Fourteen NHS trusts to be investigated over maternity 'failures'

Fourteen infirmary trusts are acceptable to beryllium examined arsenic portion of a nationalist probe into the "failures" of NHS maternity and neonatal services.

Baroness Amos volition pb an probe that volition consult with bereaved families to thrust improvements to England's maternity care.

New information shows harm to mothers and their babies is astatine hazard of being normalised owed to a "toxic" civilization of "cover-up" wrong the wellness service.

The wellness caput antecedently announced the "rapid" nationalist probe into NHS maternity services, vowing to analyse 10 trusts - this has present been expanded to 14.

Among the trusts is Oxford University Hospitals Trust, wherever more than 500 families assertion to person suffered harm.

Campaign co-founder Rebecca Matthews said the group, Families Failed by OUH Maternity Services, was "pleased and relieved" to beryllium included.

"For 15 months, our inbox has been flooded with stories of shockingly mediocre and negligent attraction astatine OUH," she said.

"These see accounts of stillbirth, of babies with encephalon injuries and women with long-lasting carnal and intelligence injuries arsenic a effect of failings successful the maternity attraction they received."

She added: "The spot has escaped scrutiny for excessively long. Now, finally, we anticipation it volition beryllium held accountable."

Baroness Amos said "it is vital" that the experiences of mothers and affected families are astatine the bosom of the probe from its "very beginning" and are "fully heard".

She said: "Their experiences - including those of fathers and non-birthing partners - volition usher our enactment and signifier the nationalist recommendations we volition publish.

"We volition wage peculiar attraction to the inequalities faced by achromatic and Asian women and by families from marginalised groups, whose voices person excessively often been overlooked."

Review 'will not scratch the surface'

But a connection from the Bereaved and Harmed Families successful Leeds said the reappraisal "will not scratch the work of the frontline attraction failings astatine Leeds maternity, fto unsocial get anyplace adjacent a civilization that incubates these practices, oregon the enactment and radical that let these unspeakable cultures to perpetuate".

The Royal College of Midwives (RCN) said it is imperative the "investigation gets underway astatine pace".

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"It is captious this enactment gets nether mode rapidly truthful that the families who person suffered unimaginable harm get the answers they request and hard-pressed maternity unit get the enactment and concern they've been calling for," said main enforcement Gill Walton.

She added: "It should not beryllium the lawsuit that, successful 21st period Britain, achromatic and Asian women are disproportionately much apt to dice during childbirth oregon soon after, oregon that their babies are much apt to person poorer outcomes."