Families impacted by failures in maternity services, are voicing their concerns about the proposed review panel for a national inquiry into maternity care, as they believe many who have been suggested are not independent of the NHS.
Lead of the rapid review announced
It has been announced that the former diplomat, Baroness Valerie Amos, has been chosen to lead a rapid review of maternity care in England.
Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, said that Baroness Amos brings “a wealth of experience through her senior leadership roles in national and international organisations.”
Concerns as to a review lacking independence
However, other members of the panel, who will support Baroness Amos with the review, have not been named amid significant concern from some families that those proposed are not independent of the NHS. Some families have contacted Mr Streeting in recent weeks, expressing reservations about who the Department of Health and Social Care had proposed to sit on the panel.
Mr Streeting said that more work was needed on appointing the panel of experts to support Baroness Amos, as well as on the terms of reference for the review.
Families impacted by maternity service failings in both Leeds and Sussex have repeatedly asked for a senior midwife, who is currently leading a review into maternity care in Nottingham, to lead their inquiries. No decision has been made on this.
Furthermore, there is no confirmation as to which Trusts will fall under the remit of the review as yet.
National inquiry
In June, Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, announced a national investigation into maternity care in England.
The “rapid” enquiry will urgently look at the worst-performing maternity and neonatal services in the country amidst a series of maternity scandals at some NHS trusts in the UK over recent years.
The review is due to start this summer, with the resulting report thought to be due back by December 2025.
Mr Streeting said the review would involve the victims of maternity scandals, giving families a voice into how the inquiry is run, and said he wants to ensure “no parent or baby is ever let down again”.
“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,”
Mr Streeting said.
He went on:
“For the past year, I have been meeting bereaved families from across the country who have lost babies or suffered serious harm during what should have been the most joyful time in their lives.
“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.”
Urgent review
The investigation will consist of two parts:
1. An urgent review of up to 10 of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units, to give affected families answers as quickly as possible.
2. A system-wide look at maternity and neonatal care, bringing together lessons from past inquiries to create a national set of actions to improve care across every NHS maternity service.
A decade of critical reports into maternity care
This national inquiry follows a series of critical reports into maternity care over the past decade. These include:
- University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust: In 2015, an investigation found mothers and babies died unnecessarily at the Trust between 2004 and 2013.
- Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust: In 2022, an investigation into services at the Trust found that more than 200 mothers and babies could have survived with better care.
- East Kent Hospitals University Hospitals NHS Trust: Also in 2022, a review into maternity services at the Trust found that at least 45 babies might have survived if they had been given proper treatment.
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust: The Trust is subject to an ongoing review into their maternity services; the biggest review yet with around 2,500 cases being examined.
- In 2024, the Care Quality Commission conducted an annual review of maternity units and not one of the 131 inspected was given the ‘outstanding’ rating for providing safe care.
Comment
The independence of any national inquiry is fundamental to its credibility and impact.
Families affected by maternity care failings deserve full confidence that those leading and supporting the review are free from institutional bias.
Transparency around panel appointments and the scope of the review is essential if we are to restore trust and deliver meaningful change.
What is most important here is that families feel that they are being heard and that the inquiry is fair, robust, and accountable. Otherwise, how can they ever trust and accept the outcome?
It is therefore imperative that their concerns are considered, and the panel carefully considered them accordingly.
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Danielle Young is a Partner in our Medical Negligence team, which has been ranked in tier one by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500. She specialises in pregnancy and birth injury claims (including cerebral palsy), brain injury claims, fatal claims, surgical error claims, and cauda equina injury claims.
If you have any questions in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, then please get in touch with Danielle or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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