The morning-after pill, known as emergency contraception, external, is medication designed to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It usually has to be taken within three to five days of having unprotected sex. The sooner it is taken, the more effective it is.

It works by delaying or preventing the release of an egg, but will only prevent pregnancy if ovulation has not already happened.

Alternatively, women can visit a doctor or nurse to have a coil or intrauterine device (IUD) fitted to prevent pregnancy at any time during their menstrual cycle. To be effective, it needs to be fitted within 120 hours or five days of unprotected sex.

The government said making the morning-after pill available free from pharmacies would end the “unfair” barriers and postcode lottery some women faced – with access varying dramatically depending on where they live.

Under the scheme, women can visit their local pharmacy and have a confidential consultation with a pharmacist or trained pharmacy technician, before receiving the medication on the same day.

Prior to this, women had to book an appointment with their GP, sexual health clinic or pharmacy to get the morning-after pill. Women could also access it privately, as they still can now.

In 2024/25, there were around 150,000 NHS prescriptions for the morning-after pill – far fewer than under the new service.

Dr Sue Mann, NHS National Clinical Director for Women’s Health, said the pharmacy service was a “major step forward for women’s health”, with “no appointment, no waiting and no judgement”.

“This service is already making a real impact, particularly for women living in more deprived communities, by making contraception easier to access closer to home,” she added.

Women can check online, external to find their nearest participating pharmacy. All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians delivering the service have received specialist training to provide emergency contraception and wider contraceptive care.

At least 624 US military service members have been wounded since President Donald Trump ordered strikes against Iran in February, according to the Pentagon’s most recent update on 25 July.

Among those wounded, 417 are attributed to Operation Epic Fury, while 207 are attributed to “Overseas Operations”.

The US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April and signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June, but attacks from both sides have occurred throughout.

Last week, the Pentagon revised its figures on those injured and killed in the war, taking the names of four who died in Operation Epic Fury and moving them to the death count for Overseas Operations.

On the Pentagon’s Defense Analysis Casualty System, the death count for Operation Epic Fury, the name given to the initial attack, was listed at 18 as late as Tuesday, and 482 wounded.

At some point, four of those names were removed, and on Thursday the death toll was reduced to 14.

The four deceased soldiers’ names now appear on Overseas Operations, which says it measures “casualties starting July 7th 2026”. They are the only four listed deaths.

The unexplained, silent changing of casualty statistics – for both the wounded and the dead – was criticised as undermining transparency.

“The administration seems to have a real hard time being honest about what is going on – not just about casualties, but about the whole war in general,” said Lt Gen Ben Hodges, who commanded US forces in Europe when Trump first came to power.

In a post on X, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, a frequent Trump critic, called splitting the conflict into categories an “absurd ruse”.

The BBC has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.

On X, Pentagon spokespman Sean Parnell described the shifting figures as “temporary data disruptions”.

“These site anomalies are currently being resolved in coordination with the Military Services,” the statement said.

In a post on Truth Social, on 21 July, Trump wrote that the “Iran Military Conflict” had claimed 18 lives.

The category “Overseas Operations” appeared for the first time on the Pentagon’s website on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

It included the names of the four Army soldiers who died recently and counted 207 for those wounded. It is unclear if all 207 were injured as a result of the Iran war.

The name changes appeared to reflect the four US soldiers who died in July, after the interim deal signed by Trump last month began to break down, and after the president had declared the ceasefire with Iran was “over”.

Three US soldiers died after Iranian missile strikes on a base in Jordan on 17 July and another in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.

Since mid-July, the US had attacked Iranian military infrastructure, met with Iranian forces firing on American bases in neighbouring countries, for 13 consecutive nights.

Then starting on Friday there has been a pause, with Sunday the third night of no attacks from both sides.

During their one short break, Charlotte lets out a small shout of pain. The leather seat in the ambulance has burnt her skin. She reaches for her portable fan which mists the air, as the air conditioning gets going.

The big black boots and dark green trousers both Connor and Charlotte wear offer protection from spills and infection, but they are not cool items of clothing. From lifting and moving patients around, to carrying heavy bags and rushing: it is undeniably hot work.

“I went home dehydrated several times in the last heatwave,” says Charlotte. During our ride out, the paramedics often remind each other to drink.

Of the four calls we attend with the paramedics, three are heat-related. Finally at 7.30pm, the BBC leaves the ambulance, but Charlotte and Connor still have five more hours on their shift.

With temperatures expected to remain at heatwave level until the end of next week, staff at the South Western Ambulance Service are urging families, neighbours and carers to check on older people, warning that many of the incidents they tend to could be prevented.

