The winner of the inaugural Jenny Vaughan Memorial Prize is Dr Neena Jha.
DAUK asked for creative submissions that embodied Learn Not Blame, which Dr Vaughan advocated for in the NHS.
Dr Jha, a GP based in Hertfordshire, won the prize for her poem Who failed them? which is available to read below.
Jenny Vaughan Memorial Prize
Dr Jha was presented with her prize by Dr Vaughan’s husband, Matt Dunckley, at DAUK’s conference in London on Saturday. She receives £450.
She said: “Thank you so much to the DAUK for organising a fantastic event and giving us the opportunity to talk about an issue that affects all of us health care workers in the NHS.”
Another entry for the Jenny Vaughan Memorial Prize, a long-read essay by Dr Adesh Ajmani, is available to read on our Substack.
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Who failed them?
The bleeps keep coming, one by one,
No space to rest, no job feels done.
A constant battle- which call to take?
Which soul to save? Which one must wait?
I’m firefighting, no-one else but me,
Alone on a rota where there should be three.
Yet when the worst comes true and tragedy lands,
They ask why blood is on my hands.
The headlines point, they scream my name,
A scapegoat held up to take the blame.
They write, “The doctor should be condemned”
But they never ask, “Who failed them?”
We saw the risks, we warned, we cried,
But they turned us away, cast out fears aside.
“More staff, more funds – lives are at stake!”
Yet they ignored us, chose to look away.
“Work with less”, they shrugged, “there’s nothing we can do”
“Just try your best – we believe in you.”
Their words ring hollow as lives are lost,
Then it’s my name they sacrifice, at any cost.
They lie, say the mistakes are mine,
Ignoring the flaws in the wider design.
How do we prevent this? How do we learn?
When cracks are ignored and whistleblowers spurned?
No more blame – I will not bear
The weight of those who did not care.
Change must come, it must start now,
Not with empty words, but with a vow-
To learn, to listen, to grow without shame,
Not for one to take a system’s blame.
With real change in this time of need,
We have spoken enough – let actions lead.
Dr Neena Jha
