Helena Vesty

Helena Vesty is the Manchester Evening News' health and social care correspondent. Helena was selected for the Press Awards' 2025 30 under 30 list, won this year's Inspiring Local Journalism prize at the Digital Publishing Awards, and has been twice shortlisted for the Regional Press Awards' specialist journalist of the year. Helena achieves regular splashes and is often featured widely in the national news, including providing analysis as a 'friend of the show' for major broadcasters when it comes to NHS and social care stories.

In her health brief, she has won campaigns after building unrivalled access and contacts in the health world – including forcing the government to finally fund a billion-pound rebuild of a crumbling Victorian hospital in one of the most deprived parts of the country.

As a senior figure in her newsroom, she also retains a live news responsibility and breaks national stories on the tightest deadlines. She still routinely covers crime and court, runs live blogs for hours, engages the audience face-to-face on reels and TikToks, and creates trending content that often makes for viral hits across the Reach network.