The advice is simple: get fans out the attic, leave the less mobile with plenty of water that they can reach and also make sure you check in on your more vulnerable neighbours.

“In winter you pop in on elderly relatives,” says Connor. “It’s even more important to do that on hot summer days.”

Artificial intelligence will be used on the NHS app to determine which service is most appropriate for patients in England, the health service has announced.

A new triage tool will ask patients a series of questions, and will use the responses to direct them to a GP appointment, pharmacy, A&E, community service or offer self-care advice.

NHS England said the update would reach more than 200,000 patients in the next 12 months and be available to all app users by April 2028 as part of a “major overhaul” of its technology.

The rollout has been largely welcomed, but some health bodies urged the NHS to prioritise patient safety, confidentiality and inclusion as it grows more reliant on AI.

An initial trial of the tool at Wealden Ridge Medical Partnership in Sussex saw a 29% reduction in the number of people queuing on the phone for an appointment.

Dr Ragu Rajan, who works at the practice, said integrating the tool “means our patients can tell us what they need, when they need it, and be directed to the right care first time.

“It hasn’t replaced our judgement – it’s given us back the time to use it.”

Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said the tool would “help get patients to the best service for their needs first time… so that clinicians can make sure those most in need of a GP appointment can get one sooner”.

It comes as part of a £10bn investment, allocated by the government in 2025, to overhaul the NHS’s technology, digital and data systems.

There will also be an England-wide rollout of AI tools that record conversations between patients and NHS staff to generate real-time transcriptions and clinical summaries.

It will start with hospital appointments not requiring an overnight stay at four NHS trusts in and around London – St George’s, Epsom and St Helier, Croydon, and Kingston and Richmond.

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust are also expanding their AI notetaking programmes.

A trial led by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and carried out across nine NHS sites in London found NHS staff spent almost 25% more of their time interacting with patients when using the notetaking technology.

The Royal College of Nursing’s chief nursing officer, Prof Lynn Woolsey, said the rollout could mark “an important step in upgrading technology in the NHS” and “ease the administrative burden on nursing staff”.

But she also emphasised that patient safety and confidentiality must be at the “heart of any AI triage system, with a guarantee that a health professional will be the one making decisions at key points in that process”.

Pritesh Mistry, fellow at the King’s Fund think-tank, said the announcement “could help turbo-charge improvements in how [the] NHS uses modern technology to deliver better care for patients”.

“People should find it easier to have support at the right time and in a way that best suits them, digitally or physically,” she added.

“And this means the NHS will need to keep a strong focus on ensuring that people are not digitally excluded as clinical services become increasingly reliant on technology.”

Conservative shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew said: “Any innovation that improves patient care and helps the NHS work more effectively should be welcomed. But new technology must be introduced with a fully-funded plan that delivers value for taxpayers.”

It was the day Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Inna lost the life she had spent decades building – her career as a consultant rheumatologist, her home and her sense of safety. 

Three years on, as the war continues in Ukraine, and bombs still go off in Kharkiv, she is practising medicine again in London and helping other refugee health workers find their footing in the UK.

“Before the war, I thought I’d reached everything I wanted,” she said. “I had my career, my family, my home. There was never any thought of leaving.” 

Inna’s story traces the journey of one of more than 260,000 Ukrainians who found safety in the United Kingdom following the invasion – a journey marked by loss, resilience and the transformative power of welcome. 

It also highlights what happens when skilled refugees are given the chance to contribute. 

Escaping the war with help 

When the war broke out, and as fighting intensified and buildings around them were destroyed, Inna and her family – her two daughters, her parents and her cat – fled Kharkiv with only a few documents and belongings, thinking that they would return home within a couple of days.

Driving for more than 26 hours through Ukraine, Moldova and Romania, the family were welcomed by strangers sharing food, safety and kindness.

“I still remember them,” she said of the volunteers who chose to help. “Like part of the family.”

After travelling through Bulgaria and reconnecting with friends she had met years earlier in London, Inna arrived in the UK in May 2022 through the Homes for Ukraine scheme, a community-led initiative that allows people across the UK to sponsor Ukrainians fleeing the war by offering safe accommodation and the chance to rebuild their lives.

Starting over, one step at a time

Like many people forced to flee to another country, Inna faced barriers to returning to her profession, including language challenges and lack of recognition of her qualifications. 

She began in an administrative role with the Lewisham and Greenwich Trust of the UK’s National Health Service, NHS, in southeast London.

Her NHS colleagues became what she calls her ‘work family’. They helped with her English, built her confidence and encouraged her to sit the exams needed to practise as a doctor in the UK.

“They believed in me much more than I believed in myself,” she said.

