COVID-19, Bundibugyo Ebolavirus, Vaccination, Andes Hantavirus, Measles and other Health and Virus UK and World News Update 26th June 2026

COVID-19, Bundibugyo Ebolavirus, Vaccination, Andes Hantavirus, Measles and other Health and Virus UK and World News Update 26th June 2026

This week's extreme heat has been disastrous for the UK's overstretched NHS. A&E departments received far more patients than any normal week, IT systems went down, MRI machines refused to work, servers overheated, non-essential electricals had to be turned off, machines for treating cancer patients decided it was not happening, ambulance staff responded to the largest number of category 1 incidents ever, and melting staff on very little sleep had to work in sweltering Victorian buildings or wards with broken aircon, and cover for staff who couldn't come in because schools were shut. 

Several NHS hospitals declared critical incidents on Thursday and shut down non-emergency appointments or admissions. 

Fun times. 

Good news. Resident doctors in England cancelled this week's strikes. The British Medical Association (BMA) says that the UK Government made a new last minute offer which is interesting enough to be put to the vote. Fingers crossed everybody. 

COVID-19, Bundibugyo Ebolavirus, Vaccination, Meningitis, Hantavirus, Measles and other Health and Virus UK and World News Update 12th June 2026

COVID-19, Ebola, Hantavirus, Measles and other Health and Virus UK and World News Update 12th June 2026

Analysis published by the Royal College of Em
ergency Medicine (RCEM) estimates that in England in 2025 there were 15,860 excess deaths due to long waits in A&E.

This is down almost 800 on 2024 when it was 16,644, but still almost 10 times what it was in 2015 (1,657), and frankly heartbreaking. It equates to 300 people a week dying when they should have survived.

Risk of death began to rise after 5 hours waiting, becoming increasingly worse. After an 8-12 hour wait, there is one excess death for every 72 patients. 

In 2025: "1,688,555 patients waited 12 hours or more to be admitted, discharged or transferred from major Emergency Departments. Of these patients, 1,141,944 were waiting to be admitted to a ward for further care".

The RCEM make it clear this is a "conservative estimate", the true numbers could well be higher. They are rightly unhappy that this situation is not being urgently addressed by Government. It requires more hospital beds and staff throughout hospitals. Emergency departments are not going to be able to solve this however hard they keep trying, and they really are trying.