“The essence of care seems lost”: UK doulas call out the over-medicalisation of birth
As maternal deaths remain at a 20-year-high and midwives feel increasingly disillusioned, women training as doulas is on the rise.
Victoria Gordon ,a former nurse, trained to become doula two years ago, after receiving different levels of care when she gave birth to her own three children.
"My own three births (and two losses) have all been completely different experiences. The one constant theme, was the lack of continuity in care and the medicalised approach to, what should be in most cases, a perfectly ‘normal’ event," Victoria, from Warwickshire, says.
Victoria, who also works part time in clinical research, and trained in hypnobirthing and infant feeding, believes home births empower women and means they can have more control over their births.
“As women, we’re told just to be good girls, ‘do as you’re told’, ‘doctors are always right’, but to ask why, or to say ‘no is empowering," she says.
Victoria believes having the option for a home birth is a postcode lottery. “It really depends on where you live," she says. "Some women can’t access midwives at home in their area. There are some areas I’ve heard of that have amazing home birth teams, but then there’s areas where there’s real pushback."
Recent maternity scandals are another reason why women choose home births, believes Victoria. “The number of people that are coming out of the system, so traumatised for not being listened to. Obstetric violence, it’s very real. That’s why people are opting out of the system altogether,” she says.
Victoria is trained in alternative child birth options, which she believes can be beneficial. “Hypnobirthing is a state of deep relaxation to help birth," she says. "Being relaxed is absolutely essential for your birth to progress. Hypnobirthing taps into the subconscious to know that birth is safe and to create a sense of calm so the birth can be smoother.”
As opposed to medicalising birth, doulas, including Victoria use the BRAIN acronym. She says: "The woman should ask: what are the benefits of this? What are the risks of this? What are the alternatives? To listen to their intuition. What happens if I do nothing now? To be able to balance up the choices so they have informed decisions and can have informed consent.
“This is where trauma comes in, where people are forced into doing things when they don’t really know why they’re being forced into it.”
Leanne Clark, 38, from Derbyshire, was inspired to train as a doula a year ago after giving birth to her own four children.
“I met resistance in the birth room and it made me feel like I didn’t know my own body,” says Leanne, who felt her birthing decisions were ignored.
On Leanne’s Doula UK page, she states: “My aim is to provide you with practical and emotional care that has you [the mother] at the centre… a feature that is recently all too frequently lacking within the NHS.”
She trained with the Doula Training Foundation, taking part in their four-day intensive course, led by two experienced doulas., alongside an additional module.
Leanne also believes births are becoming over-medicalised. “Unfortunately, the model that we’re dealing with at the moment is mostly medicalised and birth is something that only occasionally happens naturally," she says. "We have to ask as a country, why are we in that situation? Why are we the only mammal that isn’t being left to its own devices?
“I think we need to get the trust back that women’s bodies know what they are doing. They are designed to birth babies.”
“We’re intervening to make sure things go smoothly, and yet, birth trauma rates have risen massively in the UK," Leanne says. "Something needs to change.”
She feels there’s a stigma around home births and that a lot of women who say it’s not safe to give birth at home, but a study published in The Lancet revealed that low risk pregnant women were no more at risk of their baby dying whether they have their birth at home or in hospital and says people need to look at the evidence.
“A lot of women feel like they’re being brave if they decide to have a home birth," says Leanne. "I don’t think these women are. I think it’s present in this culture that it’s seen as unusual to give birth at home.”
Leanne has encountered mixed experiences when working with midwives, which she feels is commonplace.
“When I hear of hostilities from midwives towards doulas, it’s such a shame because it immediately changes the atmosphere in the room and that’s not acceptable,” says Leanne. “But there are great midwives out there who realise that having a doula makes their job easier, as they will have spent many hours with that family up until that point. The midwife may not have even met that family before, so they can be assured that they’ve [the mother] had a good amount of care and support.
“It’s a shame if there is resistance because if a woman has chosen a doula to come and support her, that’s then also disrespectful to the woman’s choice.”
Leanne said a lot of women who want home births are being pushed to consider freebirths due to a lack of NHS midwives being available to attend the home birth.
“I can offer the continuity of care for the family that the midwife unfortunately cannot," says Leanne. "I know many midwives that would say they wish that they could offer that. A lot of the time, women just don’t feel listened to or have someone there who knows them intimately and has spent time with them.
“I am in a privileged position of being able to get to know the woman and listen to her more than the midwives can. I see them more than the midwives do.”
