Government promises to act on maternity care failings which ‘shame our society’
NHS maternity services in England need a radical overhaul, the government has said, after a damning report found it was failing women and babies “at levels that put our society to shame”.
Baroness Valerie Amos’ rapid review found that too many women were “not listened to, heard or believed”, while racism and discrimination were “embedded throughout the system”.
Health Secretary James Murray said new national standards for emergency maternity care will be published this week, along with plans to create 1,000 temporary midwifery positions.
But another of the report’s key recommendations – creating a maternity commissioner to oversee improvements – was strongly criticized by some families.
Emily Barley, whose daughter Beatrice died in Barnsley hospital in 2022, told the BBC the idea was “fundamentally dangerous” and put too much power in the hands of one person.
Other groups representing families reacted with disappointment to the report. It was ordered last summer by then health minister Wes Streeting, external.
The Birth Trauma Association described this as a “major missed opportunity” as staff opinions were given too much weight over patients’ experiences.
Chief executive Dr Kim Thomas said: “It is devastating to see so little of what women said to Baroness Amos reflected.”
She said there was no mention of injuries caused by forceps birth and the impact of post-traumatic stress on women and their partners.
Speaking in the House of Commons, James Murray said the report painted a “gloomy picture” of failings in maternity services covering pregnancy, birth and post-natal care.
“Families are often belittled, disbelieved, blamed and lied to,” he said.
“We know from review after review that there was a cover-up of wrongdoing and that bullying of staff who tried to raise the alarm was rife.”
Murray said new temporary midwife posts will be created this year and an additional £41 million will also be provided to improve “devastated” maternity and neonatal facilities.
But he could not confirm a timetable for the appointment of a new national maternity commissioner and told BBC Breakfast his team would “move as quickly as possible” to make this happen.
Previously, obstetric inspector Donna Ockenden, who led a recent investigation into failings at Nottingham and was one of those recommended for the new role, suggested she might not take the job if offered.
“Maternity services have not improved in the last two years, and my concern now is: Can one person really fix this system?” he told Times Radio.
He said he was grateful to Baroness Amos for bringing together evidence from across the UK, but after reading the report he felt he had learned nothing new.
“I’m disappointed that we see the same themes over and over again,” he said. “What we need to do is take action and solve the problem.”
Another safety expert, Dr Dr, is investigating maternity services in Morecambe Bay and East Kent. Bill Kirkup resigned as one of Amos’ clinical advisors.
He appears to disagree with her finding that push for normal (vaginal) birth in some maternity units, including women’s refusal to have a caesarean section, is not widespread across the country.
