Many UK hospitals were granted foundation status despite providing substandard care and despite the regulators being aware of this.

The Telegraph reports that almost 500 patients have been crippled and injured so badly by NHS hospital care that they have received more than £1m each in compensation, landing the taxpayer with a bill for £1.2bn.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has praised the commitment to a 21st century healthcare service and the introduction of more choice for patients through the signing of a new NHS Constitution.

The government has reneged on its pledge to provide more flexible working in the NHS, says the Medical Women’s Federation in Postgraduate Medical Journal.