Sheffield Sharks: basketball team says new venue is ready for any medical emergency
Sheffield's professional basketball team says it is prepared for every medical eventuality at its purpose-built venue which opened two years ago.
The Sheffield Sharks, who are based at the Canon Medical Arena, also provide access to heart screenings for its first team but it is unclear whether these tests are available for younger players.
Ex-Sharks player Mike Tuck recalled times in the past of players in the NBA and the NBL of players suddenly collapsing due to heart problems and is in favour for young people to have access to any medical tests that they feel they may need.
The Sharks' longest serving player and the current marketing manager as well as Head Coach for the University of Sheffield's basketball team said:
“I know every senior player gets a full medical ahead of a season, but I am unsure how far that goes down into the club. It is something I will be looking into.
“It is better to be safe than sorry. Why would you limit yourself out of fear? You might as well find out. It’s better to be safe than sorry for sure.”
Mr Tuck said making cardiac screenings available for young players was something that should be discussed.
Sharks captain Drake Jefferies also outlined the importance of heart health and explained that the facilities they have at Sheffield are top-notch to make sure everyone is fit and healthy and ready to play.
“It’s huge to make sure everything is working as it should," he said. "I have had a screening at every club I have been in. You may have to sit out but in the long run it could save your life.”
Heart-scare hockey player’s call for life-saving screenings and easy-access defibrillators
A sportsman who collapsed on the pitch believes a heart screening could have prevented his cardiac arrest and has hit out at criminals who steal and vandalise life-saving equipment.
Sam Russell was playing as hockey captain for Finchfield Hockey Club at the Doug Ellis Sports Centre in Perry Barr, Birmingham, in February 2025.
His teammates noticed the 26-year-old standing motionless on the pitch before he collapsed, going into sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).
As one of the players gave him CPR, others ran to get a defibrillator from the sports centre reception, but no one was available to give them access to the life-saving device.
After finally finding a member of staff, Sam received one shock from the defibrillator and three more once the ambulance service arrived to stabilise his heart on the way to Midlands Metropolitan Hospital.
Sam is now raising money to install more fixed location defibrillators, an appeal he launched while still recovering in hospital.
He said: “I don’t remember much from those couple days after, and I don’t remember setting up a GoFundMe.
“But a reason I wanted to do it is to get more fixed location defibrillators so if people are in the same situation as me, it’s far more accessible.”
Sam set up his GoFundMe page with a goal to raise £2,400 to cover the cost of two automated external defibrillators (AEDs), but he raised over £4,000 in just one day.
Three months later, he has received over £8000 in donations to buy and install ten fixed-location defibrillators at local leisure centres, sports facilities and on remote running tracks.
London Hearts, the leading defibrillator charity in the UK, reached out to help Sam buy and distribute the defibrillators in his local community.
Six fixed-location AEDs will be installed at The Royal School Wolverhampton, Aldersley Leisure Village and Aston University Recreation, and Kingswinford Hockey Club will receive a portable AED.
Sam's team will also be given two portable AEDs to take with them to away games.
The player’s fundraising comes as a Sheffield Wire Freedom of Information request revealed 124 defibrillators had been vandalised or stolen in England in the past two years.
Sam said: “It makes me feel sick that we fundraise for defibrillators and know that people target them within 24 hours.
“If you value your life as much mine why would you want to do something that could take away the chance to save your own life.”
Before his incident, Sam had never had a heart screening, but in the days following his sudden cardiac arrest, he endured numerous heart tests, echocardiograms and angiograms, and an MRI.
The results he received in April explained that his incident was a result of myocarditis, an inflammation in the heart caused by a viral infection.
Sam recalled that he had a flu-like symptoms three weeks before his cardiac arrest, but carried on with his daily activities, including long runs and intense hockey training.
“In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done that if it was going to cause so many problems,” he says.
“When the consultant told me the results it was a lot of weight off my shoulders because there was no longer a question mark over what caused it.”
Dr William Parker, a NIH Clinical Lecturer in Cardiology, explained that SCAs are more common in young athletes because intense exercise and adrenaline can worsen undiagnosed conditions.
He said: “If you’ve got an underlying condition particularly in high profile and high stress settings can worsen it or lead to heart problems that cause cardiac arrest.”
The defibrillators will have a sticker explaining Sam’s story and how the devices were funded to raise awareness, and thank those who have donated.
As well as defibrillators, Sam is campaigning for people to undergo The British Heart Foundation’s 15-minute online CPR training course.
“There was nowhere else for me”: Teenager on social housing’s role to lift him from homelessness
Husam Thabit was 17 years-old when he left Yemen to be with his family in Sheffield. He dreams of being a dentist and wants to study at university to achieve his goal.
