Headed by Valerie Amos, the government’s investigation into the maternity care scandal will focus on 14 Trusts.
Maternity care in Britain has become nothing short of a scandal. Healthcare Today has consistently highlighted the issue of maternity safety, such as maternity services at Swansea Bay University Health Board and those at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
At the beginning of September, a report from the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) reiterated that challenges in maternity and neonatal safety are the result of systemic issues at a national level, rather than isolated issues within local areas.
As Charlie Massey, chief executive of the GMC, pointed out in a speech in mid-September: “That doctors are making life or death decisions in environments where they feel fearful to speak up is profoundly concerning. Those are the very factors that lead to cover-up over candour, and obfuscation over honesty. And it is in those cultures that the greatest patient harm occurs.”
Announced in June by health and social care secretary Wes Streeting, and headed by Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos, 14 hospital trusts are to be looked at as part of a rapid, independent, national investigation into maternity and neonatal services.
The government says that terms of reference have been developed to focus on understanding the experiences of affected women and families, identifying lessons learned and driving the improvements needed to ensure high-quality and safe maternity and neonatal care across England.
“Every single preventable tragedy is one too many. Harmed and bereaved families will be right at the heart of this investigation to ensure no one has to suffer like this again,” said Streeting.
Improvements across services
The 14 trusts announced have been chosen for investigation based on a range of factors. These include data and metrics, such as the Care Quality Commission maternity patient survey and MBRRACE-UK perinatal mortality rates, as well as criteria to determine a diverse mix of trusts.
The 14 NHS trusts are Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust; Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust; East Kent Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust; Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust; Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust; The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust; The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust; University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust; University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust; University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust; and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust / Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.
“Our aims are to ensure the lived experiences of affected families are fully heard, to conduct and publish 14 local investigations of maternity and neonatal services, and to develop recommendations informed by these that will drive improvements across maternity and neonatal services nationwide,” said Amos.
Following its conclusion, Amos will deliver one set of national recommendations to achieve consistently high-quality, safe maternity and neonatal care, with interim recommendations delivered in December.
