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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Jean Robinson obituary
Described as 'a troublemaker of the very best kind', the health activist Jean Robinson, who has died aged 95, championed the rights of patients, pregnant women and disadvantaged people for more than 50 years. She was chair of the Patients' Association, president of Aims (the Association for Improvements in Maternity Services) and a lay member and outspoken critic of the doctors' regulatory body the General Medical Council. In 1988 she wrote the explosive booklet A Patient Voice at the GMC, laying bare its inadequacies and contributing to its reform. Robinson's activist career took off in 1966, when, living in Oxford and looking after her young son, she was invited to become a lay member of the regional health board. She was not prepared to be a rubber stamp appointment and said the board statistician nearly fell off his chair when 'the token housewife' came to his office with detailed questions about perinatal mortality rates. Robinson always worked in a voluntary capacity and had no clinical or social care background. But that gave her independence to scrutinise healthcare decisions and champion patients. She said: 'I am always concerned about people who think they can make decisions about other people's lives. In politics we have had a degree of democracy, whereas in education, medicine and healthcare we have not had any power from the bottom.' She was passionately keen to educate herself about the workings of the regional health board. Armed with a medical dictionary and library card, she read voraciously, scrutinising even the driest hospital management circular. Condescending officialdom infuriated her and the more she found out about how healthcare was run in her patch, the more she felt obliged to speak out, calling out, for example, the way children living with Down's syndrome were closeted away in an old-fashioned asylum. She was not afraid to antagonise colleagues. In fact, in 1973 Richard Crossman, the Labour secretary of state for health, asked to meet her, saying: 'I've never in all my public life seen so much pressure to get rid of anyone. They absolutely hate you.' They had a good exchange and Crossman did not sack Robinson, but as she had been on the health board for seven years she decided to leave and take up a new challenge. She then joined the Patients' Association, which had been set up in the wake of the thalidomide scandal. The founder wanted to retire, so Robinson became its chair. She spent the next three years answering hundreds of complaints each week from the public. Many were from new mothers. Robinson said: 'Letters about birth leapt off the page.' In the 1970s, 60% of women were given an oxytocin drip to induce labour, which caused severe and sudden contractions. It could be very traumatic, inducing a form of shell shock. Robinson set out to study the research underpinning this practice. She found one main study, carried out in Glasgow, was on far too small a sample. The researchers wanted to see if inducing births could reduce the rate of stillbirth and gave oxytocin to 100 women, comparing them with others receiving standard care. However, the rate of stillbirth at this time in Glasgow was three in 1,000, so such a small study could not prove anything. Robinson wrote to the Lancet medical journal pointing out this, along with many other flaws. To sceptical detractors who thought her letter was drafted by an obstetrician, Robinson retorted: 'No doctor has written it for me. All I needed was a Bodleian reader's card and letters from 400 women who have had induced labour.' When young widows had a higher risk of cervical cancer, it was presumed it was because they swiftly took new sexual partners. But Robinson posed the question 'Who gets widowed early?' It was often wives of men in occupations such as construction, mining or asbestos, and as she pointed out, women's exposure to carcinogenic chemicals could have played a part. In 1975, when her term as chair of the association ended, Robinson joined Aims as its honorary research officer. It was a role she said fitted her like a glove, combining taking calls on the helpline with writing summaries of the latest obstetric research in plain English for its quarterly journal. Listening to distraught new mothers on the phone every day opened her eyes to mental health issues. She persuaded the Department of Health to recognise suicide as a key cause of maternal death and the letter she wrote with Beverley Beech in 1987 to the British Journal of Psychiatry about nightmares after childbirth is credited in medical literature as the first identification of postnatal PTSD. Robinson also challenged routine episiotomies and championed women threatened with removal of their babies, exposing the fact that social services had targets to increase adoptions. In 1979 Robinson was appointed a lay member of the General Medical Council, where she heard cases on the professional conduct committee. She was shocked that the public were so poorly served. For example, GMC rules allowed only eight weeks to complain about a GP, starting from the event, not from the time the person was aware of a problem. If a woman with a breast lump was not examined properly by her GP, for example, it might take her months to realise the lump was growing, by which time the deadline would have expired. In 1988 Robinson wrote A Patient Voice at the GMC, described as 'a remarkable insider's account'. It detailed all the problems, explaining why three-quarters of complaints submitted were not even heard. Meeting her, the Conservative secretary of state for health Kenneth Clarke said the booklet was rather critical and winked: 'I'm not opposed to that.' The booklet fuelled a