BBC News
BBC News - Health
Why are fewer people donating their organs?
Mon, 09 Feb 2026 06:21:27 GMT
The number waiting for an organ is at a record high as loved ones increasingly block donations.
Hospital waiting lists in Wales see record drop
Thu, 19 Mar 2026 16:14:15 GMT
Wait times for planned care are falling but diagnostic and cancers waits are up, latest figures indicate.
Fears of two-tier health system as more turn to private care, says watchdog
Mon, 16 Mar 2026 00:35:08 GMT
The patient watchdog warns of two-tier service as polling shows numbers paying for care is on the rise.
Our skin is falling off and no-one can tell us why
Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:06:18 GMT
People sharing pictures and accounts on socials of red, inflamed skin have triggered the first UK research into TSW.
'I froze my eggs because I was born without a womb'
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:46:01 GMT
Betty Mukherjee talks to Naga Munchetty about living with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome.
'Two weeks will make such a difference': UK first as NI brings in miscarriage leave
Mon, 06 Apr 2026 09:10:03 GMT
Northern Ireland becomes first part of UK to bring in legal entitlement for parents affected by miscarriage at any stage of a pregnancy to have paid leave.
Sleep, exercise, hydrate - do we really need to stick to recommended daily doses?
Sat, 26 Jul 2025 00:08:06 GMT
As a study casts doubt on the daily steps maxim, we take a look at some other health benchmarks we’re often told to strive for.
'Having coeliac disease aged 9 means I'm normal with a tiny twist'
Sun, 22 Mar 2026 07:07:33 GMT
Nine-year-old Eliza's mum says she was relieved when her daughter was diagnosed with the disease.
Are UK students at risk of more deadly meningitis outbreaks?
Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:15:07 GMT
The worst seems to be over, but questions remain about why this happened and whether it could happen again.
The man who wants to bring human composting to the UK
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 05:25:38 GMT
Human composting is when a body placed in a sealed vessel containing organic matter turns into soil.
How dads are bonding over learning to braid hair
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:50:20 GMT
Social club the Secret Life of Dads aims to provide a safe space for dads to bond with each other, and to learn skills to help them at home.
Stay at home advice questioned and rules too tough - key findings from Covid report
Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:00:23 GMT
An NHS close to collapse, patients failed and NHS staff put at risk - what you need to know.
Streeting praises response to meningitis outbreak
Sun, 22 Mar 2026 18:59:17 GMT
Wes Streeting praises the "Herculean efforts" to protect people from the Kent meningitis outbreak.
'I nearly broke trying to help my partner with addiction issues'
Sun, 29 Mar 2026 23:02:39 GMT
Claire Harkin believes the experiences of people who are supporting loved ones with an addiction can be overlooked.
Warning to patients ahead of next doctors' strike
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:37:38 GMT
The industrial action is due to start on 7 April and there is likely to be disruption to services.
Why the benefit used by more than 8 million people may not be fit for the future
Mon, 30 Mar 2026 23:09:50 GMT
Can Universal Credit and the work and benefits system more generally reshape itself to meet a new reality?
Screen time for under-fives should be limited to one hour a day, parents told
Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:15:51 GMT
New government guidance also suggests children under-two should not be watching screens alone.
PM gives BMA 48 hours to call-off strike or lose 1,000 training posts
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 05:08:53 GMT
Starmer sets deadline for doctors' union to call off six-day walkout due to begin after Easter.
Stay at home advice questioned and rules too tough - key findings from Covid report
Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:00:23 GMT
An NHS close to collapse, patients failed and NHS staff put at risk - what you need to know.
Better NHS care might have saved 58 babies, BBC finds
Thu, 19 Mar 2026 07:47:55 GMT
There are growing calls for a statutory public inquiry into maternity services in Oxford.
Fewer heat-related deaths in 2025 despite warmest summer
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:08:13 GMT
Summer 2025 was the warmest UK summer on record, with four heatwaves, a top temperature of nearly 38C and a mean temperature of 16.1C
NHS dentistry is rotting. Will the plan to fix it work?
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 01:26:40 GMT
As patients struggle to find NHS dentists, Labour has a plan but not everybody is convinced it will work
Why is MenB vaccine not given to teenagers in UK and should they be offered it?
