Argentina – 30th December, 2017: Doctors are considered as Gods, particularly in the places where faith and science go hand-in-hand. Therefore, they have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders to not only treat people, but save their lives. Any kind of medical negligence leads to horrifying consequences, especially in cases of childbirth.

Guyana – 3rd December, 2017: The Medical Council of Guyana has suspended a doctor from practicing following the start of disciplinary proceedings based on complaints of negligence by the families of two of his patients who died.

London – 4th January, 2018: A Silicon Valley robotics company's partnership with the Rwandan health ministry has enabled the delivery of vital medicines to hospitals in remote areas using drones in an average of half an hour, the media reported.

The ingenious drone delivery service by Zipline, known as "Uber for blood" has delivered more than 5,500 units of blood over the past year in an average half an hour.

 

UK – 20th January, 2018: The health trust which runs Basingstoke hospital has paid out more than £39m since 2012 due to medical mistakes, new figures have revealed.

Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, paid out £39,010,238.56 in damages and legal costs between 2012 and 2017.

Pittsburgh, South Africa – 2nd January, 2018: Federal prosecutors say a strategy that gives them better access to drug and health-care data is helping them stop doctors who irresponsibly prescribe addictive pain pills.

It's called the Justice Department's Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit. The unit provides authorities in 12 regions with information on which doctors are prescribing the most, how far patients will travel to see them and whether any have died within 60 days of receiving a prescription.

US – 19th January, 2018:  The Department of Health and Human Services announced a significant change in its civil rights office, and its bad news for transgender patients and anyone seeking an abortion. Within the HHS civil rights office, there is now a “Conscience and Religious Freedom Division,” which will serve to shield health care providers who want to refuse to provide abortions and/or give treatment to transgender patients on “religious” grounds.

The HHS is, unsurprisingly, trying to frame this change as a win for religious freedom — as opposed to what many others would argue as a slash in the health and human rights of women and trans people.

Nigeria – 14th January, 2018: When Kingsley Kalu left home on October 18, 2017, it was with the hope of returning safely as it had been on other days. He never knew he would be crippled by a stray bullet released by a police officer. He never thought he would end up at the hospital battling to save his life.

The unfortunate incident occurred at about 8:30 p.m. around Exclusive Stores in Wuse 2 when Mr. Kalu went in company of his newly wedded wife and brother-in-law went out.

Australia – 19th January, 2018:  The close relationship between the healthcare profession and the pharmaceutical industry continues to come under attack, with patients rightly questioning their doctor’s motivation for prescribing certain medications.

Was it because the doctor received an all-expenses paid trip to the Bahamas for a "medical conference", funded by the pharmaceutical company, or does the doctor truly believe the medication will assist the medical condition?

Ireland – 24th January, 2018: A woman who had to have a kidney removed as a result of alleged negligence during surgery will have to pay some of the legal costs of her High Court action after she twice declined to avail of lodgements in court which turned out to be higher than the €260,000 she was awarded at the end of a trial.

Northern Ireland – 17th January, 2018:  A child was starved of oxygen during her delivery at the Mater Hospital. Her family sued the Belfast Trust, claiming medical negligence had left her with cerebral palsy.

With liability for errors leading to the injury accepted, it is thought the settlement is the biggest of its kind in Northern Ireland. The claim was brought over delays in her birth when her condition began to deteriorate in 2008.