Winners at the Medical Journalists' Association (MJA) Awards ceremony in September 2026. Photo credit: MJA

Hannah Barnes and her investigative story “Britain’s next maternity scandal”, published by The New Statesman in November 2025, won the Outstanding Contribution prize at the 2026 Medical Journalists’ Association (MJA) Awards. She was joined by five other ABSW members winners, namely Mun Keat Looi, Tom Moberly, Sarah Neville, Martin Smith, and Carissa Wong.

The MJA Awards recognise excellence in reporting on medicine, health, and science across print, online, and broadcast media. A total of 23 ABSW members were finalists, six won eight awards and nine were highly commended. The 2026 winners were announced on 22 September, at an awards ceremony in London.

Hannah Barnes and the outstanding coverage of maternity care

Hannah Barnes’ four-month investigation examined failings in maternity care at Oxford University Hospitals. The piece won the Feature (General Audience) award and was later announced as the Outstanding Contribution to Health and Medical Journalism, this year supported by Novartis.

One of the judges commented: “The writing was intensely moving and also left me enraged for the many women, parents, and children who suffered because of rigid policies, dogma, and a sense of self-preservation. I hope it inspires change and, most importantly, drives action. This article is exactly why medical journalism matters so much.”

“It was a complete honour to win the Outstanding Contribution award, and a real surprise. What makes the MJA Awards so unique is that it’s judged by both journalism colleagues and experts in their different fields of healthcare. To be recognised by both, when competing against the great and good of health journalism across the country, is really something special,” Barnes told ABSW.

Barnes was also Highly Commended in the Science Explained category for “Will the new puberty blocker trial put children at risk?”, also published in The New Statesman.

Find a short interview with the winner below.

Mun Keat Looi won the Editor award

Mun Keat Looi, international news and features editor at The BMJ and ABSW Director, won the Editor Award for three articles which together examine how politics, government policies, and armed conflict affect healthcare systems and access to care. The award was supported by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry.

His colleague Jennifer Richardson, investigations and senior features editor at The BMJ and ABSW member, was Highly Commended in the same category for three articles examining junk food sponsorship, the commercial banking of baby teeth, and domestic abuse affecting doctors.

Another ABSW member, also reporting for The BMJ, Tom Moberly, won the Mental Health Story award for the feature “Donald Trump's mental health: are health professionals' media speculations ethical or dangerous?”. The article examines the ethical implications of health professionals publicly commenting on the mental health of political figures.

“An editor is only as good as his reporters and writers, so I owe this to my fantastic colleagues at The BMJ and the tens of incredible freelance journalists I am lucky enough to work with every day. The award came as a shock, but a real honour. These wins really show the strength and importance and real-life impact of good features journalism,” Looi told ABSW.

Sexual Health Journalism, Cancer Reporting and Climate Change awards

ABSW member Martin Smith shared the Dr David Delvin Award for Sex and Sexual Health Journalism with Kate White and Laura Foster for “About the Girls: The Puberty Puzzle” broadcast on BBC Radio 4. In the same category, ABSW members James Gallagher and Ilan Goodman, alongside Gerry Holt, were Highly Commended for “Why are men getting penis fillers?”, a BBC Radio 4/BBC Sounds programme.

Martin Smith is also part of the Sky News team that won the Case Study award for “The Gift: A hand transplant journey risking life and limb”. The team included Mark Thompson, Laura Bundock, Katie Child, Dean Massey, Chris Gordon, Anthony Whiley, and Mostyn Pryce.

In the Podcast category, ABSW members Natasha Loder, Jason Hosken and Alok Jha, alongside Nico Raufast, were Highly Commended for “Custom cures: tailor-made drugs for rare diseases”, an episode of The Economist's Babbage podcast.

The Gordon McVie Award for Cancer Reporting was given to ABSW member Carissa Wong for “The chilling discovery that nerve cells help cancers grow and spread”, published in New Scientist. Fellow member Claire Ainsworth was Highly Commended in the same category for “Rehabilitating Cancer", also published in New Scientist.

ABSW member Sarah Neville, from the Financial Times, won the Health and Climate Change award for “How a warmer world is making pregnancy riskier”, examining the impact of rising temperatures on maternal health.

Fellow member Marianne Guenot received Highly Commended recognition in the Feature (Specialist Audience) category for “It's not about us anymore: after the Le Scouarnec case”, published in The Lancet.

ABSW congratulates all media professionals who won awards, were highly commended, or were shortlisted for the MJA Awards 2026. 

Full details of the winners are available on the MJA website.