Emily Townsend
Emily Townsend writes about patient safety and care quality nationally, including maternity services and regulators such as the CQC, and covers the West Midlands regional patch. Joining HSJ in October 2021, she previously covered mental health, learning disabilities and autism. She was an investigations correspondent across two flagship daily titles at regional publisher Archant. In 2023, she was named among the best national journalists under 30 years old, winning a gold award for her reporting at HSJ.
Contact info
- Tel:
- 020 3307 6126
- Email:
- emily.townsend@hsj.co.uk
NewsSeven more avoidable sepsis deaths spark coroner warnings
Preventable deaths of seven people from sepsis – including four children – have prompted coroners to flag major concerns about NHS services’ management of the condition.
NewsNew CQC inspections put on hold by ministers
The Care Quality Commission’s assessments of integrated care systems have been put on hold at the last minute, as the government declined to sign off on the process.
HSJ LocalPatient experience is often ‘horrendously poor’ admits trust CEO
A trust chief executive has warned of the “dire” economic challenge facing his system, saying children and young people are already facing “horrendously poor” experiences due to dependency on out of area beds.
NewsLeaders urge review of single-word CQC ratings after headteacher death
Trust chiefs have collectively called for the Care Quality Commission to review its use of single-word inspection ratings, following MPs’ calls for an overhaul of Ofsted ratings for schools.
CEO InterviewCEO interview: Richard Kirby, CEO of Birmingham Community Healthcare Foundation Trust
This is the latest in a series of interviews with provider chief executives, which are available exclusively to HSJ Insight subscribers.
NewsDecade long battle ends with decision on cancer services
Children’s cancer services in London and the south east will be hosted by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust, NHS England has announced, following more than a decade of safety concerns surrounding the current model.
NewsJust a quarter of CQC staff believe its leaders have the right values
The latest staff survey results for the Care Quality Commission suggest a significant drop in confidence in the regulator’s leaders.
NewsExclusive: ‘Continuity risk’ to abortion services triggers national intervention
NHS England has told integrated care board leaders they must intervene over failures in abortion services in their patches amid “unprecedented demand” for such provision, HSJ has learned.
HSJ LocalTrust’s leadership downgraded to ‘inadequate’
A teaching trust’s leadership has been rated “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission, as inspectors warned of a “genuine fear” of speaking up and staff feeling unsafe from bullying, sexual harassment, misogyny, and racism.
HSJ LocalService with 10-year waits set for overhaul
A mental health trust where waiting times for ADHD assessments reached 10 years attempted to stop running the service amid concern over “untenable” demand pressures, board papers suggest.
NewsOver 30 sepsis deaths linked to ‘systemic’ failings, investigation reveals
Major progress made in sepsis care during the previous decade has been significantly reversed amid repeated failures in recognising and treating the condition.
HSJ LocalTrust loses ‘outstanding’ rating
An ambulance trust rated “outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission since 2019 has lost the top-tier rating.
NewsCQC names best and worst for maternity experience
The trusts where maternity care has deteriorated the most according to patient surveys have been identified by the Care Quality Commission.
NewsCQC to train staff in ‘relaying distressing news’, following headteacher’s death
The Care Quality Commission is rolling out extra training for inspectors in how to spot signs of distress after a coroner ruled that an Ofsted inspection contributed to the death of a teacher.
News‘Never events’ list could be scrapped or overhauled under new plans
NHS England is considering abolishing or overhauling the national list of safety incidents meant to be “wholly preventable”, known as “never events”.
HSJ LocalStruggling provider fails to appoint CEO
A struggling mental health and community trust has appointed an interim chief executive after a recruitment process failed to secure a new substantive leader.
News‘Horrifying’ failure to provide safety warnings for high-risk medicine
Concerns have been raised that patients may not be receiving “vital” safety information after HSJ discovered a high-risk medication was frequently not being dispensed as originally packaged.
NewsDuty of candour a ‘tick box exercise’ for overworked leaders, says watchdog
Senior leaders are resorting to “ticking the duty of candour box” instead of developing a “just and learning” culture in their organisations because their bandwidth is full, the patient safety commissioner has said.
HSJ LocalTrusts fail to appoint group CEO
Two acute trusts in the Midlands have failed to fill their group CEO role despite 12 applicants being considered for the position, HSJ has learned.
HSJ LocalNational director leaves for exec role at teaching trust
NHS England’s director of urgent and emergency care is joining a major teaching trust as its chief operating officer.