She passed all the required exams and returned to rheumatology, her chosen specialty, providing care directly to patients once more. 

Of the more than 260,000 Ukrainians who have arrived in the UK since the invasion, over 60,000 are now employed across different sectors of the economy.

Building a network for refugee health workers

Inna’s journey did not stop there. Working alongside other displaced health-care professionals, she helped establish the Ukrainian Medical Charity, a national network supporting refugee doctors, nurses and health workers to access NHS employment opportunities.

Her advocacy has also helped shape the NHS Refugee Employment Programme, which assists refugees from many backgrounds into roles across the UK health service.

“Refugees want to give back to this country, and we have a duty to welcome them as well,” said Kathleen, a rheumatology clinical nurse specialist and Inna’s colleague.

Today, Inna balances work and family life in London “just like an ordinary person”, she says. What stays with her most is what she experienced in different countries, new neighbourhoods and hospital corridors: the power of welcome.

“When you’re forced to flee, it’s like your roots are cut,” Inna says. “The NHS and the people around me helped me grow new ones. That stability, that kindness, it changes everything – like the sunshine on your garden.”

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Community Minor Injury and Illness Units and GP practices across the county will continue to provide services and if people have an urgent care need, but are not sure which service to use, they are asked to visit 111.nhs.uk in the first instance or call 111 for advice.”

Kneeshaw said: “Like many NHS organisations, we are navigating a difficult financial and operational landscape, which means that decisions about recruitment have to be based on a range of factors, including current staffing levels, service demand, workforce skill mix and affordability.

An NHS online hospital service will be launched in England within two years to help cut waiting times, the prime minister is set to announce.

Sir Keir Starmer will tell the Labour Party annual conference a “new world is coming” as he sets out plans for the digital service.

NHS Online will have its own dedicated doctors and nurses who will take charge of patients who choose to use the service.

The idea is that assessments, check-ups with consultants and follow-up appointments will all be done online.

People will also be able to use the app to book a scan, test or procedure at a local community diagnostic centre, if they need one.

The service will be phased in from 2027, with the focus on areas where there are significant numbers of patients who may never need inpatient treatment.

NHS sources said this could include ophthalmology, gynaecology and digestive conditions.

For each area there will be some patients who require monitoring and support managing their health condition and therefore more suitable to the online service.

But identifying which are those patients will be a challenge.

NHS England said only those areas where an online service is considered safe will be included in the new offer.

The online hospital will be accessible through the NHS app and ministers hope it will deliver up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years – four times more than an average NHS trust.

Sir Keir will say “the responsibility of this party is not just to celebrate the NHS, it’s to make it better”.

NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey said the initiative would “deliver millions more appointments by the end of the decade, offering a real alternative for patients and more control over their own care”.

Digital innovation was one of the core themes of the 10-year NHS plan that was published over the summer.

The service will build on some initiatives that have already been piloted.

For example, University Hospital Southampton developed a virtual follow-up service for low-risk inflammatory bowel disease, enabling patients to access care and support remotely when they had flare-ups.

It meant the NHS trust could cut back on routine follow-up appointments. Three quarters of patients were managed virtually and the initiative was credited in reducing waiting times by 58%.

Meanwhile, Moorfields Eye Hospital in London has introduced a virtual system for managing non-emergency eye referrals. More than half ended up being treated in routine clinics without the need for specialist treatment at Moorfields.

Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of NHS Providers, said the online hospital service could be a “very significant” development.

“The way the NHS provides outpatients services hasn’t changed much for decades, but during Covid we learned a lot about opportunities for new approaches using digital technology.

“It’s sensible they are taking the time to plan this properly because there are a lot of factors to consider.

“These include the handling of patient data and the need to avoid “digital exclusion” of people who can’t access the service.”

Dr Becks Fisher, of the Nuffield Trust think tank, said it is an “interesting experiment”.

But she added: “At this stage detail is largely lacking. And there are some difficult questions looming about implementation.

“Where will the doctors and nurses for this service be taken from? And how will they pass patients who need care from digital to physical services?

“This service will only be safe and suitable for certain patients. How will we make sure it is kept to them?”

The announcement comes as the British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that a separate online booking system being launched across England could cause chaos and potentially lead to serious health problems being missed by GPs.

That system, which will instead allow patients wanting an on-the-day GP appointment, or a call from a clinician, to make a request online throughout the day, is being rolled out on Wednesday.

It is already available in many practices and is designed to reduce long waits on the phone during the so-called ‘8am scramble’.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said it would put the patient’s health first and there were already agreed safeguards in place.

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NHS England

‘Straightforward and reassuring’