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BBC Radio 4

News-making original journalism documentary series, investigating stories at home and abroad.

File on 4

Virtual Wards, where patients receive hospital care at home, were heralded as one solution to help deal with the bed crisis in NHS hospitals. The system is popular with patients and has had successes, but some health boards in England have put the brakes on and the number of virtual beds has stalled in the last 12 months. Jane Deith meets the doctors on the front line of providing care to patients with acute conditions in their own homes and the people who benefit from being able to stay out of hospital.

Supporters of virtual wards or hospital at home say it's better for patients, saves money and prevents a significant number of hospital admissions. But some doctors question whether the system can make much difference unless it is introduced at scale.

District nurses are the original method of keeping people well and out of hospital. But in the last fifteen years, their number in England has almost halved - down 43 percent. Jane goes out with one nurse on a shift to see the work they do and hears from nurse leaders about concerns that district nurses are overstretched, leading to concerns about patient care.

Reporter: Jane Deith
Producer: Paul Grant
Technical Producer: Cameron Ward
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Is the answer to the NHS bed crisis virtual?

File on 4 Investigates: Missing Billions examines the changes to the financial system over the past ten years, including bank branch closures and the digitisation of the finance industry which has led to many financial assets being lost, mislaid or forgotten. It examines the scandal of £100 billion belonging to you and me, but kept by Britain's trusted financial institutions. 

The documentary solves the mystery of some missing church silver, helps a frustrated ambulance worker hunt an elusive pension and hears from the valiant individuals leading the charge to make changes to the finance industry. 

Featuring contributions from: Steve Webb (Former Pensions Minister), Helen Boyd (Reclaim Fund Ltd), Derek French (Campaign for Community Banking Services), Duncan Stevens (Asset Tracing Service Gretel), Tom Storey (Vaults Group), Les Clarke (Assets Recovered Ltd) plus responses from the NHS, South East Coast Ambulance Service, Santander UK and Lloyds bank.

Presenter, Simon Barnes
Readings, Russell Bentley, Olivia Mace
Research, Bethanie Depreaux
Editor, Ross Burman
Producer, Ashley Golder
Executive Producer, Kris Dyer

A Rakkit production for BBC Radio 4

Missing Billions

When a woman reported an allegation of rape against a serving police officer, she found herself in the dock, charged with perverting the course of justice. File on 4 Investigates hears how she went from being a potential victim to a suspect accused of lying. 

Over the past decade, hundreds of rape complainants in England and Wales have been investigated for making false allegations. The programme examines when and why the justice system turns on those who come forward, and asks whether the safeguards meant to protect potential victims are being properly applied.

Producer: Hayley Mortimer
Presenter: Rebecca Woods
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Details of organisations offering help and support for the issues raised are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

I accused a policeman of rape but I ended up on trial

File on 4 Investigates whether the risks associated with the popular hair loss drug Finasteride are understood, after a 2024 review by UK drug safety regulator the MHRA prompted by a lack of awareness of the drug’s side-effects. Finasteride’s most common side effects are reduced libido and erectile dysfunction, affecting more than one in a hundred patients. Some people also report low mood and suicidal thoughts. 

As Johnny I'Anson discovers some hair loss clinics are failing to adequately warn customers at the consultation stage of the sexual side effects assocated with Finasteride.

The drug, which is highly effective at halting hair loss, is only available by private prescription for hair loss purposes. 

But File on 4 Investigates discovers influencer accounts on the social media site TikTok promoting finasteride, also offering discounts for Finasteride with Manual, a popular UK men's health company. A lawyer expert told us that the videos we found constituted advertising. 

As a prescription-only medicine, it’s illegal to advertise finasteride to the public like this. This programme flagged the videos to TikTok, and they have since been removed. The company has also banned three of the accounts promoting the drug, saying they breached its rules. Manual said it was not involved in the making of the influencers’ videos.

Presenter: Johnny I'Anson
Producer: Rob Byrne
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Details of organisations offering help and support with mental health are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Thin on Information? Hair loss drug Finasteride

File on 4 Investigates reveals new data showing a significant rise in housing disrepair claims, now a growing market for unscrupulous No Win No Fee lawyers. Adrian Goldberg asks, has the Solicitors Regulation Authority learned its lessons from the collapse of the law firm SSB which left hundreds of householders with huge legal bills, and are they able to protect vulnerable social housing tenants from potentially risky NWNF claims? 

File on 4 Investigates have been told by 5 major housing providers across England and Wales that housing disrepair claims have been growing significantly. 

One social housing provider in the South of England with an estate of 85,000 homes has told us its seen a 375% rise in the number of legal claims launched by tenants in the last 5 years. We speak to John Golding, a 74 year old pensioner living in a housing association flat in Staffordshire about how a canvasser knocking on his door tried to pressurise him into pursuing a housing disrepair claim with a Manchester based No Win No Fee solicitors' firm.

