Health information that is wrong can do more harm than information that is missing. We take that seriously, which means accepting that we will sometimes make mistakes and having a clear routine for putting them right. This page describes that routine.
What counts as an error
We treat the following as errors that need fixing:
- a statement of fact that is inaccurate, such as a wrong description of a test, treatment or habit;
- advice that no longer reflects widely accepted general guidance;
- a missing caution that a reasonable reader would need, for example about who should check with a doctor first;
- wording that could easily be read in a misleading way, even if it was technically correct;
- broken internal links, wrong headings or titles that do not match the article.
Differences of style or emphasis are not errors in themselves, but we are still happy to hear about them.
How to report one
Email us using the Write to Us page. The most helpful reports include the address of the page, the sentence concerned and, if you can, where you came across the more accurate information. You do not need to be a professional to report a mistake, and you do not need to share anything about your own health.
How we deal with it
| Type of problem | What we aim to do |
|---|---|
| Could affect someone's safety | Review as soon as we read it and, if needed, edit or take the passage down the same day while we look into it properly. |
| Factual error without a safety angle | Check against current general guidance and correct within about a week. |
| Outdated but not wrong at the time | Add to our update list and rewrite the section at the next review of that article. |
| Typos and broken links | Fix quietly when we spot or hear about them. |
What you will see on the page
When a correction changes the meaning of an article, we do not simply swap the text and hope nobody noticed. A short note is added near the end of the article describing what was changed and when, in plain terms such as "An earlier version described X; this has been corrected." The modified date of the article is updated too.
Small fixes that do not change meaning, like spelling or formatting, are made without a note.
When we disagree
Occasionally a reader suggests a change we do not make, for instance because the general guidance still supports what we wrote, or because the suggestion depends on individual circumstances we cannot cover in a general article. In those cases we explain our reasoning in our reply. Where the subject is genuinely unsettled, we may add a line saying so.
Regular reviews
Corrections are not only reactive. We reread older articles, starting with those on medicines, nicotine products and mental health, to check that their cautions are still appropriate. The way we check information is outlined on our Fact-Checking Notes page.
Questions? Write to us.
We read every message.