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Families affected by maternity care failures who have been calling for a statutory national public inquiry into England’s maternity care have been left disappointed as Health Secretary Wes Streeting recently announced a rapid review of maternity cases at fourteen NHS trusts instead.

Our expert solicitors explain the impact of medical negligence in maternity care and outline your rights during childbirth.

Whilst many women in the UK have a positive experience of birth, resulting in a healthy baby, this is not always the case. Pregnant women should have access to quality and consistency of care in maternity units throughout their pregnancy and across the country, it should not be a post code lottery as to the quality of care women receive. But, in recent years there have been a number of major investigations into failings in maternity care at specific NHS trusts.

Earlier this week, the BBC’s Panorama Programme entitled ‘Midwives Under Pressure’ detailed how a maternity care crisis at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust is putting women and babies at risk.

Unfortunately, there are still concerns about the state of the UK’s maternity services. This week, The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated two out of three maternity services, which are run by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, as requiring improvement. This follows inspections earlier this year to assess whether they were well-led by managers and safe for mothers and babies.

In May last year Donna Ockenden was appointed as Chair of an independent review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUHT) after significant concerns were raised regarding the quality and safety of its maternity services.