My writing spans journalism, research, strategic insight and reflective essays. I’m interested in how governance systems and institutional cultures shape everyday life, and how policy decisions play out in practice for individuals and communities, bringing curiosity and a focus on insight, nuance and practical outcomes.

Personal essays, 2026

I wrote this article to reflect on the last four years. It’s published on the website I set up for community health and prevention work.

• Written in bone: pregnancy, fracture and transition, Tessa Spring

Pregnancy, health and a push for change, 2024

Following my own experience of Pregnancy Associated Osteoporosis (PAO), I began writing to raise awareness and call for improvements in maternity and women’s healthcare. I’ve written about the physical and emotional impact of delayed diagnosis, the experiences of other PAO mums, and the broader need for change in how the health system responds to women’s pain and postnatal health. This led to a Newcomer of the Year nomination by the Medical Journalists’ Association. I was also invited to become a trustee of charity PAO UK.

• News feature: NHS is failing women with rare but serious pregnancy associated osteoporosis, The BMJ (flagged on cover of 25 May 2024 issue: ‘How the NHS is failing PAO patients’). PDF here, https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.q1046
• News article featuring two women’s case studies (not my own) and outlines research findings and systemic care gaps: Being pregnant broke my back and left me disabled but midwives told me my pain was normal, Metro.co.uk.
• Interview feature: Staff shortages and policy changes force midwife to stop practicing: Hannah Sail shares her experience of midwifery and aspirations for the profession, mums-to-be and her career, TG News
• Opinion feature: Pregnancy, breastfeeding and bone health The New Feminist
• Opinion feature: We want change for mums with Pregnancy Osteoporosis, All4Maternity (the Practising Midwife blog)
• Personal experience feature:
  Postnatal care gaps: A personal experience of delayed diagnosis and treatment, Kingston Courier.

Kingston Courier reporting, 2023-2024

National health and justice reporting, focused on governance, policy design and system impact.

• Hope for British justice as Lords debate IPPs: a prison sentence described as psychological torture, Kingston Courier
• HPV vaccine combats cervical cancer in women – Kingston University professors pivotal in fight against HPV-induced cancers, Kingston Courier
• Calls for a men’s health strategy, Kingston Courier.

Reporting on housing, health and public services in Kingston and south west London, focusing on how local authority decisions and systems impact community life.

• Afghan Evacuee Resettlement and Housing Challenges in Elmbridge, Kingston Courier
• Section 106 Funding and the Challenges of Affordable Housing Delivery, Kingston Courier
• Council Dynamics and Community Provision: Manor Park Café, Kingston Courier
• XL bully ban: A balancing act for responsible owners, Kingston Courier
• Kingston paddlers thankful for breast screening, Kingston Courier
• Seven-figure sum awarded to woman for string of errors at two London hospitals, Kingston Courier
• Video: Dragon boat crew for breast cancer survivors wants new members, Kingston Courier.

Policy commentary & thought-leadership, 2018-2021

A strategic lessons-learnt paper and policy webinar exploring how councils can accelerate delivery of Independent Living housing to reduce inappropriate residential care admissions and improve quality of life.

• Independent Living Housing Programmes, Lessons Learnt, Inner Circle Consulting

Reflections from within the private rented sector during a period of major regulatory reform

• Reforming Section 21: What Ending ‘No-Fault’ Evictions Means for the PRS, Urban Patchwork.

Research on culture, governance and low-income housing , 2015-2016

Published a 20,000-word peer-reviewed article examining cultural history, urban governance and low-income housing delivery in Mauritius. The research involved engagement with government, NGOs, UN Habitat, professionals and residents, and set out policy recommendations to improve social justice and place quality.

• Low-income housing provision in Mauritius: Improving social justice and place quality, Habitat International, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.12.018

Opinion: urban planning, 2014

A reflective policy blog written while volunteering to establish a neighbourhood forum in South East London, alongside working at Renaisi supporting the national Big Local programme. The piece examines equity, participation and governance design within the emerging neighbourhood planning framework.

• What neighbourhood planning can learn from Big Local, Freethinker.

Reporting from South Africa (GroundUp), 2012-2013

Early reporting on labour rights, land governance, public health and community-led development in marginalised communities.

• Nyanga Woman is fighting to get her Eastern Cape family home back, GroundUp
• Groot Constanita workers complain of unfair treatment, GroundUp
• Altercation highlights farm tensions, GroundUp
• Professor Gary Maartens on public health in the Western Cape, GroundUp
• Waldorf school to open in Masiphumele, GroundUp
• South African students at forefront of massive astronomy project, GroundUp
• Showdown over police inquiry, GroundUp.