Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Wednesday 11 March2026 by Jill Powell

A doctor who exploited patients by sexually assaulting them and secretly filming them during routine examinations has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Dr Timothy Girling, 55, of West Molesey, Surrey, carried out intimate physical examinations at at a medical centre in Bournemouth.

During one appointment, he conducted a sexual health examination that went far beyond what was clinically required, touching a patient’s genitals without consent.

The patient believed at the time that this was part of the medical procedure, and trusted that Girling was acting in a professional manner.

At a later appointment, the same victim heard the sound of a mobile phone beginning to record from behind a curtain and saw an iPhone partially concealed in Girling’s pocket.

Prosecutors proved his crimes were not isolated incidents, but part of a wider pattern of a horrific pattern of abuse.

When officers examined Girling’s phone, they found intimate images of other patients, including one man who had attended the clinic over the course of a year.

The investigation also uncovered instances of Girling encouraging a patient to send intimate images by email.

Lucy Paddick, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “A doctor’s duty is to care for patients, not exploit them, and Timothy Girling repeatedly violated that fundamental trust.

“These sexual offences, carried out under the guise of legitimate medical practice, were deeply calculated.

“He manipulated vulnerable individuals and exploited them in clinical sittings – a place where they should feel safe and secure.

“In court, we showed how he used his professional position to facilitate this offending and secretly record intimate examinations.

“We hope these convictions demonstrate that such abuse of authority will be robustly prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service.”

Further investigation uncovered a secretly recorded video of another young patient, filmed without consent during a brief appointment.

Dorset Police also recovered covert intimate recordings from inside Girling’s home address. These videos had no medical purpose and were taken solely for his own sexual gratification.

After being convicted by a jury of the voyeurism offences, Girling later pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. A number of these were, including Category A photographs – the most serious possible – were found on his laptop.

Detective Constable Kit Little, of Dorset Police, added: “Timothy Girling was in a position of trust as a sexual health doctor and exploited this by inappropriately touching and making recordings of his victims.

“We have worked tirelessly since the initial report was first made in August 2023 to investigate Girling’s offending, identify further victims where possible and bring him to justice.

“This would not have been possible without the strength and courage of the victims, who supported our investigation and the court process to ensure Girling was ultimately held to account.

“I want to thank them as well as the health services involved who have supported our comprehensive investigation.”

Source: Care Quality Commission (CQC) published on this website Monday 9 2026 by Jill Powell

An Invitation from the CQC

Dear colleagues, 

We're excited to invite you to express your interest in joining our upcoming assessment framework engagement events taking place around the country this spring.

Led by our Chief Inspectors, these all-day‑ events will bring together a diverse mix of attendees including providers, strategic stakeholders, organisations representing people who use services, and CQC colleagues.

What to expect

These sessions mark the next stage in the development of our assessment frameworks and methodology. They're designed not only to share our progress but also to continue shaping this work collaboratively with those who will use and be impacted by it.

We'll be asking for feedback on our 4 draft frameworks. Specifically, we're asking for views on whether the sector-specific frameworks will:

• guide CQC in making clearer, more transparent judgements about quality
• help providers to improve the quality of care they deliver
• align well with other regulatory or quality standards that providers use
• help to highlight the issue of inequalities in care
• reflect the range of services and sectors that we regulate across health and adult social care.

These sessions are cross sector but there will be sector specific elements throughout the day.

Why attend?

• Build stronger relationships: meet with some of your local inspectors and explore how you can work together to navigate the new frameworks smoothly and confidently.
• Expand your network: connect with other providers, exchange experiences, and share best practice insights in a supportive, collaborative environment.

Event dates and locations

Please note these will be all day events, starting at 10.30am and finishing at 4pm.

• Manchester | Tuesday 14 April
• Birmingham | Wednesday 22 April
• London | Tuesday 12 May
• Online session | Wednesday 6 May (for those unable to attend in person)

How to express your interest in attending

At this stage, we're collecting expressions of interest only. You will be notified by Tuesday 24 March if your place is confirmed.

👉 Please complete this form before Friday 20 March.  

We hope you'll join us to help shape the future of our assessment approach. Your insights and experiences are vital to ensuring our frameworks work effectively for everyone.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch. 

