4 days ago
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A "rapid" nationalist probe into NHS maternity services has been launched by the government.
The announcement comes aft Health Secretary Wes Streeting met families who person mislaid babies and amid the ongoing investigations astatine immoderate NHS trusts into maternity attraction failings.
The probe successful England is intended to supply information to families suffering harm, arsenic good arsenic driving urgent improvements to attraction and safety, arsenic portion of efforts to guarantee "no genitor oregon babe is ever fto down again".
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The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) welcomed the government's announcement and said maternity services were "at, oregon adjacent beyond, breaking point".
Last week, the NHS regulator said maternity and neonatal services astatine two Leeds hospitals had been rated inadequate implicit information issues.
Mr Streeting, who was speaking astatine the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) league successful London, apologised connected behalf of the NHS for what families had been done and said it was "clear thing is going wrong".
He added: "For the past year, I person been gathering bereaved families from crossed the state who person mislaid babies oregon suffered superior harm during what should person been the astir joyful clip successful their lives.
"What they person experienced is devastating - profoundly achy stories of trauma, loss, and a deficiency of basal compassion - caused by failures successful NHS maternity attraction that should ne'er person happened.
"Their bravery successful speaking retired has made it clear: we indispensable enactment - and we indispensable enactment now."
Mr Streeting said families person had to "fight for information and justice" and had described being "ignored, gaslit, lied to, manipulated and damaged further by the inability for a spot to simply beryllium honorable with them that thing has gone wrong".
Health caput doesn't privation immoderate deaths connected his watch
This was a almighty code from the wellness caput who is intelligibly troubled by the scandalous authorities of maternity services successful this country.
Wes Streeting has spent the past twelvemonth gathering bereaved families who person been failed by the NHS.
He said helium "was kept up astatine night" aft listening to their harrowing testimonies.
Announcing a nationalist probe into NHS maternity services, this reappraisal is modelled connected the Darzi study into the NHS, commissioned by the wellness caput astir arsenic soon arsenic helium came into office.
It volition beryllium "rapid". The presumption of notation for the probe volition beryllium known by July. The existent study is expected to beryllium published by Christmas.
Mr Streeting accepts this is an ambitious timeline but is driven by the fearfulness that mothers and babies are inactive being failed and helium does not privation "any deaths connected his watch".
The probe volition dwell of 2 parts.
The archetypal volition analyse up to 10 of the astir concerning maternity and neonatal units, including Sussex, successful the coming weeks to springiness affected families answers arsenic rapidly arsenic possible, according to the Department of Health.
The 2nd volition beryllium a "system-wide" look astatine maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past inquiries to make 1 wide acceptable of actions designed to amended NHS care.
A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce volition beryllium chaired by Mr Streeting and made up of experts and bereaved families.
The probe volition statesman this summertime and study backmost by December.
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Sir Jim Mackey, main enforcement of NHS England, said: "This accelerated nationalist probe indispensable people a enactment successful the soil for maternity attraction - mounting retired 1 acceptable of wide actions for NHS leaders to guarantee precocious prime attraction for all."
Dr Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: "The maternity workforce is connected its knees, with galore present leaving the profession."
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RCM main enforcement Gill Walton said: "Everyone progressive successful maternity services - the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families successful their attraction - knows that maternity services are at, oregon adjacent beyond, breaking point.
"This renewed absorption and committedness by the wellness caput to present alteration is welcome, and we volition bash everything we tin to enactment him successful doing so."
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