NHS maternity services in England need a radical overhaul, the government has admitted, after a damning independent inquiry found women and babies were being failed “on a scale that shames our society”.
The rapid review by Baroness Valerie Amos concluded that “unacceptable racism and discrimination” is embedded throughout the system, with too many women not being “listened to, heard or believed”. Speaking in the House of Commons, Health Secretary James Murray said the report painted a “bleak picture” of failings spanning pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal care. “Too often families have been sneered at, disbelieved, blamed and lied to,” he said. “We know from review after review that wrongdoing is being covered up and that bullying towards staff who try to sound the alarm is rife.”
“Damning report finds racism embedded in NHS maternity care; government pledges 1,000 new midwifery posts.”
In response, Murray announced that new national standards for emergency maternity care would be published this week, alongside plans to create 1,000 temporary midwifery posts this year. An extra £41m will also be made available to upgrade “rundown” maternity and neonatal facilities.
But one of the report’s key recommendations – the creation of a maternity commissioner to oversee improvements – was strongly criticised by some families. Emily Barley, whose daughter Beatrice died at Barnsley hospital in 2022, told the BBC the idea was “fundamentally dangerous” and placed too much power in the hands of one person. Other groups representing families reacted with disappointment. The Birth Trauma Association described the report as a “huge missed opportunity”, saying the views of staff were given too much weight compared to the experiences of patients. “It is devastating to see that so little of what women told Baroness Amos is reflected,” said chief executive Dr Kim Thomas, noting that injuries caused by forceps deliveries and the impact of post-traumatic stress on women and their partners were not mentioned.
Maternity investigator Donna Ockenden, who led a recent investigation into failings in Nottingham, played down suggestions she could take on the commissioner role, given she has also been appointed to chair upcoming reviews into maternity services in Leeds and Sussex. “I’m not really convinced that one person can take on the system. I think it needs now something bigger than that,” she told the BBC. “I wouldn’t be prepared to take on a job and do it half-baked or badly.”
Murray, who was unable to confirm a timeline for appointing the commissioner, told BBC Breakfast his team would “move as quickly as we can” to make it happen. The report was ordered by then health secretary Wes Streeting last summer.