Rebecca Thomas

It warms my heart to be able to publish this. After a decade of being locked away in hospitals and care homes, Nicholas Thornton, a young man with Autism is finally free It comes a year after @Independent and @Channel4News told his story independent.co.uk/tv/news/autism…

Wes Streeting's allies say he had the numbers but decided this morning not to trigger a leadership contest for two broad reasons: 1) He would have had to rely on significant numbers of ministers and aides on the payroll, meaning a wave of resignations. It would have disembowelled the government 2) He concluded that a contest would be deemed illegitimate if Andy Burnham was not able to take part. And that if he had pushed for a rapid contest and won it Burnham would have come for him later. It was a question of legitimacy 3) He realised that he had to 'put up or shut up'. Having told Starmer to his face that he had lost confidence in his leadership - much as the letter suggests - he could not continue in govt It leaves a deeply unhappy, bitterly divided Labour Party with the millstone of 94 MPs (now including Streeting) hanging around Sir Keir Starmer's neck Nothing is resolved. Starmer remains in power for now. The question now is for how long. What will Burnham do next? And perhaps more pertinently what will the Cabinet do? Proceed as if none of this has happened? We have a damaged prime minister, a deeply divided Labour Party and no resolution in sight. All with the prospect of a huge cost of living crisis coming down the tracks this Winter...

This is clever in several regards: 1) It's palpably correct about Starmer's leadership ('where we need vision, we have a vacuum') 2) It highlights the PM's disloyalty to his team ('too often that has meant other people falling on their swords 3) By not triggering immediately, he gives time for other ministers to tell Starmer to go and (if he's short) to drum up more votes himself 4) The 'best possible field of candidates' means he's prepared to wait for Burnham to win a by-election Streeting's pitch is that only he can appeal to voters from left and right. He has dodged the notion that he's rushing to bypass Burnham. I doubt he wins but this shows good awareness

Catherine West now on Radio 4 saying Keir Starmer could win a leadership election and not ruling out voting for him

@Rebeccasmt @SarahLudford @wesstreeting nine over last decade with new person starting Hunt went and so went consistency

Health secretary @wesstreeting resigns in blistering attack on the PM NHS to have a new health secretary again! Is that nine health secretaries since 2010?

Streeting 'preparing to resign and trigger leadership contest tomorrow' independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

Oncology nurses believe they are having miscarriages & other conditions from giving chemotherapy without proper PPE or ‘closed systems’, as our current legislation lags behind EU and US @vsmacdonald @Rebeccasmt and I worked with @_SHBN_ and @theRCN on this incredible story

British doctor who charged cancer patients £15,000 to ‘cure’ them with garlic oil injections struck off independent.co.uk/news/health/ca…

"We are now asking commissioners to ensure that the majority of patients in the cohorts described below are moved from the site by the end of June 2026." england.nhs.uk/long-read/st-a…

NHS ICBs and Hospitals told to move patients from @Healthcare79893 by end of June "The decision to move patients has been clinically led and based upon serious safety concerns. We need the NHS to work together, at pace, to safely move patients out of St Andrews Northampton...

104 children in England have died between 2019–2025 with temporary accommodation identified as a contributing factor.  Read more and download the report👇 wrh.ox.ac.uk/news/new-data-… @NPEU_Oxford @mbrrace @uniofleicester @OxfordMedSci  @UniofOxford @SharedHealthFd

Women are being driven to A&E as they're left waiting so long for treatment for conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids, warns @AliWrightObGyn For too long, 'medical misogyny' has led to the deprioritisation of womens' health independent.co.uk/news/health/wo…

We've been speaking to former prisoners and staff at HMP Dartmoor about Radon exposure. If you have information to share - please get in contact at holly.bancroft@independent.co.uk or amy-clare.martin@independent.co.uk independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

In the midst of a growing prison overcrowding crisis, men were piled into HMP Dartmoor despite fears over levels of toxic radon gas. @Holly_JoyB and I spoke to those worried for their health after being locked up in the ageing Victorian prison: independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

Today was due an appointment I've been waiting for since October following an urgent referral for Endometriosis. The hospital's clinic only had one FTE consultant, hence the long wait for urgent referral. Cancelled this today due to "unforseen circunstances"

Very quick and efficient experience at @Moorfields A&E yesterday - thanks for the great care

Hi @vitahealthuk I've had no acknowledgement of a query I sent to your press team on Friday for which the deadline to respond has now passed. Appears to be no other public way of contacting the team

Resident doctors warned they may not get jobs if they take too much sick leave independent.co.uk/news/health/re…

to ensure those who have fallen far short in their care responsibilities are held to account and this is never allowed to happen again."

“We expect the highest standards for all NHS patients, but especially those who are vulnerable. We will continue to work with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission, and other partners, at the most senior levels...

Response below from the @DHSCgovuk when asked why no ministers have publicly spoken out following the concerns at St Andrews Healthcare. @MindCharity @_Sarah_Hughes_ says if nearly 300 patients had to be moved from a cancer ward due to care concerns, ministers would speak out