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:09:46 GMT
Students and older teens are not routinely vaccinated against the meningitis strain behind the Kent outbreak.
Why has this meningitis outbreak spread so fast?
Wed, 18 Mar 2026 16:34:33 GMT
There have been 20 cases since the weekend in one small area of Kent - but this isn't the normal pattern, so what could have happened?
Is screen time always bad and how do I manage it?
Fri, 27 Mar 2026 22:52:41 GMT
How do you manage screen time, does it have a bad impact and what steps can you take to mitigate the problem?
Review finds 250 patients need repeat bone scans
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:46:42 GMT
Review finds care for some patients was "below the level that would have been expected".
Weight-loss jabs will be offered on NHS for people at risk of further heart attacks
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 23:01:43 GMT
More than a million people in England will start being offered the anti-obesity jab for better heart health and to avoid strokes.
Sewing group helping women in period poverty
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 05:14:33 GMT
Debi Angell says the kits they make help women and girls who can not afford period products.
Prostate cancer screening: What you need to know
Wed, 03 Dec 2025 09:47:11 GMT
Everything you need to know about the decision on who should be screened for prostate cancer.
What is the UK Covid inquiry and how does it work?
Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:53:39 GMT
The third report from the inquiry into the government's handling of the pandemic says the NHS was close to collapse.
UK's transplant system was world-leading - now it lags behind other Western nations
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 06:00:07 GMT
The UK has failed to keep pace with the rest of the world. Can it regain its status, and how?
Why are resident doctors striking and how much are they paid?
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:02:45 GMT
Resident doctors in England are striking between 17 and 22 December, the 14th walkout since 2023.
Our son loved the outdoors - invisible illness means he now can't walk or talk
Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:11:52 GMT
Tomos is one of thousands with ME in Wales, with services described as “a desert” for those most affected.
Newly qualified paramedics told to apply for jobs abroad due to hire freeze
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:20:15 GMT
The Welsh Ambulance Service said newly qualified paramedics would not be offered roles this year due to "financial and operational issues".
Lab-grown food pipe offers new hope for young patients
Fri, 20 Mar 2026 10:41:40 GMT
UK scientists have grown fully functioning food pipes and successfully transplanted them into mini pigs, paving the way for human trials.
'Women's health must be taken more seriously'
Mon, 23 Mar 2026 06:46:46 GMT
Dr Liz O'Riordan says it is important women seek help from professionals not "Google and Chat GPT".
'I froze my eggs because I was born without a womb'
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:46:01 GMT
Betty Mukherjee talks to Naga Munchetty about living with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome.
Inside Health
Tue, 17 Mar 2026 10:00:00 GMT
James Gallagher examines the outbreak of bacterial meningitis in Kent.
Sculpting jaws, giving scores: Inside the world of looksmaxxing
Sun, 15 Mar 2026 00:01:21 GMT
Growing numbers of young men are going to great lengths to achieve what they see as the perfect face.
Jersey's wellbeing score is below UK and France
Thu, 26 Mar 2026 08:58:57 GMT
Jersey's wellbeing score is below UK and France in survey of data from 41 countries.
Covid inquiry chair defends £200m cost and four-year process on final day
Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:04:55 GMT
Baroness Heather Hallett said completing the hearings in under four years was an achievement but critics have questioned its cost.
Doctors lose new jobs package as strike to go ahead
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 23:29:39 GMT
The offer of 1,000 more training posts has been withdrawn after the union refused to scrap the planned six-day strike.
I spent five months in a mother and baby mental health unit - here's what I want mums to know
Sun, 22 Mar 2026 07:09:49 GMT
Sofii Lewis was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis tendencies and OCD after giving birth.
Inside Health
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 09:00:00 GMT
James Gallagher finds out how a hot flush feels - and delves into a new treatment.
Prince William praises £20m milestone for Bowelbabe fund
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 15:53:47 GMT
The Bowelbabe fund, set up by Dame Deborah James in 2022, helps to support Cancer Research UK.
Inside Health
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:00:00 GMT
James Gallagher is joined by experts to answer key questions on the meningitis outbreak.