He lives in social housing, with support from South Yorkshire youth homelessness charity Roundabout.
In the UK, it's estimated almost 136,000 young people aged 16-24 were homeless or at risk of homelessness in 2022-23, as per Centrepoint Databank statistics.
Husam, who has dual nationality and is now 19 years-old, arrived safely in Sheffield and lived with his aunt and her family for a while.
He said: “I stayed there until I was 18 but it was crowded and there wasn’t really space for me, so I felt like I needed to leave.
“There was nowhere else for me so I would have been cold and scared and I know I would have ended up on the streets and met people who would have taken me into all sorts of bad situations.”
When Husam reported himself as homeless and contacted social services, he was referred to Roundabout.
Roundabout is a South Yorkshire charity for youth homelessness, and its housing service, commissioned by Sheffield City Council, provides semi-supported housing for young people aged 16 to 25.
It is part of the Every Youth partnership, which is a national movement aiming to end youth homelessness in the UK.
Husam added: “My life would have been really, really bad if I hadn’t been put in touch with Roundabout."
Roundabout offers self-contained and furnished accommodation to homeless young individuals, to build trust, break down barriers, and support personal progression.
It works with over 380 young people every day, providing them shelter, and support. Their hostel, located near London Road, hosts 27 young people aged 16-21.
Roundabout says it is “strongly committed to preventing young people from becoming homeless."
It is also estimated that 1 in 62 young people in the UK were facing homelessness in 2023-2024.
Roundabout and similar charities in Sheffield and across South Yorkshire including Cherrytree, The Guinness Partnership, and Safe@Last among others, are helping young individuals find social housing, so as to provide them with a place to live and the support they require.
Instead, Husam has a place that he says he can now call home for the first time.
“The situation is awful”: Doula UK speaks out about home birth restrictions
Women are being stopped from having a home birth due to a 'widespread lack of adequate planning and training' according to a leading pregnancy and birthing charity.
Birthrights, who are campaigning to change government and NHS policy on access to home births, revealed two thirds of trusts “had service suspensions, strict restrictions or frequent interruptions” between October 2023 and November 2024.
Director of Doula UK, Trudi Dawson, who provides support to a pregnant woman before, during and after childbirth, which often involves a home birth, said: “The situation is awful. I just want people to have the choice and be supported in that. It costs the NHS so much less for a home birth than a hospital birth so on economics alone it really doesn’t make sense.”
Ms Dawson, who has been a trained doula for nearly 20 years, believes home births can provide people with more control over their birthing experience.
“We now have decent research to support the fact that, around many parameters, home births are ‘safer’ than hospital births,” she said.
In October 2024, Doula UK reported 2,090 births took place with a doula in the same year, up from 1,835 in 2021.
The organisation was founded in 2001 and now has over 700 registered members.
Ms Dawson believes birth is becoming over-medicalised. “Sadly, it has become a huge part of the entire culture around birth and drives so many crazy decisions," she said. "I’m not anti-medical. I’m just anti-fear and against fear-based decisions.”
Ms Dawson, who is also an infant feeding specialist, yoga instructor and holistic sleep coach trained to be a doula after watching her niece being safely born at home.
She said: “It changed my life. I saw the positive impact continuous care and trusted support made to the birth experience and I just wanted to give that to everyone birthing. I then found out about doulas and I was sold.
“It’s like being a travel guide for bringing a new baby into the world.”
Doulas are not legally required to have any training, but Doula UK insist their members must complete an approved training courses and a mentoring programme.
“I actually trained twice to be a doula as I enjoyed it so much and just wanted to be the best I could be," said Ms Dawson. "It then took me about two years to pass through the mentorship.”
The mum-of-three from East Sussex, who also runs her own business, Mothering Mojo, believes medics who think home births are dangerous are “spreading irrational fear” but that sometimes there are grounds for medical support.
“I am saddened when a woman has to choose between a hospital birth and a freebirth [when a birth takes place without any medical professionals, such as midwives, present] because there is no middle option.
“I had a client who had three beautiful home births. At the time her fourth baby was due, they had closed the home birth service in her area. She felt she had no choice but to freebirth, but she would rather have had a midwife there."
Paramedics ‘terrified’ of maternity calls due to ‘lack of training’
A paramedic from West Sussex says a lack of training by universities in maternity care is leaving them dreading call-outs to help pregnant patients.
Beth, 28, has been qualified for two years after studying paramedic science at Brighton University but says the maternity aspect of her course was extremely limited and, as at many other institutions, just dealt with 'normal' births.
