Health & Society

The war on waits

Hospital waiting lists in Northern Ireland are a source of 'national shame', says Mark Taylor, the surgeon appointed to tackle the problem. He tells Jennifer Trueland that breaking down barriers between health and social care trusts is a key part of the solution

Jennifer Trueland 08.12.25

More to give

Mike Farrar is bringing decades of experience to tackling waiting times and health inequalities in the worst-performing part of the health service. In the first of three features about efforts to improve care in Northern Ireland, he tells Jennifer Trueland why he's up for the challenge

Jennifer Trueland 05.12.25

Bringing hope

Tackling Northern Ireland's huge waiting lists has been given funding and a new sense of urgency, but advances are only possible thanks to the innovation and hard work of doctors on the ground. Jennifer Trueland finds out how it's working

Jennifer Trueland 04.12.25

Government response to COVID-19 was ‘too little too late’, inquiry concludes

Report says 23,000 deaths could have been avoided with earlier lockdown

Ben Ireland 20.11.25

Up in smoke?

For many doctors, it's painful to see the huge amount of waste and environmentally damaging activity in the health service. Seren Boyd speaks to some of those determined to make the NHS more sustainable

By Seren Boyd 13.11.25

A champion of equality

For GP, life peer and former BMA president David Pitt, health and politics were inextricably linked. As part of Black History Month, Tim Tonkin looks back at the legacy of a physician and political and civil rights activist who never stopped fighting for his principles or patients

By Tim Tonkin 01.10.25

War's forgotten victims

Go to a conflict zone and you'll find a lot more than combat trauma to deal with. Babies continue to be born, often in appalling circumstances. Pippa Letchworth tells Jennifer Trueland how she trains doctors in obstetrics in some of the most challenging places on earth

By Jennifer Trueland 25.09.25

At the dawn of IVF

Duncan Campbell was the anaesthetist who worked with Patrick Steptoe, the pioneer of IVF. Dr Campbell's innovation – in the face of opposition – made safe laparoscopic surgery possible. Now in his 90s, he tells his story

By Duncan Campbell 16.09.25