This week

Free prescriptions for over-the-counter remedies such as eye drops and indigestion tablets could be axed in the UK. NHS England also proposes cuts to items like laxatives and cough mixtures in a bid to tackle a funding shortfall.

Half of UK maternity units had to turn away women in labour last year because of staff shortages. Midwives were also forced to refuse home births to women because there were too few staff. Units closed their doors to women 209 times in 2016, according to figures from the Royal College of Midwives. Cases of shingles in the UK have been slashed by 35 per cent since a vaccine was offered to 70-year-olds. Public Health England is urging more people to get their free jab.