growing clamour for change. Pressure from politicians, the British Medical Journal and others, as well as events such as the Bristol heart scandal in the 1990s, eventually brought about major changes at the GMC. She was born in Southwark, London, the second of three children of Charles Lynch, a clerk at Tate and Lyle, and Ellen (nee Penfold). When the second world war broke out in 1939, Jean and her two brothers were evacuated to Somerset, and 18 months later to Cornwall. When she returned to London in 1945, her parents urged her to do a secretarial course so she might get a white-collar job. While she was on the course, she joined the Labour League of Youth, much to the disappointment of her working-class Tory parents. But, she said: 'From the earliest age I was interested in people being less privileged and that something should be done about it.' She got a job at the Daily Herald, a national Labour newspaper, and then became secretary to the MP Geoffrey de Freitas, who encouraged her, aged 23, to apply to Ruskin College in Oxford to do a two-year diploma in politics, history and economics. She savoured the chance to learn. Entering the Bodleian library for the first time, she said: 'I felt overwhelmed with riches. If you'd put me in a room full of jewels, it could not have matched what I felt.' Halfway through the course, she spent a year as an exchange student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, where she studied American politics. While at Ruskin College, she met the labour market economist Derek Robinson, whom she married in 1956. The couple adopted Toby in 1965, had a daughter Lucy four years later, and made their home in Oxford. She got a secretarial job at the market research company Nielsen, which led to work with the Oxford Consumers Group. However, she discovered job opportunities in Oxford were scarce and volunteering could be the route to much more interesting work, so in 1966 she agreed to be a lay member of the regional health board. As well as her work at the GMC, Robinson remained involved with Aims, and was elected its president in 2010, retiring only in 2018. From 1995 to 2006 she wrote a column for the British Journal of Midwifery, giving midwives an insight into issues from a user's perspective, and in 1997 she was made a visiting professor at Ulster University, giving lectures on medical ethics. She was also a trustee of a women's refuge in Oxford. Derek died in 2014. Robinson is survived by Toby and Lucy, four grandchildren, Al, Sean, Stevie and Vegas, and two great-grandchildren, Cassius and Vida. Jean Robinson, medical activist, born 17 April 1930; died 4 June 2025
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Leeds maternity services now 'inadequate' after inspectors act on parents' concerns
Maternity services at two Leeds hospitals have been downgraded from "good" to "inadequate" by the healthcare regulator, because their failings posed "a significant risk" to women and from staff and patients around quality of care and staffing levels were substantiated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) during unannounced inspections at Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTH) NHS regulator has now issued a warning notice which requires the trust to take immediate action to improve. Neonatal services have also been downgraded from "good" to "requires improvement".Over the past six months, the BBC has spoken to 67 families who say they experienced inadequate care at the trust, including parents who say their babies suffered avoidable injury or death. We also talked to five whistleblowers who said the previous CQC "good" rating did not reflect response to the CQC downgrade, LTH said it had committed to improving its maternity and neonatal services at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and St James' University Hospital. 'At risk of avoidable harm' During its December 2024 and January 2025 inspections, the CQC found official regulation breaches relating to risk management, safe environment, learning following incidents, infection prevention and control, medicines management and of concern highlighted in the maternity units at both hospitals included: People being "not safe" and "at risk of avoidable harm" - while investigations into incidents, and points raised from these to enable learning, were not always evidentBabies and families not always being supported and treated with dignity and respectLeadership being "below acceptable standard" and not supporting the delivery of high-quality careStaff being reluctant to raise concerns and incidents - because "the trust had a blame culture"Staff, despite being passionate about their work, struggling to provide their desired standard of care because of staffing issues LTH provided evidence to the CQC showing it had reported 170 maternity "red flag incidents", indicating there had been staffing issues, between May and September CQC's findings also highlighted staffing concerns in neonatal services at both hospitals, with a shortage of qualified staff to care for babies with complex coming autumn, the trust says 35 newly qualified midwives are due to start work and it has also appointed additional midwifery leadership regulator will be monitoring the trust's services closely, including through further inspections - says the CQC's director in the north of England, Ann Ford - to make sure patients receive safe care while improvements are implemented."We would like to thank all those people who bravely shared their concerns," she said. "This helps us to have a better picture of the care being provided to people and to focus our inspection in the relevant areas." One family who told the BBC they believe their child would have survived had they received better treatment is Amarjit Kaur and Mandip Singh