Maternity Failings in the NHS

When having a baby, you place so much trust and reliance on the maternity services to give you the care that you need and to ensure that you and your baby are safe. The last thing that a parent to be wants to hear is that maternity services have been found to be inadequate but sadly, in spite of failings at a number of maternity units being widely reported, such as in respect of the units in Shrewsbury and Telford and in Hull, the issues appear to be becoming more widespread. As far back as 2020 we were highlighting the failings in East Kent hospitals in their maternity and neonatal services.

It would have been hoped that positive change would have followed the investigations into the maternity units but the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has warned that the failings are more widespread than previously thought. Nicola Wise, CQC’s Director of Secondary and Specialist Care, advised that “failings uncovered in recent high-profile investigations are not isolated to just a handful of individual trusts”.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) Review

The recent review by the CQC of 131 inspections found common issues with the quality and safety of NHS maternity services, with almost half (48%) rated as inadequate or requiring improvement. Only 4% were classed as outstanding and 48% were rated as good. It unfortunately appears that there is a developing trend of inadequate maternity care becoming the norm, rather than the exception.

These statistics are incredibly alarming and frankly not good enough, as it is women and their children who are paying the price for the failings in maternity services. Our medical negligence team have assisted numerous mothers and children in respect of avoidable harm sustained during and following childbirth; this includes tragic cases involving catastrophic injuries requiring lifelong care and support and cases involving death.

Women and their children deserve to receive care of an appropriate standard and for it to be strived for childbirth to be a positive experience. The health secretary, Wes Streeting, agrees, referring to the findings as being a “cause for national shame”.

Lord Darzi Highlights “Urgent Improvement” Needed

Urgent improvement is needed across the NHS, as was recently highlighted in the report of Lord Darzi, but it is clear that a significant overhaul of maternity care needs to prioritised and supported by the government. The hope is that the review will trigger change but this remains to be seen, as Gill Walton, of the Royal College of Midwives, has pointed out there had been multiple reports like this over the past decade and “Despite these recurrent themes, nothing has fundamentally changed”.

Our experienced Medical Negligence team are here to support to families who have been affected by failings in maternity care; we truly care and are determined to fight for justice for those who have been let down. Please feel free to contact us on 01482 323697 for a no-obligation discussion as to how we can help.