Fourteen NHS trusts are to have their maternity services examined over what has been described as “failures in the system”, the government has said.The inquiries are part of a rapid review of maternity care in England that was announced in June.Health Secretary Wes Streeting said bereaved families had shown “extraordinary courage” in coming forward with issues dating back more than 15 years.Some of the families have severely criticised the review and Streeting’s handling of it, describing the investigation as “not fit for purpose”.The NHS trusts that will be examined are:Blackpool Teaching Hospitals Bradford Teaching HospitalsUniversity Hospitals of Leicester Leeds Teaching HospitalsSandwell and West Birmingham Gloucestershire HospitalsYeovil District Hospital Oxford University HospitalUniversity Hospitals Sussex Barking, Havering and Redbridge University HospitalsQueen Elizabeth, Kings Lynn University Hospitals of Morecambe BayEast Kent Hospitals Shrewsbury and Telford HospitalBaroness Amos, who will chair the review, said she was committed to ensuring families affected by maternity care failures were heard and that the 14 investigations would lead to improvements nationwide.She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that she hoped the review would help families “get the justice that they want and that they deserve”.She added that the current situation – in which trusts had been investigated already and “hundreds” of recommendations made, yet fresh reviews were required – was “completely unacceptable”.Improved maternity care may have prevented the deaths of over 800 babies lives in 2022-23, according to research by the baby loss charities Sands and Tommy’s.Streeting opted for the rapid review instead of a national inquiry into maternity care, which many families have been calling for. The review was due to be completed by December, but will now not report until Spring 2026. Baroness Amos says she will aim to produce interim findings around Christmas.The review will examine the experience of families and staff within England’s struggling maternity services and investigate why the recommendations from previous maternity inquiries in Morecambe Bay, East Kent, and Shrewsbury and Telford have not led to sustained improvements.Past inquiries have revealed issues including ignoring women’s voices, poor leadership, a failure to lea …
