I'm at NHS Providers Conference in Manchester over the next couple of days... coinciding with the first topic spoken about today, the start of resident doctor strikes. If you're about in Manchester this week and want to chat, give me a shout 📬
My report on the coroner's crushing findings here for @manchestereveningnews.co.uk 3/3
The impact on this family alone is unthinkable, but this case speaks to incredibly grave, national concerns about the state of maternity care in England. As the coroner said, there are serious fears that this family will not be the only ones who know this pain because of these very failings 2/3
📰 I've spent the last two weeks covering one of the most devastating inquests I've ever heard. A coroner has now ruled that the tragic home birth that claimed the lives of Jen Cahill and her baby, Agnes, was caused by neglect, catastrophic error and gross failures to provide basic care 1/3
Lovely news from the last week 🏆 Thrilled to be named on the Press Awards list of 30 journalists under the age of 30 to watch.
Such a joy to be recognised for the work I'm so passionate about, and a huge honour to be alongside such fantastic company @manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Finally, here's our live blog that we've been updating all day, and will be for the foreseeable, with the latest information from all the authorities and the scene in Crumpsall @manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Patients who were inside the hospitals at the moment they locked down have shared frightening descriptions of blinds coming down without being informed why, and not being allowed out for hours, while appointments were cancelled as the 'doors were sealed'
NHS Greater Manchester then advised that anyone who had a planned appointment should attend, unless they were contacted by the hospital to be told otherwise - as of writing, this is still the guidance
The lockdown was lifted just before 1pm, but the NHS has been advising that anyone going to an A&E in the region should only do so in an emergency so that hospital staff across Greater Manchester could respond to the incident
This morning, a lot of the region's major hospitals were locked down following the stabbing at the synagogue. No one was being allowed in or out, meaning appointments were being cancelled
Manchester synagogue terror attack tragedy 🚨 We're still bringing you every update on our live blog, linked in final post. Doing thread here of where I'm up to covering our hospitals, which have been impacted with lockdowns, including what to know if you've got an appt @manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The challenges facing the NHS are undeniable. But, on ward 77, I saw how places like this can save not just children, but entire families who have nowhere else to turn. Places like ‘77’, as they call it, give these families a fighting chance at life. Read the full story here... 3/ENDS
It's home to some of the country's sickest youngsters. Families take flights from as far as Ireland and Scotland to get help here. One former patient even came from Portugal.
They can live on the ward for weeks, months, sometimes years, at a huge cost to families - emotionally and financially 2/3
The @manchestereveningnews.co.uk was granted rare access to the ward inside the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital where tiny babies battle the odds, five-year-olds face daily seizures, and teenagers try to sit their GCSEs amid major surgery 1/3
The government has spent its 1st year in power pointing to its long-awaited panacea for the NHS.
Every question I've put to DHSC in the last year has largely been answered with one response: ‘Our 10-year plan will show how [insert major NHS problem here] will be fixed.’
So... does it? My analysis 👇
Moving that emergency care to a hospital miles away could stop extremely ill people from getting help; and sources say they 'suspect it will cause fatalities'.
Read the full story here @manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The service treats women experiencing severe abdominal pain, frightening bleeding, serious complications during pregnancy, miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies – which can be life-threatening if treatment, including surgery, is not started immediately 3/
Emergency gynaecological services at Salford Royal Hospital could be closed following hushed discussions about the relocation of the department to combine it with the already-existing emergency gynae services Royal Oldham Hospital, claim a number of health sources across Greater Manchester 2/
EXCL 🚨 There are plans to uproot and relocate life-saving emergency gynaecology services from one major hospital to the opposite side of Greater Manchester, more than 20 miles away for some residents 1/
I’m looking to speak to families that are trying/have been through the IVF process in Greater Manchester for a sensitive story about their experiences. If that’s you, drop me a message here or email me helena.vesty@reachplc.com. Can be anon if needed 💌 #journorequest
It’s wonderful to get this recognition, I owe a huge thank you to all those who I’ve worked with along the way, those who have been essential to the campaigns, and the incredible people who have trusted me with their personal stories 💛🐝 ENDS/4
And getting a Parliamentary motion after my investigation into terminally ill people being denied the life insurance they spent decades paying for - because of the spurious practices of major companies 3/4
I'm even more proud to say that journalism included successfully campaigning for a £1.5bn rebuild of one of our most important (and oldest) hospitals, North Manchester General Hospital... 2/4
For no apparent reason, I’ve been away from Bluesky for a while but I'm back! Not least because, last week, I won an award 🥰 Very proud to have been given the Inspiring Local Journalism Award by the @publishersassoc.bsky.social for my work at @manchestereveningnews.co.uk 1/4
In the days before Christmas, high-level health sources told of standing room only in the region’s A&Es, waits of more than 36 hours for a bed, frail patients breaking limbs waiting in A&E, elderly people in their 80s and 90s spending hours lying on trolleys in corridors. Read the full story here...
Today's front page 📰 Thousands of patients are staying in hospital for longer than necessary - as Greater Manchester hospitals struggle with ‘extreme overcrowding’, 36 hr waits, and A&Es filled with 180 people because of scare beds.
Helena Vesty reports on the 'complete carnage' unfolding in Greater Manchester's NHS right now @helenavesty.bsky.social
Wonderful news to hear that I’ve been nominated for Feature Writer of the Year and Specialist Journalist of the Year at Regional Press Awards coming in 2025. Thrilled to receive such lovely recognition and big congratulations to all the other nominees 🗞️❣️
EXCLUSIVE: Hospital bosses built a state-of-the art facility to fit with the brand new hospital they were promised – the money never came. @helenavesty.bsky.social reports on the latest in the M.E.N.'s campaign
NMGH became one of the ‘40 new hospitals’ pledged by the Tory government. But despite well-documented dilapidation, including operating theatres closing for weeks at a time because of ceiling collapses, plans that are ready to go have now been put under review by Labour gov 3/8