Beth said: “It’s one day of PowerPoint-heavy training for maternity at universities, and that’s it.”
In a year the London Ambulance Service, alone, will receive around 13,000 calls from pregnant patients.
Another paramedic, who wishes to remain anonymous said: "We are not trained enough for these situations. These are the jobs we dread.
The 25-year-old paramedic from the West Midlands, said: "Currently it's midwives delivering the training to future paramedics who have not spent one day on an ambulance.
"We go [to calls] calm on the outside, nervous on the inside."
Beth’s first maternity call came after six months as a qualified paramedic. She said: “I was terrified of going to maternity jobs, because I felt I didn’t know what I was doing.”
She relied on an official app called JRCALC - a database of information in order to prepare paramedics for call-outs - and her experienced colleague.
In most cases ambulances are called because the babies are arriving quickly and mums are rushed to hospital in the ambulance.
Beth said: “It’s called the ‘maternity taxi’, when the baby comes out quickly and all we do is take them to hospital, which is fine because everything is okay, but there are a small number of births that go horribly wrong.”
Within a five-week-period Beth delivered three babies ‘on the road’, one of which had a doula present - a non-medical professional who is there for emotional and physical support throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and afterwards.
The doula and mother had said they only wanted women in the room, excluding what Beth said was an estimated "combined 60 years of experience in the ambulance service" waiting outside.
Beth had to manage the birth alone and, despite the doula advocating well for the mum, it led to her signing up for a PROMPT (PRactical Obstetric Multi-Professional Training) course in order to build confidence.
There are various difficulties which can occur in pregnancy and lead to a 999 call. These include preeclampsia, haemorrhaging and ectopic pregnancies.
Beth said newly-qualified paramedics are training in dealing with some of these issues, but not others.
Ambulances have maternity kits with tools such as forceps, scissors to cut the umbilical cord and various towels and sanitary items, but Beth said she had not been through this until her first call six months qualifying.
The kit also includes a ‘Lilly Pocket’ which is a small knitted blanket for warming premature babies under 20 weeks.
Beth said premature babies who have passed away, “historically were put in tissues or, God forbid, a bin bag or something horrific like that, but now will go in the Lily pocket”
Niamh, a paramedic science student from Sheffield Hallam said: "I went to a 25 week pregnant woman with twins, whose contractions were one minute apart,
"We were worried because we didn't have enough kit for three patients, we would have to call for back-up."
Beth said: "trusts are doing more than the universities, like the Lily pockets and maternity kits being standardised."
“The training just needs improving as it just needs to be more relatable to pre-hospital environments," said the West Midlands paramedic.
Awaab’s Law: new legislation after death from mould exposure
A new law which will require landlords to respond to mould and damp complaints in rental properties within 24 hours, will come into force in October 2025.
As part of the Renters’ Rights Bill, the inaction of landlords and delays which cause 'emergency hazards' to tenants will be scrutinised under Awaab's Law.
Mould and damp, which are particularly rampant in modern social housing, can lead to mental and physical health problems and affect almost a million homes in the UK.
What is Awaab's Law?
Awaab’s Law is the most significant reform in social housing regulations in a decade and is aimed at improving the safety and quality of housing for tenants by scrutinising the time frame in which landlords and housing providers must investigate and address issues with properties.
The new legislation defines hazards as “those that pose a significant risk to the health or safety of the actual resident of the dwelling”, including but not limited to damp and mould, excesses of temperature, asbestos, noise, overcrowding and fall-risks.
Amending the previous legislation, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the law also states landlords must repair emergency hazards within 24 hours.
They will also be forced to investigate the causes of damp and mould within 14 calendar days of a complaint being made and will be expected to begin work within seven days if a medical professional states there is a risk to the health of tenants/residents.
Who was Awaab Ishak?
Awaab Ishak was two-years-old when he passed away as a result of mould exposure in December 2020.
His family were renting the problematic property from Rochdale Boroughwide Housing but despite the family’s consistent reports of mould in their living conditions, the social housing provider repeatedly failed to act and even blamed them for causing the issues.
Following the coroner’s ruling on his death, Awaab’s law was introduced in the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023. The government’s new guidance also states that residents must not be blamed for the presence of mould in their homes, and landlords must identify and address underlying causes.
Support for the new regulation
Many tenancy organisations and residents have welcomed the regulation and protection of poor living conditions.
Nomad, a Sheffield based organisation which assists in housing those who need it the most, said: “Everyone has a right to live in safe homes and for too long we have seen some shocking examples of homes that are not safe, so we welcome Awaab’s Law. It’s a terrible shame that it took the death of a child for such legislation to be introduced.”