Source: Independent Commission on Adult Social Care published on this website Tuesday 10 March 2026 by Jill Powell

In a speech on the 5 March at the Nuffield Trust Summit, Baroness Casey said social care has never had its own “creation moment” and called for a national reckoning equivalent to Beveridge’s reforms in 1948.  

In her speech, Baroness Casey set out how there is currently a reliance on cobbled together underfunded services relying on low-paid care workers, a lack of ownership and accountability, and a deep divide between health and social care which leaves families to navigate alone.  

In her remarks at the Nuffield Trust Summit, Baroness Casey of Blackstock said:  

“Unlike the NHS or indeed the benefits system, social care has never had its own creation moment. No moment when the nation decided what it was for, what people should expect or who should pay, and how. 

“Instead, we inherited a system shaped for a very different age, held together  with add-ons and work arounds, sticking plasters and glue. Without ever having the moment of reckoning we now need.”  

She stated that a national conversation would be needed to seek backing from the public who pay for health and social care through their taxes, but might not even know what social care is.

Baroness Casey also confirmed she has written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care asking the Government to take six immediate actions on dementia, motor neurone disease and adult safeguarding due to the urgency of the reform needed in these areas.

This includes asking the Government to scale up dementia trials, appoint a new Dementia Tsar, set up a new National Safeguarding Board to protect vulnerable adults, and to introduce a new fast-track, social care passport for people diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

For more detail:

• The full speech was streamed by the Nuffield Trust here: Nuffield Trust Summit 2026

• The speech is available to watch on the Nuffield Trust’s YouTube account: Click here to view.

• The prepared text of the speech has been published on The Independent Commissions website: Click here to view.

• Baroness Casey’s letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with her immediate asks of the Government can be found here: Click here to view.

Source: Department for Education published on this website Friday 6 March 2026 by Jill Powell

Life-saving allergy pens must be stocked by schools for the first time under new plans announced 5 March 2026.

The move will also see compulsory training for teachers and a requirement for each school to have a dedicated allergy policy.

As well as saving lives, the new measures will help children stay in school, with 500,000 days of learning lost due to allergy-related illness or medical appointments in the last year alone.

The plans come after the government listened to families and campaigners who have fought for change — including Helen Blythe, mother of Benedict Blythe, who tragically lost his life to an allergic reaction at school, and the National Allergy Strategy Group.

Replacing previous non-statutory advice, the consultation on the new guidance on supporting children and young people with medical conditions and allergies is now open, ahead of coming into force in September 2026.

The new statutory requirements mean for the first time schools must:

• stock “spare” adrenaline auto-injectors for use in emergency situations
• provide allergy awareness training for all staff — covering recognition of symptoms, emergency response and the use of adrenaline devices — alongside improved incident recording and lessons learnt processes
• have a comprehensive policy for supporting children with medical conditions, including Individual Healthcare Plans to record specific arrangements for individuals like an allergy management plan

Schools up and down the country are already undertaking the necessary training to keep children safe. This guidance will standardise practise, pointing to a collection of reliable resources for teachers to use, and work in parallel to the government’s open call to businesses to support with costs such as adrenaline auto-injectors.

Olivia Bailey, Minister for Early Education said:

“No parent should have to send their child to school worried that a life-threatening allergic reaction won’t be handled swiftly. We have listened to the families and organisations who have campaigned tirelessly on this issue, and we are acting. These new requirements will give parents the confidence that every school has the training, the plans and the equipment in place to keep their child safe.”

This works hand in hand with wider work to reform the school food system, such as revising the school food standards and expanding free school meals to an additional 500,000 children this September.

Wider changes to the guidance include new condition-specific content covering a range of common and significant conditions. As epilepsy is one of the most common long-term conditions for children, Individual Healthcare Plans should cover seizure types and what to do in an emergency. And as type 1 and 2 diabetes cases in children are rising, schools must support children and young people to use continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps — including via mobile phone apps.

When health and education work together like this, it can make a real, lasting difference for children and their families.

Helen Blythe and Peter Blythe, parents of Benedict Blythe and founders of the Benedict Blythe Foundation, said:

“For 4 years, we have campaigned for Benedict’s Law so that no child faces the preventable gaps in allergy safety that cost our 5-year-old son his life.

“We are grateful the government has listened, and that from September schools will be required to have allergy pens, training and policies in place — protections that were not there when Benedict joined his school.

“Knowing that future children will enter a system far safer than the one he did is a powerful and lasting legacy for our son Benedict.”