Many NHS doctors are abandoning a potentially life-saving scanning technique after training because systemic barriers prevent it from becoming part of everyday care, a new study finds. The research, by the Universities of Cambridge and Exeter and Royal Papworth Hospital, identifies six “vicious cycles” that explain why point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) remains underused, even in well-equipped hospitals. The findings respond to mounting concern from national reports and coroners’ Prevention of Future Deaths notices, which have linked POCUS underuse to missed chances to identify and treat conditions like cardiogenic shock, leading to patient deaths which could have been avoided.