Jenny Vaughan, 50, is a consultant neurologist in London. She is a council member for the Medical Women’s Federation (MWF-London Rep) and a leading campaigner for reforming the law on gross negligence manslaughter when applied to those working in healthcare. She articulated the unease many people felt at the conviction of the surgeon David Sellu and, as campaign chair for his appeal, was instrumental in getting his conviction overturned. She also campaigned successfully for Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba to be restored to the medical register and worked unstintingly to ensure balanced reporting and understanding of her case both nationally and internationally. Dr Vaughan surveyed hundreds of doctors both before and after this event to assess the impact of it (assisted by Doctors.Net). This demonstrated widespread reliance on defensive medicine and a potential exodus of trainees from high-risk specialties. She is an NHS patient as well as a doctor having survived cancer in 2017. She supports recent recommendations to improve communication with families affected by medical error and that avoidable harm must be tackled as a top priority by both the NHS and private healthcare. 

Dr Vaughan is Chair and ‘Learn not Blame’ lead at the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK), a lobbying organisation for frontline doctors. Her interests include patient safety and 'Just Culture'. She is regularly invited as a speaker on these issues by a wide number of organisations, TV and print media, as well as parliamentary select committee work. During the COVID-19 pandemic she has campaigned consistently to draw attention to the need for enhanced PPE for healthcare staff and enhanced legal protection collaborating with a range of organisations. She has also campaigned to tackle discrimination in the NHS and Independent Healthcare sector, for which she has been recognised by both British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and British International Doctor’s Association. She is a member of the AWG for the Office of the National Guardian and the Harmed Patients Alliance. She was elected as a council member of the Royal College of Physicians in 2019 and in 2018 she received the BMJ editor's award for speaking truth to power & a national Modern Law Award for her criminal law teamwork for David Sellu. Her other interests include whistleblowing, Speaking Up (currently acting as a judge for this category at HSJ Awards 2021).   She tweets @DrJennyVaughan email:chair@dauk.org