We have summarised the key temporary variations to primary care contracts as well as the changes to the 2021/22 Network Contract Directed Enhanced Services (DES).

Delays to non-Covid treatment is the leading type of claim against NHS Trusts to date, followed by Hospital-Acquired Covid (HAC) and failure to treat Covid appropriately.

The vast majority of the inquest cases relate to acquisition of Covid-19 during hospital admission and staffing/resource issues. In a recent case a Coroner was critical of a decision not to escalate a patient’s care to ICU.

Read the latest developments regarding the impending Public Inquiry, including what this means for you.

This year is likely to see a resurgence of non-Covid trials which have been postponed or paused in the last two years, and new trials for Covid treatments and vaccines (e.g. those based on conventional vaccine technology).

The pandemic has seen an acceleration in the use of technology: remote GP consultations, the use of apps for ‘track and trace’ and AI as a diagnostic reporting tool (e.g. in radiology), with legal issues likely to centre on information governance.

The government has published its long-awaited response to the Paterson Inquiry Report. Read the details and what you need to do next in our insight.

The Court of Appeal held that the Chief Constable was liable for any disability discrimination by the statutory police misconduct panel that had determined disciplinary allegations against the claimant police officer.

In this year’s forward view, we consider issues ranging from fixed recoverable costs in clinical negligence claims, claims resulting from COVID-19 treatment, major inquiries, clinical trials and healthcare technology.

Safety of two medicines (Primodos and Sodium Valproate) and one device (pelvic mesh) was at the heart of the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. Read the latest update on this topic.

Concussion injury and its consequences continue to be in the news, with group litigation planned by both rugby and football players. We could see more claims of this nature, including from other sports where head injury is a risk.

This is a useful judgment for insurers when considering multiple claims which follow the actions of a single individual. Read on for a summary of the case and what it means for insurers.