Rebecca Thomas

They make grim reading, but someone has to tell the stories Rebecca Thomas tells. The headlines say it all: ‘Mental health patients ‘raped and sexually assaulted’ as NHS abuse scandal revealed’; ‘Nicholas’s story: ‘I’ve been locked up for 10 years because I’m autistic. Is a chance at life too much to ask?’’, and ‘Revealed: NHS regulator’s ‘culture of fear’ that leaves rogue nurses free to abuse patients’.

With her forensic research, heartrending personal testimonies from hard-to-reach people, and a dogged pursuit of the truth, The Independent’s health correspondent has an impressive track record in effecting change for both vulnerable people and the public at large. Thanks to her investigations, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, one of Europe’s largest healthcare regulators, is being overhauled; ministers have committed to a national inquiry into mental health care and Thomas has become the go-to national journalist for patients and whistleblowing staff across the sector; and Nicholas Thornton has finally moved into his own home and has regained the power of speech.

Thomas’s work “empowers those who would otherwise be ignored,” and “sheds a light on abuse and neglect by those in positions of power at some of our most trusted institutions,” said the judges.