NHS chiefs fear rising costs and healthcare shortages due to the shipping standstill in the Gulf

The war in Iran has put the NHS on high alert amid fears about looming shortages and rising costs for medicines and medical products such as syringes, intravenous bags and gloves.

Much of modern healthcare is dependent on the petrochemicals now held up by the Gulf shipping standstill – whether for active pharmaceutical ingredients or to produce the millions of sterile single-use items, ranging from personal protective equipment (PPE) to catheters and diagnostic-device casings.

Growing use of AI tech comes at expense of workers’ rights, protections and pay, report warns

Billion-dollar tech platforms are aggressively pushing for deregulation of the “Uber for nursing” industry in an effort to expand gig work in the healthcare sector, according to a report published Tuesday.

The report from the AI Now Institute, Uber for Nursing Part II: How Gig Nursing Companies Are Lobbying States to Deregulate Healthcare, examines the use of artificial intelligence to staff hospitals and other healthcare facilities.