37% of tenants reliant on the Sheffield City Council housing service reported that they were unsatisfied with the service.
More than 1.5 million dependent children across England live in ‘non-decent’ housing, with one million in homes with at least one category one hazard and 790,000 in homes with damp.
Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, said: “Awaab Ishak’s family have tenaciously and courageously fought to secure justice, not only for their son but for all those who live in social housing.
“Awaab’s Law will help to drive a transformational and lasting change in the safety and quality of social housing, ensuring tenants are treated with fairness and respect.”
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner called it a “moral duty to ensure tragedies like the death of Awaab Ishak never happen again”.
She added: “Landlords cannot be allowed to rent out dangerous homes and shamelessly put the lives of tenants at risk.”
Busting the myths of using a defibrillator
With over 60,000 Sudden Cardiac Arrests in the UK every year it is vital that people use the rising number of defibrillators in communities across the country.
But, according to a survey by the St John Ambulance, only 15% of the public would feel very confident using one - mainly out of fear that they might get it wrong.
We decided to debunk some of the myths surrounding the use of defibrillators and hopefully give people more confidence in what to do and how to help save a person's life.
Do I have to be trained to use one?
No! You don’t have to be trained to use a defibrillator; they are designed so that anyone in the general public can use them.
The Automated External Defibrillator (AED), is the common model that can be found all over the UK with access to the public at all times day or night. The instructions inside are clear and concise to show you where to place the pads on the body and all you need to do is turn on the machine.
The Defibrillator will then independently examine the heart and will only deliver a shock if and when is needed.
So, no training is required.
How do I know where to find one?
When someone is has a cardiac arrest, call the emergency services on 999 and they will direct to the nearest defibrillator and give you the access code.
There are also apps you can download which will give you the exact location of your nearest AED, using your location settings on your phone the app will also give the quickest route to it, to give the best chance of survival.
As each minute passes the chance of survival drops. These apps are available for both Apple and Android phones.
The ambulance will get there in plenty of time, so I won’t need to do anything
Even though we have a very dedicated and efficient ambulance team in the UK, according to the British Heart Foundation - the average time for an ambulance to arrive on the scene is around 47 minutes. This is taking into account the many factors an ambulance may face such as traffic, staffing and location.
The currently overstretched emergency services will aim to be there as soon as possible, but it is very unlikely that the paramedics will arrive in time to save their life. As every minute passes, the chance of survival decreases.
If you or someone with you knows how to deliver CPR, then do so promptly, if not there are many sources and YouTube tutorials that will guide you through the process. CPR should be administered until a defibrillator can be located and brought back to the scene. Remember to continue giving CPR along with the use of a defibrillator.
Could I make the situation worse?
The only thing that would make the situation worse is if you stand there and do nothing. AEDs are designed to only administer a shock if the patient needs one, so you can just place the pads on the chest and let the machine decide whether to administer a shock to the heart.
When a person is lying there not breathing and unconscious, if you do nothing they are dead.
Can I use them on children?
Yes. If a child is unconscious you must use a defibrillator as quickly as possible the same way you would use one for an adult, but with child sized pads, if you don’t have these on hand then you can use the adult ones but place one on their chest and the other on their back.
If your child was lying there you’d want to do anything you could to help them, using a defibrillator will help them.
I can’t remove someone’s clothing, especially a person of the opposite sex
There is no law against removing someone’s clothing if it means you might save their life. If you are worried about the person’s dignity then use as many people as possible to make a circle around them and administer CPR and the AED.
The person is unlikely to mind if it means they get to carry on living.
Do I still need to do CPR if I’m using a defibrillator?
The short answer is yes, you must continue to do CPR alongside using the AED, for the best result and for the patient's best chance of survival.
What if they have any jewellery around their chest, won’t it make things worse?
No, in fact taking the time to remove any jewellery and or piercings will only delay their treatment. The first ten minutes of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest are the most important. They will not come to harm if you leave their personal belongings where they are.
What if they have a pacemaker? Will that save them?
If the person remains unconscious and not breathing, it is usually a good indication that their pacemaker isn’t working properly and using an AED won’t have any effect on the internal machine and or the patient.
We hope this has cleared some of the worries you may have about using a defibrillator, and that if you ever find yourself in a situation where you are called to action you have the confidence and the relevant information to save a life.
For more information about the use of the AEDs go to the St John’s Ambulance, British Heart Foundation or CRY.
