National investigation launched into ‘failing' NHS maternity services as Wes Streeting apologises to ‘gaslit' families
HEALTH Secretary Wes Streeting has ordered a rapid investigation into NHS maternity care, stating 'it's clear something is going wrong' at mum and baby units across England.
He made the call after meeting with parents whose infants died or were seriously injured due to hospital failings.
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The review will begin with the worst performing maternity services in England and then look at the country as a whole, with a report due to be published in December.
Mr Streeting said grieving families had been 'gaslit lied to, manipulated and damaged further' in their search for the truth due to trusts refusing to admit to failures in care.
"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," he said.
'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."
Though "the vast majority of births are safe and without incident", the Health Secretary said "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," Mr Streeting stated.
He pledged to do "everything in [his] power" to prevent more families from suffering due to maternity service failings.
The investigation will begin probing up to 10 of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units in the coming weeks to give affected families answers as quickly as possible, according to the Department of Health.
This will include trusts in Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, with the other areas to be confirmed 'shortly'.
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Mr Streeting added he'd be ordering investigations into individual cases of families in Leeds and Sussex who suffered from NHS failures.
The second part of the investigation will be a 'system-wide' look at maternity and neonatal care.
It aims to bring together lessons from past maternity inquiries - of which there have been many - to create one 'clear set of actions' improve NHS care at a national level.
A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Mr Streeting, has also been set up, made up of experts and bereaved families.
Meanwhile, a new digital system will be rolled out to all maternity services by November to flag potential safety concerns in trusts, and an anti-discrimination programme to tackle inequalities is being launched.
Mr Streeting told the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) conference in London: 'Over the last year, I've been wrestling with how we tackle problems in maternity and neonatal units, and I've come to the realisation that while there is action we can take now, we have to acknowledge that this has become systemic.
'It's not just a few bad units. Up and down the country, maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing.
'There's too much obfuscation, too much passing the buck and giving lip service.'
What was the 'biggest NHS maternity scandal'?
Some 201 babies and nine mothers needlessly died in the biggest maternity scandal in NHS history, at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
An inquiry by top midwife Donna Ockenden found a litany of devastating errors, with the findings revealed in March 2022.
It found maternity units were short-staffed for years and bosses refused to take responsibility for mistakes.
Alongside the tragic deaths, 94 babies suffered life-changing brain injuries as a result of 'catastrophic' care.
Nearly 1,500 families were devastated by death, injury and disability.
The report looked at more than 1,800 complaints at the Midlands hospitals, with most from between 2000 and 2019.
It found 40 per cent of stillbirths had not been investigated by the trust, similarly with 43 per cent of neonatal deaths.
It led staff members to come forward and paint a picture of a "clique with a culture of undermining and bullying", where concerns were ignored by bosses.
The investigation found an obsession with keeping caesarean section rates low and promoting "natural births" needlessly cost lives.
Some women were even blamed for their own deaths, while major incidents were "inappropriately downgraded" to avoid scrutiny. Patient concerns were dismissed.
The "toxic culture" was left unchecked for more than two decades.
Ms Ockenden warned the failings identified by her report were "not unique" and called for all maternity units in England to be overhauled.
The Health Secretary said "appalling" maternity care scandals had come to light over the last 15 years and that "the rate of late maternal deaths has been consistently rising".
'Too many children have died because of state failure and I will not allow it to continue under my watch," he stated.
Mr Streeting apologised on behalf of the NHS, after meeting families around the country whose children have died or been injured.
He said: 'I want to say publicly how sorry I am, sorry for what the NHS has put them through, sorry for the way they've been treated since by the state and sorry that we haven't put this right yet, because these families are owed more than an apology.
"They're owed change, they're owed accountability and they're owed the truth.'
The Health Secretary stopped short of launching a statutory public inquiry - despite it being the wish of some bereaved families - explaining that "rapid investigation" would get answers to families faster.
But he said he would keep 'that option open'.
Asked about the cost of the review, Mr Streeting said: 'I suspect it will be somewhat less than the enormous costs we pay in clinical negligence claims.
'Probably the most shocking statistic in this area is that we are paying out more in clinical negligence for maternity failures than we are spending on maternity services. That's how bad things are."
He described the cost of the report as "a drop in the ocean compared to the price of failure".
'A line in the sand'
Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said: 'Despite the hard work of staff, too many women are experiencing unacceptable maternity care and families continue to be let down by the NHS when they need us most.
'This rapid national investigation must mark a line in the sand for maternity care – setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high quality care for all.
'Transparency will be key to understanding variation and fixing poor care – by shining a spotlight on the areas of greatest failure we can hold failing trusts to account.
'Each year, over half a million babies are born under our care and maternity safety rightly impacts public trust in the NHS – so we must act immediately to improve outcomes for the benefit of mothers, babies, families and staff.'
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said maternity services are 'at, or even beyond, breaking point'.
RCM chief executive Gill Walton said: 'Every woman and family should leave maternity and neonatal services whole, happy and healthy.
'Yet we know that, for far too many, that isn't their experience.
'Systemic failings and a lack of attention to the warning signs have let those families down and let down the hardworking staff who are trying so hard to provide the care they deserve.
'Everyone involved in maternity services: the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families in their care; knows that maternity services are at, or even beyond, breaking point.
'This renewed focus and commitment by the Health Secretary to deliver change is welcome, and we will do everything we can to support him in doing so.'
Professor Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: 'The maternity workforce is on its knees, with many now leaving the profession.'
She said that 'for years, maternity units have had too few staff, too little time for training and lacked modern equipment and facilities, resulting in women and babies being harmed.'
She urged the Government to 'not to lose sight of funding and workforce shortages within this'.
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