NHS pregnancy scandal: Damning report finds HALF of wards ‘unsafe’ – as campaigners warn ‘countless lives are being torn apart forever’
Failures in maternity care in the NHS are so ‘widespread’ they risk becoming ‘normalised’, a damning report warned today.
As a major investigation found the serious care situation was “not isolated” from high-profile scandals such as those in East Kent, Shrewsbury and Telford, where hundreds of babies and mothers died or suffered avoidable harm, Wes Streeting described the situation as a “national disgrace”.
According to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), two-thirds of services ‘require improvement’ or are ‘inadequate’ for the safety of mothers and babies.
It was highlighted that many do not learn from their mistakes and choose to view incidents as ‘inevitable’ rather than taking accountability.
In an unprecedented move, the regulator called for “greater national action” and earmarked investment to address the shortages.
Health Minister Wes Streeting speaks at an Institute for Public Policy event on September 18
Mr Streeting described a report into the failings of NHS maternity services as a ‘national disgrace’ (Stock Image)
But activists say the recommendations do not go far enough, warning that “in the meantime, countless lives are being torn apart forever”.
Last night Mr Streeting promised to improve maternity care, stressing that the current situation keeps him awake at night with worry.
The Health Minister said: ‘These findings are a matter of national shame.
‘Women deserve better. Giving birth should not be something they fear or look back on with trauma.’
‘It is simply unacceptable that almost half of the maternity units assessed by the CQC are providing substandard care.’
Maternity care within the NHS has come under scrutiny following several high-profile investigations, including into the deaths of more than 200 babies at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and the inquiry into maternity care in East Kent.
Between August 2022 and December 2023, inspectors visited 131 homes as part of a national programme to reverse the trend.
The report blamed poor incident management, a lack of learning when things go wrong, a failure to ensure safe and timely assessment at triage, inadequate accommodation and access to essential equipment, a lack of oversight by trust boards and significant challenges in recruiting and retaining staff.
It concludes: ‘Without action, there is a risk that poor care and avoidable harm will become normalised. We cannot and must not allow that to happen.’
Last night Mr Streeting pledged to improve maternity care, insisting the current situation keeps him awake at night with worry (Stock Image)
Nearly half (48 percent) were rated ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’, while only four percent were rated ‘excellent’ and 48 percent ‘good’.
According to the CQC, maternity care safety remains a ‘key concern’, with no services rated ‘outstanding’, 47 per cent requiring improvement, 18 per cent rated ‘inadequate’ and only 35 per cent rated ‘good’.
Incidents are poorly managed and lessons are not learned, allowing serious harm to mothers to become normal, the report said.
Not all patients were assessed safely and in a timely manner during triage. Sometimes triage calls were not answered and some women discharged themselves before being seen by a midwife or doctor because the delays were so long.
Although complications such as postpartum haemorrhage are well recognised by obstetric staff, the ‘significant impact’ on women is often overlooked.
Some NHS complexes were described as ‘not fit for purpose’, lacking ‘the space and facilities and, in a small number of cases, the right amount of potentially life-saving equipment’.
There are also concerns about the way maternity care workers communicate and interact with women and their families.
A damning investigation found hundreds of preventable baby deaths and cases of brain damage in the maternity ward of the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (pictured)
More than 1,400 cases have been investigated at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (pictured), most of which occurred between 2000 and 2019
Nicola Wise, director of secondary and specialist care at the CQC, said: ‘While we have seen examples of good care and hardworking, compassionate staff doing their best, we are still concerned that there are significant issues which continue to impact on quality and safety.
“It is disappointing that none of these problems are new.”
The report makes a number of recommendations to NHS trusts, NHS England and integrated care boards, including better data collection and involving affected parents in any reviews of care.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) was also called upon to invest more in maternity care and to work with NHS England to ensure this is specifically addressed.
But James Titcombe, whose son Joshua was killed in 2008 and which could have been avoided, prompted the Morecambe Bay inquiry, saying it did not go far enough.
He told the Mail: ‘We urgently need a national process that looks at the system as a whole, including an honest analysis of why previous attempts to reform maternal safety have failed.
‘This work is urgently needed, otherwise the next 10-year plan for the NHS being developed by our new government risks being another missed opportunity for maternal safety, with the price of more avoidable tragedies and lives destroyed forever.’
James Titcombe (pictured) urged the government to take action, saying ‘the cost will be measured in more avoidable tragedies and lives destroyed forever’
His son Joshua Titcombe (pictured) died on November 5, 2008, nine days after he was born at Furness General Hospital in Cumbria, from pneumococcal septicaemia and a lung haemorrhage.
Kate Brintworth, head of midwifery at the NHS, admitted that many women and families are still left disappointed.
She said: ‘We know we need to do much more to improve standards of care and build on the improvements that have already been made. We will continue to provide intensive support to those hospitals that are most affected and encourage growth in the maternity workforce.’