Matharoo, whose baby was stillborn in January CQC report highlights "how inadequate the service is, which leads to patient harm", they told us."Unfortunately, it's too little too late for our daughter Asees and us, but we hope that this will trigger serious change within the system and take the concerns of patients using the service more seriously."Fiona-Winser Ramm, whose daughter Aliona died in 2020 after what an inquest found to be a number of "gross failures", described the CQC's findings as "horrific"."The concerns we have been raising for five years have been proved true," she says. But she believes the CQC has been slow to act."The CQC inspected Leeds in 2023 and somehow rated them as being good. Let's be clear these problems haven't just appeared in the last two years, they are systemic."In response, the CQC said the 2023 inspection had been part of a national maternity inspection programme focussing specifically on safety and leadership, which found some areas for improvement, but also identified some good practice."As the independent regulator we are committed to ensuring our assessments of the quality and safety of all services are accurate and reflect the experiences of the people that use them," added Ann Ford. If you have been affected by the issues in this story, you can contact the BBC Action Line here All 67 families who have spoken to the BBC want an independent review into the trust's maternity services - and a group of them have asked Health Secretary Wes Streeting for it to be led by senior midwife Donna Leeds families also joined other bereaved parents from across England this week to urge Mr Streeting to hold a national inquiry into maternity safety - he is yet to make a executive of LTH, Prof Phil Wood, said in a statement: "My priority is to make sure we urgently take action to deliver these improvements."The trust is committed to providing "safe, compassionate care", he added, and has already started making improvements, including recruitment, and addressing concerns around culture."We deliver more than 8,500 babies each year and the vast majority of those are safe and positive experiences," he said. "But we recognise that's not the experience of all families." Do you have more information about this story?You can reach Divya directly and securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: +44 7961 390 325, by email at or her Instagram account.
ABC News
30-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Concerns grow over private hospital closures
Andy Park: Amid the ongoing Healthscope saga, patients are perplexed about what it means for them. Now in another challenge for the health sector, a private psychiatric hospital in Brisbane has announced its closure. The Australian Medical Association says private health insurance customers are now reconsidering their investment. Elizabeth Cramsie reports. Elizabeth Cramsie: Jess McClusky is pregnant with her second child, but this time around she won't be able to give birth in the hospital of her choice. Jess McClusky: People that have laboured in hallways and those kinds of things, so that's one of the major concerns I think for me, having to go to the public hospital, where I know that at the private, that doesn't happen. Elizabeth Cramsie: Healthscope, which operates Darwin's only private hospital, has gone into receivership, and from next week there will be no private maternity services in Darwin. For patients like Jess, who pay for private health insurance, the move is making them reconsider. Jess McClusky: If you're paying for the insurance and you can't get anything for it, what's the point? What's the point in having it? Elizabeth Cramsie: But the upheaval in hospital care is not just limited to those operated by Healthscope. Now a major private Queensland hospital has announced it will close its doors. Management of Toowong Private Psychiatric Hospital says it's being forced to close due to insufficient payments provided by private health insurers. It's something that was put to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on ABC Radio Brisbane yesterday. Anthony Albanese: Quite clearly the health insurers need to pay additional money for the private health care that's provided and that is creating an issue across the board. Elizabeth Cramsie: Brett Heffernan is the Chief Executive of the Australian Private Hospital Alliance. Brett Heffernan: Toowong Private Hospital, it's been an institution in Brisbane, been there for 50 years. It's had the same management team for 30 years and they're closing their doors all because the health insurance industry refused to pay their bills in full. Elizabeth Cramsie: With private hospitals accounting for 62% of all acute mental health care across Australia, Brett Heffernan warns more are dangerously close to shutting down. Brett Heffernan: I've got another eight or so, most of which are mental health hospitals, who are earmarked for closure. Now, there's no comparison between public and private hospital mental health care. They do two very different things. So when these private mental health facilities shut down, there's pretty much nowhere for the patients to go. Elizabeth Cramsie: Dr Danielle McMullen is the President of the Australian Medical Association. Dr Danielle McMullen: It's really important that our governments come together with insurers and private hospitals and groups like the AMA, we think under a private health system authority, to really drive the reforms that we need to see. Elizabeth Cramsie: In a statement, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says the solutions lie with the insurers and hospitals working together. It's incumbent on them to come together and find solutions. Andy Park: Elizabeth Cramsie there and private health insurers have been approached for comment.
