Annabelle Collins is the Health Service Journal’s deputy bureau chief specializing in NHS mental health policy, patient safety failures, and workforce challenges. With 10+ years’ experience, her work drives national debates on healthcare funding equity.
We’ve followed Annabelle Collins’s work for years as she’s become one of the UK’s most authoritative voices on NHS policy and systemic healthcare challenges. With over a decade of experience at publications like Chemist & Druggist and the Health Service Journal, her reporting combines granular policy analysis with human-centered storytelling about the individuals navigating—and shaping—Britain’s healthcare system.
This 2024 investigation revealed the first reduction in mental health’s NHS budget allocation since parity initiatives began. Collins obtained leaked Treasury documents showing mental health’s share dropping from 14.6% to 13.9% despite rising demand. Her analysis connected this to worsening A&E crisis care and longer CAMHS waits, sparking debates in Health Questions.
Collins’ 2023 report on Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s historic fines wove coroners’ reports with interviews of bereaved families. She highlighted systemic understaffing patterns still affecting 23% of English maternity units, leading to NHS England’s new safety escalation protocol.
In this 2024 episode, Collins dissected the NHS’s £4.7bn capital funding shortfall with rare access to ICB finance directors. Her breakdown of delayed hospital upgrades and CT scanner rationing became required listening for healthcare policymakers.
Collins prioritizes stories exposing how staffing shortages (particularly in mental health nursing) create care bottlenecks. Pitch case studies showing innovative retention strategies, like Gloucestershire’s nurse apprenticeship pathways reducing vacancy rates by 18%.
With mental health funding being her core beat, she welcomes data-driven pitches on CCG spending anomalies or VCS commissioning successes. Avoid generic “mental health awareness” angles.
She seeks investigations linking clinical errors to structural issues—e.g., how outdated IT systems contribute to medication mistakes. Generic “hero nurse” profiles won’t resonate.
As HSJ’s Midlands lead, Collins tracks regional issues like rural ambulance delays. Pitch FOI data on service gaps between Birmingham and Herefordshire.
She explicitly doesn’t cover wellness fads, celebrity health routines, or consumer health tech unless directly tied to NHS policy changes.
“Collins’ maternity safety reporting should be studied by every health reporter—she holds power to account without losing sight of patients’ humanity.” —HSJ Editor Alastair McLellan
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Health, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
