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 •

Revealed: Dozens of maternity units at risk of closure

By Emily Townsend2026-08-20T05:31:00A national NHS leader has told HSJ he expects more maternity units to close, while analysis suggests dozens face similar problems to a hospital where births were suspended this month. By Emily Townsend2026-08-20T05:31:00 A national NHS leader has told HSJ he expects more maternity units to close, while analysis suggests dozens face similar problems to a hospital where births were suspended this month.
Health Service Journal •

Exclusive: CQC ratings gap triples over a decade

By Emily Townsend2026-08-17T03:30:00The proportion of acute trusts with an overall Care Quality Commission rating that disagrees with at least one of their main hospital sites has tripled over the past decade, analysis reveals. By Emily Townsend2026-08-17T03:30:00 The proportion of acute trusts with an overall Care Quality Commission rating that disagrees with at least one of their main hospital sites has tripled over the past decade, analysis reveals.
HSJ Health Check podcast 🎙️ via SoundCloud •

HSJ Podcast: Maternity unit closures and AI scribe safety

New estimates have suggested the FDP could have a benefit value of £1.7bn less than a figure given by NHS England a year ago. We explore what has unfolded and what it could mean for the extension of the controversial Palantir contract next year. And the Health Services Safety Investigations Body announced an investigation into AI scribes in the NHS. Meanwhile, we discuss how a North Devon maternity unit is closing due to a lack of doctors, and what this means for elsewhere. Send thoughts and...
Health Service Journal •

‘Golden hellos’ offered in bid to reopen maternity unit

By Emily Townsend2026-08-12T15:33:00A trust is offering “golden hellos” to obstetric consultants to plug gaps at a rural maternity unit where it suspended births this week, after a recruitment round failed last month. By Emily Townsend2026-08-12T15:33:00 A trust is offering “golden hellos” to obstetric consultants to plug gaps at a rural maternity unit where it suspended births this week, after a recruitment round failed last month.
Health Service Journal •

Government adviser pushes for patient safety probe

By Emily Townsend2026-08-12T04:23:00Wes Streeting and the government’s maternity adviser are urging a safety body to consider investigating the NHS’s handling of a “severe yet poorly recognised” condition which can cause “life-changing harm”. By Emily Townsend2026-08-12T04:23:00 Wes Streeting and the government’s maternity adviser are urging a safety body to consider investigating the NHS’s handling of a “severe yet poorly recognised” condition which can cause “life-changing harm”.
Health Service Journal •

CEO calls for payment system shake-up amid 'fundamentally wrong' child waits

By Emily Townsend2026-08-11T03:30:00Block contracts should be replaced by payment by results to tackle “fundamentally wrong” year-long waits for children’s services, a trust chief has told HSJ. By Emily Townsend2026-08-11T03:30:00 Block contracts should be replaced by payment by results to tackle “fundamentally wrong” year-long waits for children’s services, a trust chief has told HSJ.
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.
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