“Suffering in silence”: the trials and triumphs of queer alcoholism support workers in Sheffield
The recovery room is closed off when I arrive at the Likewise Sheffield recovery centre - renovation works, they tell me at the reception.
Formerly the general hub for the centre’s Group Community Workers, they’ve found themselves relocated for the interim to a series of small offices on the upper floor. It’s in one of these offices, a fan at the windowsill and timetables pinned to the walls, that I find the LGBTQ+ outreach team.
“This is the third week of works on the recovery room,” Rosie*, one of the workers, tells me. “It was a fantastic space in there.”
“It’s like we’re squatters,” Martin*, the team leader, jokes, though adding that they look forward to taking advantage of the new and improved facilities.
The room is set to reopen today, and the free Breakfast Club service provided by the charity along with it - but location and accessibility remain persistent challenges for the team's work, as they explain to me later.
Likewise is a drug and alcohol support service, formed through a partnership between two charities, Waythrough and Project 6. It aims to offer tailored recovery plans for people from all walks of life, on the basis of one-to-one support and harm reduction.
Martin, who cut his teeth at the Likewise centre in Bradford before transferring to Sheffield last year, describes the overall thrust of the service’s approach as “recovery navigation”. It aims to offer people a pathway to achieving their own personal goals in their relationship to addictive substances.
Many of their volunteers, he tells me, are recruited directly from people who’ve successfully recovered from drug and alcohol addictions. Several of the team's members are not currently out to their families, for reasons of privacy or personal safety.
The outreach workers offer a range of programmes targeted towards queer people, from gym sessions to candle-making classes; their mixed martial arts classes are apparently especially popular.
Other efforts seek to bring awareness of alcohol treatment to the LGBTQ+ community directly. They operate an online queer-friendly recovery advice service, and Sarah*, the third worker I spoke to, is set to deliver a talk next week at a meeting of young people organised by SAYiT, a queer youth charity based in Sheffield.
Their work has been complicated by the fact that, from what they’ve seen on the frontlines, many queer people are highly reluctant to engage with alcohol support services. Medical trauma and distrust of the medical system discourage many from seeking help, and those who do often do so while closeted, complicating the figures on the books.
“We believe that a lot of them are suffering in silence,” Martin says. “We’re trying to find out what barriers there are, and what we can do to make it more accessible.”
A set of brochures from Likewise Sheffield. Credit: Caitlin James and Daniel Thomas
An internal survey by the team identified several factors impeding their work. One of the most significant, Sarah says, is government policy. Martin castigates the recent Supreme Court ruling limiting the definition of “sex” in the Equality Act, and its consequences for transgender people.
He tells me: “The ripple effect in the next couple of months or years is going to be horrendous. That policy, now, is going to deepen the distrust that trans & non-binary people have against the government and the medical sector.”
Location is another issue as the concentration of services in a single recovery hub, they believe, also makes many queer people seeking recovery reluctant to engage. The stigma surrounding substance addiction is often compounded by people’s struggles with homophobia and transphobia, which deters some from seeking treatment.
What’s more, they find that the urban location of the hub can also pose a challenge. Addicts of all sexualities are more likely to be unemployed, and frequently live in South Yorkshire’s urban periphery - in smaller towns, from which the city centre can be difficult to access via public transport.
To reach them, Likewise has been trialling a number of initiatives and partnerships. “We’re trying to take the services out to them", Martin says, telling me that they've collaborated with a range of institutions, from libraries and community centres to the Muslim community."
One area where their collaboration has been limited is with the NHS. Sarah tells me: “We’ve done a few charity events for hospitals - some walks and that,” and Martin speaks positively of his good working relationship with GPs in both Doncaster and Sheffield. However, their main interaction with local hospitals and other medical services is generally limited to referrals, for patients suffering from cirrhosis and other liver conditions.
Do they have enough resources to do their jobs? Overall, they’re positive about the trajectory of alcohol support outreach, and the capacity of services such as Likewise. “They can compete with any other service that you think of, globally," they tell me.
But the workers remain deeply concerned that they may be failing to help LGBTQ+ people who desperately need it, and painfully aware of the barriers that remain in place. Sarah laments, “We’re finding it hard to reach a lot of queer people.”
Despite these struggles, they remain optimistic about the good their community work does - and will continue to do. “If you compare our services in South Yorkshire with those from ten years back, there’s a huge difference,” Martin says.
He still fears, however, that wrongheaded government policy will continue to “destroy” all their progress so far, even if state support remains constant.
“It’s one thing to have the right services in place,” he tells me. “It’s another thing for people to choose to use them.”
