Emily Townsend

I'm an award-winning journalist currently working as a senior correspondent at Health Service Journal. I predominantly cover care quality and patient safety, including maternity and the CQC.

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Health Service Journal •

I was told to close down 4,000 safety reports, claims manager

By Emily Townsend2026-07-20T03:57:00A senior NHS manager told an inquiry into more than 2,000 deaths he was asked to remove thousands of outstanding safety incident reports while his trust was in the middle of the probe. By Emily Townsend2026-07-20T03:57:00 A senior NHS manager told an inquiry into more than 2,000 deaths he was asked to remove thousands of outstanding safety incident reports while his trust was in the middle of the probe.
Health Service Journal •

HSJ Podcast: The doctor who has fought maternity scandals for a decade

Dr Kirkup has been investigating maternity scandals for more than a decade, including at Morecambe Bay and East Kent.  We discuss how the sector has responded to the tranche of recommendations, whether a public inquiry is needed, and how leaders should respond when things go wrong in their organisations. He also touched on more contentious issues, warning that the current clinical negligence system is set up to be “adversarial”, as well as how the NHS needs to avoid “othering” maternity servic...
Health Service Journal •

Maternity ‘sidelined by boards and poorly understood by medical directors’

By Emily Townsend2026-07-17T08:55:00Maternity services, despite numerous scathing reviews, are still sidelined by trust boards and often poorly understood by medical directors, who view them as being outside the mainstream and delivered by “slightly odd folk”, a leading expert has told HSJ. By Emily Townsend2026-07-17T08:55:00 Maternity services, despite numerous scathing reviews, are still sidelined by trust boards and often poorly understood by medical directors, who view them as being outsi...
Health Service Journal •

'Inherent conflict' as CQC chief to determine whistleblowing protections

By Emily Townsend2026-07-15T09:34:00The chief executive of the Care Quality Commission is set to become responsible for deciding whether to remove “safe space” protection from whistleblowers’ information, which a former health minister has called an “inherent conflict”. By Emily Townsend2026-07-15T09:34:00 The chief executive of the Care Quality Commission is set to become responsible for deciding whether to remove “safe space” protection from whistleblowers’ information, which a former health...
Health Service Journal •

‘Catastrophic outcomes’ threat from ‘inappropriate’ maternity tools

By Emily Townsend2026-07-14T02:26:00Hospitals are persisting with using variable methods and tools to measure the growth of unborn babies, which experts say is leading to avoidable deaths, HSJ  can reveal. By Emily Townsend2026-07-14T02:26:00 Hospitals are persisting with using variable methods and tools to measure the growth of unborn babies, which experts say is leading to avoidable deaths, HSJ  can reveal.
Health Service Journal •

CEO admits underestimating requirements of deaths inquiry

By Emily Townsend2026-07-06T16:40:00A trust has been slow to provide records to an inquiry examining more than 2,000 deaths, because it underestimated the resources needed, its former CEO has admitted. By Emily Townsend2026-07-06T16:40:00 A trust has been slow to provide records to an inquiry examining more than 2,000 deaths, because it underestimated the resources needed, its former CEO has admitted.
Health Service Journal •

Ministers remove adviser from national taskforce over ‘conflict of interest’

By Emily Townsend2026-07-03T11:50:00A medical adviser to the national maternity and neonatal taskforce has been asked to leave by ministers after they recognised “the depth of family concern” about his appointment. By Emily Townsend2026-07-03T11:50:00 A medical adviser to the national maternity and neonatal taskforce has been asked to leave by ministers after they recognised “the depth of family concern” about his appointment.
Health Service Journal •

Government picks CQC chair without competition

By Emily Townsend2026-07-01T12:46:00The government has revealed its preferred candidate to be the next chair of the Care Quality Commission, as a cross-bench peer who has overseen major national healthcare reviews. By Emily Townsend2026-07-01T12:46:00 The government has revealed its preferred candidate to be the next chair of the Care Quality Commission, as a cross-bench peer who has overseen major national healthcare reviews.
Health Service Journal •

Mackey issues 10-point ‘urgent’ maternity plan

By Emily Townsend2026-07-01T11:20:00The CEO of NHS England has ordered trust boards to enforce joint accountability for maternity between medical directors and chief nursing officers, following criticisms of “siloed” leadership in major reviews. By Emily Townsend2026-07-01T11:20:00 The CEO of NHS England has ordered trust boards to enforce joint accountability for maternity between medical directors and chief nursing officers, following criticisms of “siloed” leadership in major reviews.
Health Service Journal •