Reporter: Adrian Goldberg
Producer: Jim Booth
Additional research: Laura Longworth
Technical Producers: Richard Hannaford & Cameron Ward
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

No Win No Fee... No thanks?

Do you give homeless people cash? Many people fear any donation will be misspent but a ground-breaking study in the UK is currently recruiting 125 homeless people to receive a large one-off cash payment, paid directly to them. There's no restrictions on what they can buy with the money. It can be used for anything, it’s entirely up to the individual how they choose to spend it. The aim of the project is to see if it will help people move on from homelessness for good. With exclusive access to the ongoing study, Michael Buchanan follows some of those who’ve been given the cash to see how the money is being spent and what impact it‘s having on their lives.

Reporter: Michael Buchanan 
Producers: Emma Forde and Rob Byrne 
Editor: Tara McDermott
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley

Can cash grants help end homelessness?

Industrial firefighting foams are an essential part of on-site safety in UK factories. But for decades some of these familiar canisters contained potentially dangerous, toxic chemicals. 

File on 4 Investigates discovers that 3M the multi-billion dollar chemical company responsible for producing the chemicals knew about the risks as early as the 1960s because their own internal studies on animals and tests on workers indicated a possible increase in rates of cancer. Despite this, the company failed to warn its workers of the dangers associated with using the foams for decades and was involved in an environmental accident at one of its sites that led to the chemicals being released into a Welsh river.

The programme obtained never seen before documents showing the regulator warning the company it thought it had committed an offence but choosing not to prosecute it.

In 2004, with evidence of the risks to the environment of the two specific forever chemicals PFOS and PFOA, a report commissioned by the government recommended any remaining firefighting foams containing the chemicals be incinerated. But we discover in the years after that companies struggled to dispose of legacy stock of foams, and, appearing unaware of the unofficial advice, discharged them straight into the sewer with no treatment, in one case with permission from the water company.

3M said that the health and safety of its workers and their families were “critical priorities" for the company.

Reporter: Esme Stallard
Producer: Anna Meisel
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Tara McDermott

Firefighting's forever chemical legacy

Anne Dyer is a trailblazer - becoming the first female Bishop in the Scottish Episcopal Church when she was appointed more than seven years ago. But since then, accusations of bullying and misconduct have dominated her period in charge - even for a time leading to her suspension and calls for her resignation. 

Bishop Dyer denies any wrongdoing, while the church itself acknowledges there are deep wounds within the diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney. 

Now File on 4 Investigates has discovered new complaints against the bishop, which she says are "totally without merit".

Reporter: Steve Swann
Producer: Fergus Hewison
Editor: Tara McDermott 
Production Coordinator: Tim Fernley
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford

An unholy row over bishop accused of bullying.

File on 4 Investigates discovers a world of lies and blame within adoption in the UK. The BBC has conducted the most extensive Freedom of Information request ever into adoptions that have broken down, finding that more than 1,000 adopted children in the UK have returned to care in the past five years. That is much higher than the figure in a recent government report - but the true number is likely to be even larger, as only a third of authorities said they collected this data as standard practice. Some adoptive parents say they’ve been given so little support that they’ve been forced to return their children to the care system. 

This programme explores the scale of the crisis as we hear from parents pushed to the limit, a teenager returned to care and a social worker giving a rare view of the system from the inside.

Producer: Ashley Kennedy & Claire Kendall
Reporter: Judith Moritz
Sound designer: Richard Hannaford
Production coordinator: Hattie Valentine
Editor: Tara McDermott

(Photo: Close-up portrait of couple Verity & Ian standing outdoors. Credit: Brij Patel)

Details of advice and support with adoption are available at www.bbc.co.uk/actionline

Adoption: The Blame Game

Multi cancer detection tests or MCDs can detect many cancers through a simple blood test. Many detect fragments of cancerous DNA that have broken off a tumour and are circulating in the blood. They can often then identify where the cancer may be.
 
The NHS is currently involved in the words largest trial of one such test. The Galleri test is made by US firm Grail and the company says its mission is to detect cancer early when it can be cured. Heavyweight investors include Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.

More than 140,000 volunteers took part in the trial and the results will be known next year. If successful, the test may be rolled out further. 

File on 4 Investigates looks at how effective such tests are and whether the trial will show it can save lives.

Medical journalist Deb Cohen speaks to one woman whose cancer was found by the test and successfully treated. But she also hears from firefighters in America - where it's available to the public - who say it missed some cancers and some people who got a positive result were found not to have the disease after undergoing diagnostic procedures - a so called false positive.

With many hospitals trusts missing cancer treatment targets, what is the best way forward for the NHS to improve outcomes.

Reporter: Deb Cohen
Producer: Paul Grant
Technical producer: Craig Boardman
Production co-ordinator: Tim Fernley 
Editor: Tara McDermott

I accused a policeman of rape but I ended up on trial

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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