This week families from across England who form part of the Maternity Safety Alliance, a group set up by bereaved parents and maternity campaigners, met with Health Secretary Wes Streeting urging him to hold a national inquiry into maternity safety. Mr Streeting had previously indicated that he would not hold a national inquiry, instead planning to adopt measures such as an improvement taskforce led by non-NHS officials, a buddying system between poorly performing and better trusts, and a restorative justice approach where hospitals and families would meet and vow to be open and honest.
However, following the meeting yesterday the families involved felt that they “got a very clear message” that Mr Streeting had listened to their concerns and was considering a national approach. The Maternity Safety Alliance has been instrumental in keeping pressure on the government to address these systemic issues.
Ongoing Investigations Reveal Widespread Concerns
Maternity safety has been squarely in the news since Labour won the general election in July 2024, with groups including the Maternity Safety Alliance and other campaigners looking to the new Health Secretary to set out clear plans on how this government plans to change the direction of maternity care. Independent reviews into maternity safety have already taken place at trusts across the country including University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Foundation Trust, and East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust where serious concerns were raised over the safety of maternity care. Investigations are currently underway probing into care at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and NHS Trust and Swansea Bay University Health Board with a call for an inquiry into maternity services at The Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust. Whilst not yet complete, the investigation into care in Nottingham has already raised significant controversy after Nottinghamshire police launched an investigation into the temporary loss of a data file containing details of hundreds of maternity cases finding that it was most likely deleted “intentionally or maliciously”.
Government Response: New Programmes and Funding Changes
Since the new government took over some changes have already been announced including a roll out of the Avoiding Brain Injury in Childbirth (ABC) programme, which is an extension of a pilot scheme launched across 12 maternity units in England in October 2024. The programme aims to train maternity staff to better identify that a baby is in distress during labour so they can act quickly and to respond more effectively to obstetric emergencies to reduce the incidence of brain injury and cerebral palsy, stillbirth and neonatal death.
Alongside this step, which was largely welcomed, analysis of NHS funding carried out by the Health Service Journal showed that ring-fenced funds for maternity services will fall from £95 million in 2024-2025 to £2million in 2025-2026. £22 million of these funds were designed to expand the workforce and implement safety improvements in response to Donna Ockenden’s report into maternity care failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Integrated Care Boards are now able to decide how to spend the remaining funds, with no requirement that any of the funds are allocated to maternity care, in a move designed to give local systems more flexibility on how their money should be spent.
Expert Analysis: The Need for National Action
The concerns raised by the Maternity Safety Alliance echo findings from multiple independent reviews and expert analysis.
Helen Hammond, maternity care specialist, comments: “There have been numerous reports into maternity safety across the country over the last 10 years, all setting out broadly the same themes about what needs to change to make maternity care safer for parents and babies. We know that a significant proportion of maternity units are rated as inadequate or requiring improvement by the CQC and the recent MBRRACE-UK report highlighted ongoing disparity in outcomes with babies much more likely to be stillborn if they are from a deprived area, or from non-white parents, especially Black or Asian. The problems in maternity care are longstanding and need a joined up, national approach to ensure the safety, trust and confidence of future generations.”
Support for Families Affected by Poor Maternity Care
At CL Medilaw, our national team of birth and maternity injury lawyers is dedicated to advocating for families who have had a traumatic birth experience. For more information about how we can support families through birth injuries, please visit our dedicated birth injury page.
If you require legal advice following a traumatic birth, please contact us today to arrange a no-obligation consultation.
