assistant roles in general practice after the Leng review","authors":"Helen Salisbury","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1524","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1524","url":null,"abstract":"After some delay, Gillian Leng’s report on physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs) in the NHS was published on 16 July.1 Her remit was to look at the safety and effectiveness of these roles. One significant stumbling block was the lack of good research evidence, and as most studies were far too small to be generalisable, her conclusions are mostly that we don’t know. A large body of incident reports and concerns that had been collected and submitted by the BMA wasn’t included in the evidence that Leng considered, as the incidents couldn’t be verified. But one striking research finding she did consider was the mismatch between what PAs felt confident doing (a very wide range …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144678114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1247
Elisabeth Mahase
{"title":"Why are Gen Z drinking less alcohol than older generations?","authors":"Elisabeth Mahase","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1247","url":null,"abstract":"Those born between the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2010s seem to be drinking less alcohol than older generations. Why is this—and could it be a public health opportunity? Elisabeth Mahase reports The data seem to suggest so. According to the latest NHS health survey for England (2022), 25% of people aged 16 to 24 reported not having had an alcoholic drink in the past year. This was the highest proportion seen across any adult age group, and compared with a low of 14% among those aged 55 to 64.1 It seems this is not a new trend either. Among the 16 to 24 age group, the percentage of non-drinkers (people who haven’t had a drink in the past 12 months) rose from 19% in 2011 to a pandemic high of 38% in 2021 and then down to 26% in 2022. A higher proportion of men in this age group do not drink (28%) compared with women (24%). This age group also had the lowest proportion of people who drank frequently, with just 10% drinking between three to four days a week up to almost every day. This was compared with highs of 34% among 55 to 64 year olds and 37% among 65 to 74 year olds. The survey also found that the proportion of children aged 8 to 15 who had ever drunk alcohol has fallen considerably—from 45% in 2003 to 14% in 2022. “It’s likely to be multifactorial,” says Ian Gilmore, chair of the UK Alcohol Health Alliance, listing several potential reasons, including this age group being more risk averse and having more mental health problems and less disposable income than older generations. “We’re certainly seeing increases in alcohol related harm in baby boomers [those born between 1946 and 1964] and they’ve carried on with their teenage …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"48 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144669699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1522
Owen Dyer
{"title":"US government says it will cap journal publishing fees from October.","authors":"Owen Dyer","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1522","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1522","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"30 1","pages":"r1522"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144678115","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1525
Kate Bowie
{"title":"CQC flags doctor impersonation, illicit medical cannabis, and drug related deaths as key concerns.","authors":"Kate Bowie","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1525","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"143 1","pages":"r1525"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144677732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-07-21DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1527
Clare Dyer
{"title":"Doctor and husband jailed for selling stolen NHS PPE online.","authors":"Clare Dyer","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1527","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"25 1","pages":"r1527"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144678113","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}