‘Normal birth’ harms should not be ‘airbrushed away’, warns expert

By Emily Townsend2026-07-01T09:25:00An expert who resigned from the national maternity review in a dispute over its stance on “normal birth” ideology has warned that misuse of such an approach and its impact on patient safety “should not be airbrushed away”. By Emily Townsend2026-07-01T09:25:00 An expert who resigned from the national maternity review in a dispute over its stance on “normal birth” ideology has warned that misuse of such an approach and its impact on patient safety “should not...
Health Service Journal •

CQC 'not credible investigator of maternity services', says major review

By Emily Townsend2026-06-29T23:11:00Ministers should create a new specialist unit to assess maternity services because the Care Quality Commission does not have the credibility to do so, a government review has concluded. By Emily Townsend2026-06-29T23:11:00 Ministers should create a new specialist unit to assess maternity services because the Care Quality Commission does not have the credibility to do so, a government review has concluded.
Sky News •

Appearance on The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee

Appeared on Sky News to discuss exclusive story about Dr Bill Kirkup resigning from the national maternity and neonatal investigation. The UK Tonight with Sarah-Jane Mee will dig into the issues people across the country are talking about and explain and analyse the news stories they need to know in a dynamic hour of domestic news. The UK Tonight ➡️ https://trib.al/I0lsYCE #SkyNews #UKTonight #UK #live #unitedkingdom #police #uknews #england #scotland #wales #trump #iranwar SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more videos: http://www.youtube.com/skynews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skynews Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skynews Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skynews Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@skynews For more content go to http://news.sky.com and download our apps: Apple https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sky-news/id316391924?mt=8 Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bskyb.skynews.android&hl=en_GB Sky News Daily podcast is available for free here: https://podfollow.com/skynewsdaily/ To enquire about licensing Sky News content, you can find more information here: https://news.sky.com/info/library-sales
Health Service Journal •

Exclusive: Maternity adviser quits in ‘normal birth’ dispute

By Emily Townsend2026-06-29T14:39:00The chair of several high-profile safety inquiries has resigned from the government’s national maternity review just ahead of publication, in a dispute over “normal birth ideology”, HSJ can reveal. By Emily Townsend2026-06-29T14:39:00 The chair of several high-profile safety inquiries has resigned from the government’s national maternity review just ahead of publication, in a dispute over “normal birth ideology”, HSJ can reveal.
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

HSJ Podcast: What next after Nottingham

The report by Donna Ockenden criticised NHS executives for refusing to speak to investigators - leading to the government threatening prison time for staff who do not cooperate. Will this make a difference for future investigations? And, amid growing calls for a public inquiry into the state of maternity care across the country, we ask what this would mean for the NHS.  With Henry Anderson and Emily Townsend. Read HSJ’s report on the review and the families’ reaction, and Sir Jim Mackey’s com...
Health Service Journal •

Govt threatens hospital execs with prison amid 'abhorrent' leadership failure

By Emily Townsend2026-06-24T10:45:00Families affected by the Nottingham maternity scandal have hit out at the “abhorrent” leadership of “senior staff” as the government revealed that staff who refuse to engage with future investigations could be sent to prison for up to two years. By Emily Townsend2026-06-24T10:45:00 Families affected by the Nottingham maternity scandal have hit out at the “abhorrent” leadership of “senior staff” as the government revealed that staff who refuse to engage with...
Health Service Journal •

Arrests made at maternity inquiry trust

By Emily Townsend2026-06-22T09:59:00Two men have been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with operating practices at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust’s mortuary service, police have revealed. By Emily Townsend2026-06-22T09:59:00 Two men have been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with operating practices at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust’s mortuary service, police have revealed.
Health Service Journal •

Public inquiry into maternity being considered by DHSC

By Emily Townsend2026-06-17T12:13:00Current inquiries into care failures lack teeth, and such a gap could be filled by a public inquiry, the government’s new national maternity adviser has revealed. By Emily Townsend2026-06-17T12:13:00 Current inquiries into care failures lack teeth, and such a gap could be filled by a public inquiry, the government’s new national maternity adviser has revealed.
Health Service Journal •

Trust fined £320k over hospital infection death

By Emily Townsend2026-06-16T05:42:00The Care Quality Commission has imposed a £324,143 fine on a trust where a chemotherapy patient contracted a serious infection from bacteria in a ward’s en-suite bathroom and later died. By Emily Townsend2026-06-16T05:42:00 The Care Quality Commission has imposed a £324,143 fine on a trust where a chemotherapy patient contracted a serious infection from bacteria in a ward’s en-suite bathroom and later died.
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