Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced a major investigation into failures in NHS maternity care after meeting with families devastated by baby loss.
The Department of Health said the rapid inquiry would expose the ‘truth’ for those who have suffered from systemic problems dating back more than 15 years.
It comes after a series of independent reviews into local trusts that have exposed issues with leadership, safety concerns, and the failure to listen to women.
The two-part national investigation, modelled on the highly critical Darzi report on the wider NHS, will report back to the Health Secretary by December this year.
Streeting said: ‘I know nobody wants better for women and babies than the thousands of NHS midwives, obstetricians, maternity and neonatal staff, and that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but it’s clear something is going wrong.
‘That’s why I’ve ordered a rapid national investigation to make sure these families get the truth and the accountability they deserve, and ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again.
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‘I want staff to come with us on this, to improve things for everyone.’
He added that ‘immediate steps’ would be taken to allow greater intervention by Streeting and NHS England Chief Executive Sir Jim Mackey to ‘hold failing services to account’.
The Liberal Democrats accused the government of ‘merely paying lip service to maternity safety’ with the investigation.
Lib Dem health spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said ministers were ‘slashing ringfenced funding and allowing the Ockenden Review’s recommendations to be kicked into the long grass’.
What will the maternity investigation look into?
The investigation will be split into two parts, with the first looking into up to 10 of the ‘most concerning’ maternity and neonatal units in England.
They include Sussex, where nine babies died between 2021 and 2023. Their families, including four mothers who said they almost also lost their lives, called for a public inquiry in a letter last year.
Leeds, Gloucester and Mid and South Essex will also be included in the first part of the investigation.
The second part will then involve a system-wide look at how care can be improved across every NHS maternity service.
Other areas of focus will include the inequalities faced by women from black, Asian and deprived backgrounds, as well as a lack of compassionate care and safety concerns.
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