On 23 June 2025, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a landmark national inquiry into maternity and neonatal care across England. This decision follows years of mounting evidence and heartbreaking testimonies from families who have suffered avoidable harm due to failings in NHS maternity services.
At Nelsons, we represent individuals and families affected by clinical negligence, and we welcome this long-overdue investigation. If you or a loved one has experienced poor maternity care, this inquiry is important to those seeking justice and accountability.
Why this inquiry matters
When making the announcement early this week, Streeting apologised on behalf of the NHS to those who have suffered harm and confirmed the inquiry will ensure victims of maternity scandals are given a voice into how the inquiry is run.
This is a rapid inquiry that will be conducted in two phases:
1. Urgent review of the worst-performing units
Up to 10 maternity and neonatal units will be urgently investigated, including University Hospitals Sussex and Leeds Teaching Hospitals. These reviews aim to provide swift answers to affected families.
2. System-wide reform
The second phase will examine maternity care across the NHS, drawing lessons from past scandals to implement national improvements. A key focus will be addressing inequalities in care, particularly for Black, Asian, and underserved communities, who face disproportionately high maternal mortality rates.
The inquiry will begin this summer with reporting due to be completed by December 2025.
A history of failures
This inquiry follows a decade of critical reports into maternity services at several NHS trusts, including:
- University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (2004–2013): A dysfunctional culture, with substandard clinical skills, ineffective assessments, and repeated failures to properly investigate cases and learn lessons, led to unnecessary deaths.
- Shrewsbury & Telford NHS Trust (2022): Over 200 mothers and babies could have survived with better care.
- East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust (2022): At least 45 babies might have lived with proper treatment.
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (ongoing): The largest review yet, examining around 2,500 cases.
What this means for you
If you’ve experienced trauma, loss, or harm due to maternity care, this inquiry may validate your experience and offer a path to justice. The Government has committed to involving victims in shaping the inquiry, ensuring that families have a voice. However, as can be seen from continuing issues, previous recommendations have often gone unimplemented. There are concerns that the inquiry is limited only to England, whereas it should be UK-wide.
How can we help?
Carolle White is a Legal Director and Chartered Legal Executive in our expert Medical Negligence team, which is ranked in Tier One by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500, and Commended in The Times Best Law Firms 2025. Carolle specialises in high-value and complex medical negligence cases and inquests.
If you require any advice in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, please do not hesitate to contact Carolle or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
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