A complete takeover

In this week’s bumper Inside the Big Issue newsletter, Big Issue UK editor Paul McNamee takes you behind the scenes of this week's landmark 10Foot takeover of the magazine, while deputy digital editor Sophia Alexandra Hall explains how Big Issue helped a young person beat an 18-year wait for an autism diagnosis – and how you can help us investigate the wider problem.

There are several reasons to run a guest-edited edition. The first is the guest editor. They will be an interesting person, with interesting things to say. They’ll have a cachet and a hook. They’ll bring a new audience and enliven the existing one.?

Then, it’s because of access. They’ll unlock doors that have previously been tricky to get through. Big Issue enjoys great access, due to nearly 35 years of trust – people know they won’t be stung by speaking to us. But that guest editor can always find somebody new, and ideally somebody you’ve not really thought about before.?

Then, there’s the magic. When things become really great is when the guest editor, with their vision, access and extra indescribable element, brings everything in and you have an edition for the ages. We’ve had it over the years: when Dame Joan Bakewell made us look again at older women and stopped them being invisible, long before that conversation really took hold elsewhere; Mark Millar assembled a cast that only he could – including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) interviewing The Kinks; and Armando Iannucci, in a brilliant first, brought two of his great creations together – Alan Partridge interviewing Malcolm Tucker.

All of them, and our other great guest editors (nods here to Charming Baker, Jarvis Cocker and the Connor Brothers) have set the pages alight. But their editorship fitted within the bounds of regular Big Issue presentation.

10Foot changed everything. His vision and his delivery have been so singular, so dramatic, that the only way to let it take off was to let him take everything. Every page, every ad, every aspect, is through his eyes. It says everything about him and his world view that he wanted Banksy to be given equal billing to a local Indian restaurant. His engagement with the process, working with us on every page, has been something to savour.

You may be unfamiliar with the world of graffiti writing – I certainly was. But you will find much to challenge your received notions about the world in this landmark edition.?

What more could you ask from a guest editor?

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How to help with our investigation into healthcare barriers for care experienced people

Chloe Pomfret turned to social media after being told she would have to wait 18 years for an autism assessment. The 21-year-old had received an email from Autism at Kingwood , an NHS -funded charity, stating she could expect to be seen in November 2043. She was shocked.

Since the pandemic, increasing NHS waiting list times have dominated the headlines, but I’d never seen anyone told to wait nearly two decades. I got in touch, and amidst a flurry of journalists, Chloe chose to share her story with Big Issue. “You kind of get used to being let down by the system at this point,” Chloe told me.

On the morning of Thursday 27 February, we published my interview with Chloe on bigissue.com. The piece made a big difference for Chloe – more on that if you keep reading – but also led me to a wider story, which I want your help to investigate.

While the email estimating an 18-year wait was shocking, there was a more troubling issue beneath the surface: Chloe had already tried to access an assessment through Psychiatry UK (the NHS’ Right to Choose Scheme) but had hit a major hurdle.

Chloe is care experienced, like me, which means she grew up in the foster care system. It’s one of the reasons she chose to speak to me out of all the other journalists who contacted her.

When trying to arrange an autism assessment with Psychiatry UK, Chloe was asked for "childhood evidence" – letters from her parents detailing autistic traits she may have exhibited while growing up.

Being estranged from her family, Chloe was, of course, unable to provide this information. Even after submitting a letter from her therapist, she was repeatedly told by the healthcare provider that a parental statement was required. Eventually, she stopped hearing back. Throughout my career, I’ve investigated health inequalities within this community, and access to healthcare can, sadly, be much harder for people without access to their family history.

Back on the morning we published the story about Chloe, I’d been at my desk for less than an hour when I received a message from her. Chloe had been directly contacted by Psychiatry UK. During a phone call, she was informed that the organisation’s head psychiatrist would "personally ensure" that everything was sorted out.

“They were really lovely and apologetic,” Chloe told me that morning. “They asked if I had any feedback or thoughts I wanted to share. I can’t believe it’s being seen to this quickly.”

That same day, Chloe was booked in for an assessment, and last week, on Monday 10 March – just eleven days after the article was published – she was officially diagnosed. What she was originally told would be an almost two-decade-long wait instead took less than two weeks.

I’m pleased Big Issue’s journalism was able to help Chloe out of this situation, but I’m also saddened. This series of events proves that healthcare services don’t have to be inaccessible for people from care-experienced backgrounds. Too often, the problem isn’t a lack of solutions – it’s that healthcare systems weren’t designed with people like us in mind.

That’s why I’m currently investigating other health inequalities faced by care-experienced, estranged, and bereaved people who don’t have access to family histories. If that’s you and you’d like to share your story – or if you know someone who might – please get in touch with me at [email protected].

Inside this week's 10Foot takeover of Big Issue

Banksy turns interviewer for the first time

Comic book legend Alan Moore reveals where he learned his craft

Kneecap provocateur DJ Próvai writes a one-off poem

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