Who? Helen Rundle, 30, solicitor at Lincoln and York firm Langleys.
Why is she in the news? She is providing advice and expertise in a national case involving allegations of patient neglect at a Welsh health board.
Rundle is acting for the lead client, Gareth Williams, in the call for a public inquiry after his mother Lilian died in 2012 at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. The campaign is supported by Action against Medical Accidents, the charity for patient safety and justice.
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board said it was unable to comment specifically on this case due to an ongoing police investigation.
A spokeswoman said: ‘We do acknowledge that some of the care provided at the Princess of Wales Hospital has not been of the high standard expected. We sincerely apologise for this. We strongly believe that the majority of care provided by the Princess of Wales Hospital is very high quality.’
Thoughts on the case: ‘Nothing short of a full public inquiry will placate the very serious concerns I have heard both in respect of standards of care and also the way in which complaints have been handled.
‘It is interesting to see how this has been played out politically. It should not be about political point-scoring. It should be about bereaved families being allowed a thorough and open inquiry so that lessons can be drawn from their poor experience.’
Why became a lawyer? ‘To make a difference to people who have suffered an injustice.’
Career high: ‘When I persuaded a coroner to open an investigation several years after a patient’s death. It was important to the family to have an open inquiry into circumstances that had previously been kept from them by the hospital trust.’
Career low: ‘1 April 2013, which brought about the abolition of legal aid in the vast majority of clinical negligence cases and so many other reforms that have undoubtedly restricted access to justice.’
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