Irish Times
18-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Oireachtas health committee must hear from HSE on Portiuncula maternity services, says Opposition
The Oireachtas health committee will need to examine and hear from Health Service Executive officials about maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital in Co Galway , Opposition TDs have said. The Irish Times revealed last week that a further external review into maternity care at the Ballinasloe hospital has begun following the death of a baby in recent weeks. It is the 10th review to take place into the care given to women and babies at the hospital. The new Oireachtas health committee will meet for the first time on Wednesday. Sinn Féin 's health spokesperson David Cullinane said it is 'important that all of the reviews are completed and that maternity services are safe at Portiuncula'. READ MORE 'This is an important issue of patient safety, and the Oireachtas health committee will need to examine it.' Labour 's health spokesperson Marie Sherlock said the committee 'needs to hear from the HSE as to the status of those reviews'. 'Questions need to be asked now about what exactly is going on here,' she said. 'The delay in the reporting of the reviews and the addition of yet another review could certainly prompt a crisis of confidence in services at Portiuncula, which we don't want to see happen,' she said. [ Death of baby at Portiuncula Hospital leads to new review Opens in new window ] Ms Sherlock said she was 'really taken aback' when she heard 'yet another review' had to be initiated. 'Ultimately, confidence in our maternity services right across the country depends on people being updated as to what's happening when there have been successive issues in one particular maternity unit.' Nine external reviews were announced in January, after six babies delivered in 2024 and one in 2025 had hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) – a reduction in the supply of blood or oxygen to a baby's brain before, during or after birth. Six of these babies were referred for neonatal therapeutic hypothermia known as neonatal cooling. Two stillbirths occurred at the hospital in 2023, the circumstances of which are also being reviewed externally. An external management team remains in place at the hospital to oversee all elements of maternity and neonatal care. Stephen McMahon, chairman of the Irish Patients Association , a patient advocacy group, said that, with 10 reviews ongoing at the hospital, the matter needs to be 'independently investigated up to and beyond the board of the HSE'. Mr McMahon said the association would like to know if there have been any formal interim reports or updates on the process. A spokesperson for Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said she is 'very aware of the very sad death of a baby who was recently born at Portiuncula University Hospital and that an external review has commenced'. 'She extends her deepest condolences to the family at this devastating time,' the spokesperson said. The Minister understands a number of other external reviews ongoing at the hospital are expected to be completed 'soon', the spokesperson said, adding that these reports will be shared with the families and other stakeholders, including the Minister, once complete.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Temporary closure for Yeovil maternity unit after warning
A hospital's birthing service is to close for six months amid a warning from the health watchdog about its paediatric District Hospital was served a warning notice by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It comes after a series of earlier critical reports on Somerset's maternity statement on the paediatric service said the warning was issued "for failing to meet the regulations related to staffing and governance systems".It means the only maternity unit in Somerset left fully open is at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital. There are also units in Bath and Dorchester. The paediatric staffing problems are understood to have a knock-on for maternity services which have resulted in the temporary closure of birthing services at maternity services, like antenatal appointments, are expected to continue at Yeovil during the six month 1,200 babies were born at Yeovil District Hospital last year, with 3,000 births at Musgrove Park news of the birthing services closure comes a year after a critical report into maternity services at both hospitals in watchdog found there was expired milk in a fridge at Musgrove Park and criticised staff in Yeovil for not washing their hands when entering clinical CQC acknowledged staff at the trust were "keen to improve the services and some of the problems were out of local leaders' control".Chief executive for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Peter Lewis, said at the time: "The real issue is that we do recognise that we have fallen short of the standards that are expected and the standards that we would expect."It's important to say sorry to the families that do use our services, but also sorry to the colleagues that work very hard in those services, some of which the CQC has recognised in a positive way."A report to a Somerset Council health scrutiny committee this week said the Trust had made "significant progress", completing 92% of all improvement actions outlined in the CQC maternity inspection reports.
