Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said “we must act now” as he announced a national investigation into maternity care in England.The “rapid” inquiry will urgently look at the worst-performing maternity and neonatal services in the country, including Leeds, Sussex, Gloucester, and Mid and South Essex.Streeting has met parents who have lost babies in a series of maternity scandals at some NHS trusts and said the investigation would “make sure these families get the truth and the accountability they deserve”. It will begin this summer and report back by December 2025.Making the announcement on Monday, Streeting apologised on behalf of the NHS to those families who had suffered avoidable harm.It comes after a series of maternity scandals, such as Morecambe Bay, East Kent, Shrewsbury and Telford and Nottingham, which BBC News has reported on extensively.Streeting said the review would involve the victims of maternity scandals, giving families a voice into how the inquiry is run.He said he wants to ensure “no parent or baby is ever let down again”.”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,” he said.”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 dev …
