14:10 A record number of ambulances were redirected to other hospitals this winter, according to research from the Nuffield Trust.
The think-tank found that between December and February, there were 478 ambulances redirected in England, compared to an average 249 the previous three winters.
This had impacted paramedics’ ability to respond to emergencies on time, reports the Guardian.
12:40 Nine in 10 specialist vape shops are going against a voluntary code of conduct which says not to sell their products to people who don’t smoke or haven’t smoked in the past, an undercover investigation has found.
The Royal Society for Public Health is now urging shops not to sell their devices to such customers, reports the Telegraph.
RSPH chief executive Shirley Cramer said it was important for e-cigarettes to remain a smoking cessation tool rather than becoming a lifestyle product.
She added: ‘The majority of vape shops in the UK are not adhering to these important standards.
‘We are keen to support the sector to strengthen their codes of best practice, and for individual retailers to sign up and ultimately adhere to them.’
10:35 Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow health secretary, has reacted to Pulse’s ‘startling revelations’ about GP practice closures.
He said in a news bulletin: ‘These are startling revelations and really bring home the extent to which Theresa May’s NHS funding squeeze is impacting on people every day in communities across the country.
‘A Government who knew how to manage the NHS properly would be getting a grip. But instead of leadership we get incompetence.
‘Given the crisis in hospitals we’ve seen we need to be taking pressure off of hospitals. That means doing much more to protect GP services. With Labour, general practice will be at the heart of making the English NHS more focused on care closer to home.
‘Tory ministers need to take urgent action to address this spike in GP practice closures and explain what they will do to make sure patients can easily and safely access the GP services they need.’
09:45 Pulse’s investigation into GP practice closures – which shows that there was a 150% rise in patients forced to move GP practice – has hit the headlines of a majority of the national newspapers today, including the front pages of the Telegraph and the Metro.
GP closures ‘hit CRITICAL levels’, observes the Metro, while the Telegraph says ‘retiring GPs fuel patient crisis’.
Other papers to pick up on the story included the Guardian, Daily Mail, the i, the Times, the Sun and the Mirror, while it also featured prominently on BBC News.
Read the full story here