AR tech prepares patients for endometriosis surgery
Sat, 04 Apr 2026 06:59:29 GMT
The images are used in consultations to show what happens to the womb, ovaries and fallopian tubes.
Is a morning cup of hot water better than cold?
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:43:11 GMT
A GP looks at the social media trend of drinking hot water in the morning.
'You feel forgotten' - the reality for boxers after the fights stop
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:03:29 GMT
Retired boxer Stephen Smith shares how boxers can struggle to "fill the void" after hanging up their gloves.
The teenage caffeine pouch trend troubling US experts
Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:06:06 GMT
Some social media influencers are pushing products to young gym-goers and students, health experts warn.
What is chickenpox and who can get an NHS vaccine?
Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:31:12 GMT
The standard NHS childhood vaccination programme will include chickenpox from 2 January 2026.
My daughter has childhood dementia and may not live past 16
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 05:18:45 GMT
Diagnosed just before her fourth birthday, Sophia, now 15, can no longer speak and cannot walk unaided.
Don't put off treatment during doctors' strike, NHS tells patients
Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:14:25 GMT
The strike comes at the end of the bank holiday weekend and NHS managers fear demand could be "challenging".
Men's group hopes to ease strain on NHS services
Fri, 03 Apr 2026 05:25:00 GMT
"I want to tackle loneliness and we feel like this group can do that," the organisation's founder says.
Cuba's mothers-to-be prepare to give birth in a country plunged into darkness
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 05:58:19 GMT
Two pregnant women tell the BBC's Will Grant of their hopes and fears as their nation is mired in crisis.
What are the symptoms of meningitis and how is it spread?
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:22:02 GMT
Two people have died following an "unpredecented" outbreak of meningitis in Kent.
Warning to patients ahead of next doctors' strike
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:14:46 GMT
The industrial action is due to start on 7 April and there is likely to be disruption to services.
How to check whether you have bowel cancer
Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:49:43 GMT
What are the main symptoms and causes of bowel cancer, and how can you reduce your risk of getting it?
Hospital waited two days before raising alarm about meningitis outbreak
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:56:47 GMT
Experts say the wait was indefensible and possibly delayed identification of the outbreak.
'I shampooed with raw egg to try and get pregnant'
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:39:13 GMT
Tired of health misinformation on social media, Barbora Gray is fighting back by sharing facts.
Don't put off treatment during doctors' strike, NHS tells patients
Mon, 06 Apr 2026 08:14:25 GMT
The strike comes at the end of the bank holiday weekend and NHS managers fear demand could be "challenging".
Pupil art sessions 'bring joy' to hospice
Sat, 28 Mar 2026 16:06:55 GMT
The Hospice in the Weald in Pembury runs the sessions for people with life-limiting conditions.
Our daughter battled Meningitis B despite being vaccinated in 'very rare' case
Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:04:08 GMT
After Noa-Rose became critically ill, the four-year-old spent two weeks fighting for her life.
Meningitis outbreak passes peak, says health agency
Mon, 23 Mar 2026 13:31:17 GMT
"We could still see cases continuing to come in, we need to keep an eye on those, the UKHSA says.
'I'm still haunted that he died alone': The last voices of the Covid inquiry
Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:52:33 GMT
Bereaved families have the final say as the Covid inquiry completes three years of public hearings.
Patients harmed as Covid pandemic brought NHS close to collapse, inquiry finds
Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:38:03 GMT
Third report into the pandemic says patients and staff were failed as health service only just coped.
'Would I have made it to 60 if my cancer symptoms weren't detected?'
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:53:15 GMT
Marie McGrath was diagnosed with bowel cancer at the start of 2026
'You feel forgotten' - the reality for boxers after the fights stop
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:03:29 GMT
Retired boxer Stephen Smith shares how boxers can struggle to "fill the void" after hanging up their gloves.
Inside Health
Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:00:00 GMT
James visits Hackney, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
Could weight-loss jabs be behind rising gallbladder removals?
Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:03:39 GMT
Last year, there was a 15% annual increase in the operations and surgeons want more research.
'Something wasn't right': Wrong sperm given to UK families by IVF clinics in northern Cyprus
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 04:54:51 GMT
Families of seven children believe the wrong sperm or egg donors were used in their IVF treatment.