Health consultancy ‘complained to police about emails from grieving father’

Martin Shipton

A controversial consultancy that is advising a Welsh health board about a failing maternity unit has shocked campaigners after complaining to the police about emails it received from a grieving father who believes his five-year-old son died as a result of medical negligence.

Niche Health and Social Care Consulting is being paid to advise Swansea Bay University Health Board over the handling of a review into Singleton Hospital’s maternity unit in Swansea.

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales concluded in September 2023 that the safety and wellbeing of mothers and babies could not be guaranteed at the unit.

The Welsh Government has refused to order a public inquiry into the scandal, leaving the health board to organise a review that has failed to gain the confidence of many parents, who believe Niche has been hired to help deflect criticism.

Deeply flawed

In 2024 Niche published a briefing document that accused parents and, by implication, Nation.Cymru of running an unfair campaign against the unit and what parents see as the deeply flawed review process.

Niche’s document, written by the consultancy’s chief executive Kate Jury, argued that “a concerted campaign of misinformation should [not] be allowed to stand as ‘matters of fact’ and to disrupt a review in the public interest.”

The Swansea parents’ campaign group said publication of the briefing document had a profound impact on some members’ mental health, and it was subsequently taken down.

Niche has also advised many NHS bodies in England, and it is now involved in a bitter dispute following the death in Sheffield Children’s Hospital of five-year-old Ayaan Rashid.

Draft report

A draft report into Ayaan’s death by Niche, carried out in response to the family’s complaints, found that some of his care did not meet expected standards, and made 15 recommendations. But it concluded that although some changes – such as earlier escalation to intensive care, earlier insertion of a chest drain and earlier intubation – may have marginally increased his chances of survival, they were ultimately unlikely to have changed the outcome.

Ayaan’s father Haroon Rashid regarded the draft report as a whitewash that left out crucial parts of the boy’s treatment, and his concerns were widely publicised.

In February 2025 he received a series of disturbing text messages from a phone whose number he did not recognise. The messages stated: “Mr Rashid, you are saying far too much about Niche. You don’t realise how powerful Niche, its investigators and lawyers are. If you don’t shut your mouth speaking out through the media you and your family’s lives will be destroyed.

“You need to be very careful as Niche are watching you and will harm your family if you do not stop speaking out. Consider this a warning.

“You have already lost your son. Why can’t you just accept what has happened and forget the past like most people would. Consider this a serious warning that you now need to silence yourself and accept the report Niche have issued.

“By speaking out you are only going to make things much worse for all your family if you do not listen to this warning. No one listens to Muslims like you. So what is the point in going to the media again and again saying the report is a ‘cover up’.

“That will get you nowhere. Now, if you want your family not to be harmed, then you need to drop the media and drop your complaint. You have been warned.

“You do not know me but do not underestimate the warning I have given to you. Niche lawyers are very powerful and will destroy your lives.”

Police

Mr Rashid reported the messages to the police, but he was told they did not meet the threshold for a criminal investigation.

He subsequently wrote two emails to Niche expressing his view in a non-threatening way that the consultancy was engaged in a cover-up and that he had no confidence in their review.

Within days he was visited by a police officer who, he says, told him that a Niche senior manager had complained about the content of the emails.

Mr Rashid said he had shown the police officer the first of the emails he had sent to Niche; the officer had commented that there was nothing offensive about the way the email was worded and there were no grounds to take action against him.

We asked Niche why it had referred the emails to the police for investigation.

Niche partner Mary-Ann Bruce responded, stating: “… [You] will be aware of the highly distressing and complex nature of this case and of the undoubted trauma being experienced by this individual and his family who have lost their child.

“Niche were originally alleged to have sent these aggravated texts (and were then contacted by a fake journalist to ask us to comment upon them). The gentleman concerned was advised by NHS parties to contact the police as he had in his possession the ‘number’ of the sender of the texts to provide to them.

“We therefore contacted South Yorkshire Police to assist them with their enquiries, particularly as Niche were somehow implicated in allegations of sending malicious communications. We understand they in turn contacted him who stated that he did not want to take the matter any further and would not provide the number of the sender to the police and this has remained the case.

“We would advise that you contact South Yorkshire Police immediately if you have information on the origin of these messages as this is important evidence in any harassment against the family, and against Niche. We are taking these allegations extremely seriously as we believe they are malicious in origin.

“We remain aware that the group of families … maintain that we are not the preferred supplier supporting the Maternity Review in Swansea (which is comprised of a much larger team than Niche) and that this was a campaign underway before the involvement of Niche. The review remains open to all families who want to raise their concerns and views about maternity care in Swansea.”

Trauma

Responding, Mr Rashid said: “[Ms Bruce] talks about the trauma me and my family are facing but did she not think of our trauma or distress increasing significantly by sending the police to our door for me sending malicious communications to them, threatening them?

“She says Niche were alleged to have sent those messages but once I got the messages, I wrote I will not speculate [on who sent them] and do not want others to speculate either.”

Mr Rashid said Ms Bruce’s assertion that he had refused to pass the number that the disturbing text messages came from to the police was incorrect: the police did not want the number because the messages did not meet the threshold for a criminal investigation.

He added: “We have tragically lost our beautiful son Ayaan who was the light of this family due to the incompetence of those who let him down in Sheffield Children’s Hospital depriving him of life-saving treatment throughout his final admission as they saw him as a burden on their resources. The trust and Niche have embarked on a cover-up, gaslighting us at every opportunity and trying to discredit us throughout the last two distressing years.

“We will not be silenced by anyone, nor do we fear anyone as we want genuine lessons to be learnt so no other child ever suffers again like Ayaan did.

“It is unacceptable arranging for the police to visit bereaved families wasting their time. Niche throughout this traumatic ordeal have treated this family with no dignity, respect, care, or compassion.”

Distressed

A member of the Swansea Bay Maternity Support group said: “We are deeply distressed to hear from Haroon how he was referred to the police by Niche Consulting. Haroon is a dad fighting for answers as to how his child Ayaan died in March 2023.

“We understand that this father, simply searching for answers, received a visit from police after referral from Niche Consulting. It is incredible that rather than communicate and behave in a compassionate way Niche chose this approach. Our hearts go out to Haroon and his family.

“It echoes the approach Niche Consulting took with our families when it attacked us in an appalling eight page briefing document in 2024.

“This should serve as another and final wake-up call to [Health Secretary] Jeremy Miles to commission an independent review of Swansea Bay maternity services, free of involvement from Niche Consulting and all other experts appointed by the health board.”