#healthcare-regulation

#healthcare-regulation

A woman who was sexually assaulted by her physiotherapist has said he should have been stopped from practising earlier, to prevent him abusing more patients. Sarah Johnson, 42, from Meopham in Kent, who has waived her right to anonymity, is calling for immediate suspension of practitioners under investigation for alleged sexual offences. In June 2024, Purnoor Bawa, from Gravesend, was jailed for six years for touching six women inappropriately during treatment sessions between 2013 and 2019.

Staff at a specialist eating disorder unit have been photographed sleeping when they should have been looking after patients who were at risk of harming themselves. There were multiple "unsafe" incidents because of staff failings, according to whistleblowers. Many seriously ill patients have told the BBC they felt their time on the unit had made their condition worse. Schoen Clinic York said "where specific concerns have been raised, they have been fully investigated and addressed" but no "systemic issues" were found.

Regulatory frameworks such as HIPAA, GxP, GDPR and 21 CFR Part 11 are not optional; they are the guardrails that protect sensitive health data, ensure scientific integrity and maintain public trust in healthcare systems. Yet, I repeatedly observed that while these frameworks provided critical safeguards, they often slowed the momentum of digital transformation initiatives, particularly those involving artificial intelligence. Early AI projects faltered not because the models lacked accuracy or relevance, but because the underlying data architectures were not designed to satisfy regulators from the outset.

When confronted over the "scandalous" treatment of older people in privately run nursing homes, Taoiseach Micheál Martin replied that he had "no issue" with bigger fines being imposed.