Emily Townsend

I'm a correspondent at specialist national news title Health Service Journal, passionate about achieving parity of esteem for mental health and giving a voice to the voiceless. I was previously a reporter at Archant’s Investigations Unit.

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HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

The latest safety crisis for maternity care

On this episode we discuss the quality of maternity services in the NHS, which have remained firmly in the spotlight. We cover a recent HSJ investigation into delayed inductions of labour and cover the broader challenges facing maternity services amid multiple inquiries and more 'inadequate' CQC ratings. Also more on why families whose babies died in the East Kent maternity scandal are still having to prove legal liability to get any compensation.
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Who’s to blame for the latest A&E crisis?

On this week’s episode we get into the debate sparked by comments made by a senior NHS director who called for an “absolute solution”. Also this week, the results are in on which integrated care systems are the most digitally mature. But did the NHS need to pay McKinsey £7m to tell them? Featuring Emily Townsend and Joe Talora and hosted by Annabelle Collins. You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and all the other popular podcas
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

21 days stuck in A&E

We discuss data revealing the true scale of long A&E waits for mental health patients and what acute trusts are trying to do about it without any extra national funding. Also: most GP practices are still using old-fashioned paper records, despite a commitment four years ago to get rid of them. We discuss whether it’s worth GPs’ time and money to make the switch. With Annabelle Collins, Joe Talora and Emily Townsend.
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Overwhelmed hospitals failing to treat patients in emergencies

On this week’s episode Alastair reveals why NHS England’s elective recovery director Jim Mackey is replacing David Sloman as national operations lead later this year. We also discuss why Tim Ferris was the right man for the national transformation job, but arrived at the wrong time. Also this week: what’s next for the Agenda for Change pay deal and concerns raised about the poor care experienced by eating disorder patients in acute hospitals.
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Everything you need to know about the NHS staff survey

This year’s NHS staff survey results have landed, so on this episode, we bring you the need-to-know findings and insights into how the NHS workforce are feeling. Our team is joined by Chris Graham, the chief executive of the Picker Institute – the charity that organises the survey – and we discuss everything from the worrying drop in staff feeling safe to report clinical errors, to the shocking results once again reported by ambulance trusts. Also with Annabelle Collins, Alison Moore and Emily T
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

HSJ Podcast: Should police have a role in healthcare?

We also discuss the battle in the NHS over how involved the police should be in managing community patients, and look at the state of mental health services more generally in a week when they have come under scrutiny from the National Audit Office. You can listen to HSJ Health Check on this page, or subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and all the other popular podcast platforms. Send feedback and questions for our journalists to annabelle.collins@hsj.co.uk.
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Still early days for scandal trust to turn a corner

The debate over single patient rooms has raged for many years, but emerging news from Liverpool’s new hospital suggests it could be a game-changer for cutting patients’ length of stay. We discuss the impact of the much-maligned city trust’s new hospital on patient flow.Also this week – we hear about the growing frustration in Manchester over the delay to the New Hospitals Programme, and we analyse our exclusive interview with the CEO of scandal-hit Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust. Featurin
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

‘Worst’ NHS trust faces writing on the wall

Amid four “inadequate” ratings and a new leadership inspection, is the writing on the wall for one of the NHS’ worst performing trusts over the last decade? We discuss what the latest inspection of Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust means for the organisation’s future, and whether the trust will survive in its current guise with two local MPs now in charge of the government. Also on this episode, we discuss the growing in-tray awaiting the new CEO of under pressure Tavistock and Portman FT and
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Tory tinkering while the NHS is on fire

The NHS needs “fewer layers of management” - this is according to Tory leadership hopeful Liz Truss and is one of the first significant comments made about the NHS by either candidate this summer. We talk more about the other pledges made about health and social care so far by both candidates and where they might look to make their mark. Also £75m has been announced to create more mental health beds - will this ease pressures in this incredibly “hot” running system? This and more from our interv
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Scandal of vulnerable patients waiting days in A&E

The NHS must find the money to fund an extra £2bn of the staff pay bill, after the government decided to increase it beyond the 3% rise that was budgeted for. We discuss the impact this is likely to have on services and also why a particular group of senior managers are particularly demoralised. Also this week: An HSJ investigation has highlighted the horrendously long waits faced by mental health patients while waiting for an inpatient bed in A&E. We talk more about how the health service got t
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Mental health hubs going unusued

Three further acute trusts are considering a move to joint leadership, HSJ has learned, and mental health hubs for NHS staff are being underused — we analyse both issues on this week’s HSJ Health Check podcast. The trusts, in Norfolk, have fiercely protected their independence in the past, but could the national shift towards collaboration see things move forward? We also give an update on the country-wide picture. And Emily Townsend discusses her finding that mental health hubs for NHS staff —
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Inside the Shropshire maternity scandal

We pick out the main findings from the Ockendon Review into maternity failures at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust and discuss what the most important lessons are for the NHS going forward. Also this week: The NHS Staff Survey has been published and there is more bad news than good news. We find out just how much staff attitudes have changed after two years of working in a pandemic, and what the key responses have been to the survey. Featuring Nick Carding, Emily Townsend, and Nick Kituno.
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

An uncomfortable message for NHS CEOs

The man in charge of elective recovery in the NHS has said the health service faces more scrutiny from ministers, and from the public, than ever before. But is the NHS ready to respond? We discuss the in-depth interview given by Sir Jim Mackey, following the publication of the elective recovery plan. Also, following news that an NHS trust was forced to apologise to a patient after denying a sexual assault happened, we ask what is being done to support victims in the NHS.
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

Two trusts, NHS England and the whistleblowers

Two very different trusts are under the spotlight after concerns were raised by whistleblowers about poor culture and behaviour. We discuss the outcome of the separate external reviews, which looked into The Christie FT and Walsall Healthcare Trust and ask whether they might instigate positive change. Also, more on the mandatory staff vaccine U-turn and how some chief executives are relieved, while others fear for permanently damaged staff relationships.
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