Yesterday, the UK took a decisive step toward improving maternity care. Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a national investigation into NHS maternity services, prompted by repeated system failures and heartbreaking stories shared by bereaved families.
High-profile maternity scandals in Shrewsbury & Telford, East Kent, Nottingham and Morecambe Bay have exposed how systemic failures led to preventable deaths of babies and mothers over the past two decades due to substandard care.
Beyond these, many Trusts rated as poor or inadequate showed issues like delays, insufficient equipment and inconsistent triage – issues the CQC warned might be becoming “normalised”.
Wes Streeting set out a clear plan:
- Launch a rapid review of the worst-performing services – up to 10 maternity units (including Leeds, Sussex, Gloucester and Mid and South Essex) – to identify failings and demand accountability, aiming for a report by Christmas 2025.
The report will include actionable recommendations and accountability measures.
- Establish a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chased by Mr Streeting, bringing together experts and affected families to oversee improvements.
The taskforce’s aim is to develop a nationwide improvement strategy, ensuring that insights from local scandals are turned into national standards.
- Examine inequalities in maternity care: black babies are twice as likely to be stillborn and black woman 2 to 3 times more likely to die in childbirth, compared to their white counterparts.
Focus on better understanding and improving care to tackle inequalities in maternity care.
Mr Streeting described the maternity tragedies as a “cause for national shame” that “keeps me awake at night” and went on to say “what they have experienced is devastating – deeply painful stories of trauma, loss and a lack of basic compassion – caused by failures in NHS maternity care that should never have happened. Their bravery in speaking out has made it clear: we must act – and we must act now.”
Hannah Carr, Legal Director and Specialist Medical Negligence from MDS, said “Whilst this investigation signals a long-overdue shift, it remains to be seen whether there is a real and sustained commitment to tackling systemic problems and transforming maternity care for good. For families affected – or those worried about the safety and compassion of maternity services – this represents both hope and accountability.”
