National maternity investigation launched to drive improvements

A rapid national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services has been ordered by Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting. This is to provide truth and accountability for impacted families and drive urgent improvements to care and safety, addressing systemic problems dating back over 15 years.

The investigation will urgently look at the worst-performing services in the country but also across the entire maternity system, bringing together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of actions to ensure every woman and baby receives safe, high quality and compassionate care.

Crucially, it will be co-produced with clinicians, experts and parents all feeding in, following a series of private meetings last week between the Secretary of State and families who have been harmed or bereaved by failures in their care. It will begin its work this summer and report back by December 2025.

The investigation comes alongside a package of immediate actions to improve care, including greater intervention by the Secretary of State and NHS Chief Executive to hold failing trusts to account - a key step in delivering the government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future through the Plan for Change.

Streeting says: “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.

“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. I want staff to come with us on this, to improve things for everyone. We are also taking immediate steps to hold failing services to account and give staff the tools they need to deliver the kind, safe, respectful care every family deserves.”

The investigation will consist of two parts. The first will urgently investigate up to 10 of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units, including Sussex, to give affected families answers as quickly as possible.

The second will undertake a system-wide look at maternity and neonatal care, bringing together lessons from past inquiries to create one clear, national set of actions to improve care across every NHS maternity service.

The government is also establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to be made up of a panel of experts and bereaved families.

Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for NHS England, comments: “Through this rapid investigation and the immediate actions announced today, we are determined to transform services so that every family receives safe, personalised and dignified care at one of the most significant and vulnerable times in their lives.

“We know we have significant issues to address concerning safety and culture within maternity and neonatal services, and Black and Asian women and those in deprived areas still face worse outcomes, so we must redouble our efforts to improve care for all.”