*Names changed for anonymity.
Charity says lack of support from social housing providers aggravates mental health issues
A lack of adequate assistance from social housing providers is leading to a vicious cycle of “anger, conflict and frustration” among vulnerable people, according to a charity executive.
Ben’s Centre, started in 1996, is a charity that works towards supporting people with addiction to drinking and substance misuse. The charity provides them with food, healthcare, wellbeing support, and hosts a space that gives them access to a variety of essential services.
Daryl Bishop, CEO, said: “I'd say probably 80% of those who visit the charity are either in temporary accommodation or they're in some kind of accommodation that is constantly in jeopardy.
“We've got 20% actual rough sleepers who've got nowhere to sleep. The rest have somewhere, but it's very rarely a stable living experience.”
Mr Bishop shared that they see 20-30 people with vulnerabilities coming in to the centre every day. He says that their addiction serves as a big challenge to obtaining social housing in the first place.
He said: “There's not enough houses to go around. So, they're having to really fight and be available all the time while they've got an addiction whispering in their ear. Trying to get to the right appointment and behave at that appointment is the biggest challenge."
He added that rejection from social housing providers can also aggravate their addiction. He said that lack of support leads to “more anger, conflict, frustration and unwillingness to trust the services that they need to get somewhere.
“So the frustrations of it not going well often make it even harder to go around next time because they might get banned from a certain place,” he added.
He also said that poor conditions of living at some accommodation keeps those who are vulnerable on edge.
“They won't sleep well, they'll sleep with one eye open and they never quite relax. Once they get into a more stable place to live, it's better. But the problem there is that there's not necessarily somebody there to help them with their addictions and help them with their problems.
“So once they're put in a flat it's kind of, ‘Right you're in a flat, you're done, you're ticked off the list, you're fine’. But, actually they're still carrying all this trauma.
“There's not anybody visiting them trying to figure out how they pay the bills, how to work the boiler. Just little things like that mean quite a lot, because we might be able to figure it out, but they can't.
"So somebody to go out in as a kind of outreach worker and just help them put their roots down, rather than just throw them in a house and walk away. I think that's the answer.”
Mr Bishop said that substandard living conditions in some social housing “exacerbates the whole thing” and “they inevitably generally end up living in a very antisocial way, not very hygienic. Their health gets worse. They quite often will end up getting thrown out of that place eventually."
He also shared that those with deep-rooted trauma and drinking addictions are unlikely to complain about their social housing accommodation having mould and the impact it might be causing to their physical health.
Mr Bishop said: “They don't feel they're really worth anything better, so they probably wouldn’t share that. They’d just carry on living how they’re living until they get really unwell.”
Ben’s Centre is not officially affiliated with specific social housing providers but works with them across Sheffield to find vulnerable people a place to live.
Grieving dad’s bid for life-saving defibrillators in every corner of UK’s football grounds
A Sheffield Wednesday fan whose daughter died after suffering a heart attack at an Owls match aged just 29 is campaigning for defibrillators in the four corners of every football stadium.
Paul Gregory, 52, started the One in Every Corner campaign to help reduce the number of deaths of sudden cardiac arrest and is now hoping to expand to other sporting arenas.
Mr Gregory said: “I lost my daughter 12 months ago, and I started Lauren’s Legacy to help keep Lauren’s memory alive. The idea came to me while at a football match when I thought wouldn’t it be a great idea to have a defib in every corner of the ground to give someone who suffers a cardiac arrest the best chance of survival.”
Since the start of the foundation, Lauren’s Legacy has successively placed defibrillators in five football clubs - Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Leeds United, Shrewsbury Town and Bromley - with funding raised so others can receive theirs next season.
The memory of Lauren is also starting to attract the attention of big sporting names such as Sheffield’s Dalton Smith, who is the current British super light-weight champion, European super light-weight champion and the Commonwealth super light-weight champion.
Mr Gregory would like to see more defibrillators across all sports venues. He explained: “Over recent years we have seen incidents happening all over the country that the use of defibs and the need for defibs is obviously getting greater than ever.
“Every week at sporting events, occasionally there have been incidents where the need for defibs has been needed to help bring someone back to life.”
He has also the importance not only of defibrillators but also of heart screenings in young people under the age of 35.
British Heart Foundation figures have revealed that 12 people in the UK, under the age of 35 die from a sudden cardiac arrest every week due to inherited heart conditions and Mr Gregory says he and many others who have suffered the loss of a loved one know how important it is for people to have a heart screening.
