Sarah Neville

Sarah Neville draws on decades of health reporting to uncover original stories and tell them with authority, depth and panache. The pieces submitted explore some of the biggest themes in global healthcare: gender bias in medicine; the reshaping of the workforce as hard-pressed health systems deploy less qualified staff in place of medics; and the enduring and unsettling mystery of Long Covid. She takes as her starting point the experiences of individuals touched by these developments, supplementing their accounts with original data and commentary from global experts. Her articles frequently generate hundreds of responses from readers: testament to her power to produce journalism of exceptional impact and range for the FT's worldwide audience.

In How medical research is failing women, Neville exposes a system of drug development that disproportionately focuses on the paradigm of the white male body. Her investigation began with an approach by an Italian researcher who had discovered that women were deriving less benefit than men from cancer immunotherapy treatment. Neville quickly realised there was a far bigger untold story, of a troubling lack of attention to the biological and societal factors that shape women’s health. Neville provides hard evidence of this disparity, citing data that shows medicines are far more likely to be withdrawn because of safety risks in women than in men. The piece performed exceptionally well with the FT’s women subscribers, receiving the highest percentage of women’s page views in the week it was published.

In The risk of using Physician Associates to take the strain for doctors, Neville explored a big shift that has been happening with little fanfare around the world: the use of less qualified healthcare staff to care for patients. She had begun hearing disturbing stories about the impact of this change in the NHS, and was keen to find out whether it applied to other health systems. Her article features testimony from bereaved parents who lost their daughter following a misdiagnosis by a PA, and from healthcare staff who have witnessed the impact of the growth in associate roles at first hand. After interviewing experts from around the world, she concludes that the implications for patient safety are still insufficiently understood, and that these roles are disproportionately concentrated in more deprived areas. Neville reported and wrote the piece, while data journalist Amy Borrett contributed statistical analysis and charts.

In Scientists grapple with long covid puzzle as millions fall sick, Neville examines one of the most worrying legacies of the pandemic: the number of people who continue to suffer mystifying symptoms long after they were infected. She illustrates the human toll through the story of Heather Marti whose life has been upended by the condition. Neville skillfully investigates a number of different avenues that scientists are exploring. The article struck a huge chord with readers who, in their hundreds, shared their own experiences of long covid.

Through her ability to synthesise and communicate complex research findings, and masterful storytelling, Neville brings global health stories alive.