Archive – DAUK

Judiciary safeguarding training and accountability open letter

Matt Kneale — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

There is still time for people to sign an open letter calling for the introduction across the judiciary of mandatory safeguarding training and systemic learning from cases.

The letter to the Lady Chief Justice, The Right Honourable the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, highlights a critical gap identified in the Government’s 2020 review, Assessing the risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases.

Domestic abuse

The letter states that there are no specialist safeguarding focused bodies examining how courts deal with domestic abuse and coercive control in the context of child protection.

Areas of particular concern include judicial decision-making, conduct, failures to recognise domestic abuse, safeguarding practice in children’s cases, and the handling and assessment of evidence.

One survivor said: “The family court destroyed my family. I escaped an abuser but the court handed my children straight back to him. The judiciary needs a safeguarding wake-up call.”

The letter states that ‘children’s safety must come first’.

Safeguarding training

It adds that judges should receive the same level of safeguarding training as other professionals to protect children.

The open letter also calls on the Government to establish an independent judicial standards and safeguarding authority.

This authority should be modelled on frameworks used in medicine and nursing. It would be independent, led by safeguarding-trained professionals, and empowered to oversee:

Judicial conduct and misconduct
Judicial performance, training, and revalidation
Children and domestic abuse safeguarding
Enforceable evidence-based standards and rules
Safeguarding fitness-to-practise and restrictions where a judge demonstrates unsafe practice

Click here to sign the open letter.

Flu wave: NHS facing ‘state of preventable emergency’ as pandemic lessons go unlearned

Matt Kneale — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000

DAUK has warned the NHS is facing a ‘state of preventable emergency’ as the rapidly escalating flu outbreak pushes it to breaking point. Frontline doctors say the crisis unfolding across hospitals this winter is not an unavoidable ‘act of nature’, but the direct result of political inaction. This is despite clear recommendations set out in the Covid-19 Inquiry. The Hallett Report specifically criticised the lack of ‘suppression’ measures. Now DAUK is calling for urgent, practical steps to protect staff and patients. These include: FFP2 and FFP3 masks for frontline healthcare workers; Free flu and Covid vaccinations for healthcare workers who want them; Implementation of clean air standards (HEPA/Ventilation). DAUK warned that without immediate steps, the toll on patients and staff will continue to mount. Dr Matt Kneale, DAUK co-chair, said: “The sickness levels in frontline doctors and healthcare workers mean we’re facing a state of emergency in our hospitals. Ministers will tell you this is a ‘black swan’ event, but it isn’t. In July last year, the Covid-19 Inquiry handed the Government a blueprint to prevent this exact scenario. They chose not to act on it. It is heartbreaking to stand on the frontline and watch history repeat itself less than two years after the Hallett Report. We entered this winter with 98% bed occupancy, with no slack, no buffer and no action plan. This is not only a bad flu season, it is the inevitable result of political negligence. They had the recommendations. They ignored them. Our patients and colleagues in the NHS are paying the price.” NHS England figures show the current H3N2 “subclade K” flu wave has driven a 55% rise in flu admissions in a week. An average of 2,660 patients are hospitalised per day. Emergency departments are reporting extreme pressure as they are faced with rising infections alongside high rates of illness among healthcare workers. Dr Kneale said: “It’s infuriating to witness a preventable crisis unfold. It’s a crisis that is placing intolerable strain on the NHS workforce and endangering vulnerable patients. We need the Government to act now.”

DAUK warns of complete collapse in GP jobs

Matt Kneale — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000

NHS workforce data shows a ‘complete collapse’ in the number of available GP jobs in England, DAUK’s GP co-lead has warned. Dr Steve Taylor has been analysing the data for a news article with GP Online and for his own social media. The GP Online article reported that the figures showed that full-time equivalent GP jobs advertised in the first half of the financial year were down 43% compared to the same period in 2022/23. This year’s total was 8% down compared with the same period in 2023/24, but up more than two fifths compared with 2024/25. Dr Taylor told GP Online: “There were nearly twice as many jobs available three years ago. There still just aren’t enough jobs in general practice. ARRS may be providing an outlet for some newly-qualified GPs, but jobs are still way down – not just in terms of GP jobs but jobs for other staff too. All of that must imply that there is a significant absence of funding within GP practices to employ people.” Dr Taylor continued to discuss the issue on his social media. He posted on the platform X: “If you strip the 2600 ARRS GP jobs (recruitment but not retained) then the job market has completely collapsed. Yet Wes Streeting and Stephen Kinnock sail on regardless ignoring the evidence. There is an iceberg ahead and general practice will sink.” Dr Taylor highlighted the case of three GP registrars at Wilmslow Health Centre in Cheshire. The health centre posted on its X account that all have passed their exams at the end of more than 10 years of training. However, ‘in an NHS crying out for access, there are almost no GP jobs to apply for’, it posted. “A manufactured GP unemployment crisis just as winter starts to hit hard?” Dr Taylor questioned whether any newly-qualified GPs have a future with the figures showing job vacancies falling. “Patients want GPs and GPs want to see patients,” he posted. “Fund GP practices now.”

Wave of activity to launch NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day

Matt Kneale — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 09:00:00 +0000

NHS Domestic Abuse Awareness Day (NHSDAAD) takes place today (Wednesday 10 December) with a wave of activity across the country. DAUK and the Medical Women’s Federation (MWF) have joined together to launch NHSDAAD. The day highlights the urgent need to recognize and respond to domestic abuse affecting NHS staff. It also recognizes the unique barriers they can face seeking help. Learn more about the campaign.

Black Female Doctors UK is the latest organization to give its support to NHS DAAD. It joins NHS Practitioner Health, Doctors in Distress, Surviving in Scrubs, BRIGHT (Bristol Research on the Intersection of Gender, Health, and Trauma), IRISi Intervention, Cameron Fund, Cavell, the Healthcare Leadership Academy, the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund, and the Royal College of Physicians.

Staff and organizations – including the BMA – have been posting on social media using the hashtag #NHSDAAD.

Journalist Adele Waters has written a powerful must-read article in the BMJ on domestic abuse in NHS workers. The article includes the real-life stories of NHS workers who have experienced abusive relationships. It also highlights the research and work being done on the issue.

Elsewhere, organizers of NHSDAAD have launched a podcast to discuss domestic abuse among NHS staff. Dr Sarah Jacques, DAUK GP co-lead, MWF campaigns co-lead, and an organizer of NHSDAAD, hosts episode one. Dr Jacques welcomes Dr Becky Cox, co-founder of campaign organization Surviving in Scrubs, to discuss domestic abuse among healthcare professionals and why NHS employers need to recognize the role they can play in protecting their staff.

Episode two is hosted by Dr Ellen Welch, DAUK co-chair, MWF campaigns co-lead and an organizer of NHSDAAD, and by Dr Seema Haider, a GP, writer, and advocate for gender equity and the prevention of violence against women and girls within the NHS. The podcast explores subtle abuse, particularly in relationships involving professional women. Psychotherapist Dr Rosemary Parkinson shares insights from her research, highlighting the psychological impact of subtle abuse and the importance of recognizing and naming it abuse.

NHS staff and patients can get involved in NHSDAAD by wearing white ribbons, the symbol of the movement to end men’s violence against women and girls.