He said: “A lot of young people think that it’s a taboo subject and a lot of them think I’m too young, that’s never going to happen to me. I would say to those people - just get it done, why wouldn’t you do something that could potentially save your life?”
“Why couldn’t our Dan have been saved?”: Parents raise thousands for heart screenings in memory of son
Since losing their son to an undiagnosed heart condition eight years ago, Barry and Gillian Wilkinson have channelled their grief into saving other young lives in his memory.
Through their charity, The Daniel Wilkinson Foundation, the couple and their family have helped fund life-saving heart screenings for more than 1,300 young people, in the hope of preventing other families from experiencing their loss.
Their 24-year-old son, Daniel, had just started a new job and moved in with his girlfriend when he collapsed while playing football in September 2016 - a sport he had loved his entire life.
“The pain never goes away,” says Gillian, 62, who lives in Hedon, near Hull, with her husband. “He was just lovely, and so gentle and family-oriented. We will never get over it.”
Tests later revealed that Daniel’s death was caused by an underlying condition called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) - a disease that weakens the heart’s structure and can lead to Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD).
According to heart-screening charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), the condition can be found in between 1 in 1,000 and 1 in 5,000 people, but as it presents very few symptoms, it is difficult to detect unless screened for.
“We Facetimed him the evening before he died and he was his normal self,” recalls 69-year-old Barry. “He was beaming, he was laughing, he was joking.
“I’ve struggled with that big time in the sense that he obviously had a serious problem, but there was nothing to tell you.”
Undetected conditions such as ARVC are responsible for the deaths of 12 young people in the UK every week, says the British Heart Foundation.
It is a crisis the Wilkinsons say is not taken seriously enough in the UK, where routine echocardiogram screenings for young people are not mandatory, and are usually only carried out by the NHS when a family member has died of an underlying condition.
“If a school bus of 12 youngsters a week went out onto the roads and crashed, and 12 children were dying every week, somebody would sit up and say, ‘hang on a minute, there's something wrong here',” says Gillian. “It's the same figure, but for some reason it goes unnoticed.”
“Had a screening been available to Dan two or three months before that night in September then it would have picked up his condition,” adds Barry. “It could have saved his life.”
To help tackle the issue, the Daniel Wilkinson Foundation raises money to fund CRY’s national heart screening programme, which offers free testing to anyone in the UK aged 14 to 35.
Since 2017, the Foundation has paid for 14 screenings in Hull, Sheffield and Essex, each costing around £7,000 to test 100 people - a sum which breaks down to just £70 per person.
“Who wouldn’t pay £70 to save their child’s life?” asks Gillian. “We would remortgage the house and live in a cardboard box if we knew then what we know now.”
The Foundation’s work is making a real difference. Data from CRY shows that around six percent of people screened at events funded by the charity have been sent for further testing, with 1 in 300 being identified with a life-threatening condition.
While private medical information about those tested is kept strictly confidential, the couple have gleaned some insight into the direct impact their work has had.
“There was one particular screening where the cardiologist said he referred someone he was very worried about directly to the Leeds Cardiology Department, as they had walked in with something serious,” recalls Gillian.
“I let out a physical sigh because that’s potentially someone's parents or close family being saved from the sheer nightmare that we still live every day.”
The Foundation also raises money to supply defibrillators to grassroots sports teams, to provide life-saving first aid if someone collapses from a condition that hasn’t been picked up by screening.
So far they have donated 57 defibrillators, which are accompanied by a short training session so that staff and players know how to use them if something goes wrong.
“It’s hand to mouth for a lot of grassroots sports clubs,” says Barry. “So to give them a vital piece of equipment like that which could potentially save someone’s life is quite pleasing to do.”
The Foundation’s work paid off in a powerful way in 2018, when one of their defibrillators helped save the life of a 14-year-old boy who collapsed during a football match in Sheffield.
In a poignant twist of fate for Gillian and Barry, the name of the boy whose life was saved was also Daniel.
“The emotions of that were another level,” recalls Barry. “There was the high of something we donated saving a life. But then there was the flipside- why couldn’t our Dan have been saved?”
The couple say their message to young people is to not ignore the symptoms of underlying heart conditions, which can include light-headedness, fainting, palpitations, swollen legs, and breathlessness.
“Listen to your body,” urges Gillian. “No matter how trivial you think it is, if it's happening once or twice, get it checked out.
“And if you're offered or go looking for the opportunity to be screened, then go and do it. Just 20 minutes of your time could save your life.”
Anyone aged 14 to 35 who wants to book a free heart screening can do so on CRY’s Test My Heart Website.