- 14 Trusts part of rapid national investigation of maternity and newborn baby care across England
- Investigation to make recommendations to urgently improve care and safety in maternity and neonatal care
- Selected hospital trusts, scope and aims finalised with input from bereaved and harmed families
The 14 hospital trusts to be looked at as part of a rapid, independent, national investigation into maternity and neonatal services have been named today.
Baroness Amos’ investigation will put families at the heart of the work and affected families were asked to provide input to the draft terms of reference of the investigation.
The 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.
The investigation was announced in June 2025 by Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting after the government inherited systemic problems in maternity and neonatal care dating back over 15 years.
It comes alongside a package of immediate actions to improve care, including greater intervention by the Secretary of State and NHS Chief Executive to hold failing trusts to account – a key step in delivering the government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future through the Plan for Change.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said
Bereaved families have shown extraordinary courage in coming forward to help inform this rapid national investigation alongside Baroness Amos.
What they have experienced is devastating, and their strength will help protect other families from enduring what they have been through.
I know that NHS maternity and neonatal workers want the best for these mothers and babies, and that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but I cannot turn a blind eye to failures in the system.
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.
The investigation will urgently look at a range of services across the entire maternity system, following independent reviews across multiple trusts that have revealed a pattern of similar failings women’s voices ignored, safety concerns overlooked, and poor leadership creating toxic cultures.
The Health and Social Care Secretary and Baroness Amos have agreed the terms of reference of the independent investigation, which will include understanding the lived experiences of families, reviewing the quality and safety of services, identifying the drivers and impact of inequalities and identifying barriers to making improvements.
Following its conclusion, she will deliver one clear set of national recommendation to achieve consistently high-quality, safe maternity and neonatal care, with interim recommendations delivered in December 2025.
Baroness Valerie Amos said
It is vital that the voices of mothers and families are at the heart of this investigation from the very beginning.
Their experiences – including those of fathers and non-birthing partners – will guide our work and shape the national recommendations we will publish. We will pay particular attention to the inequalities faced by Black and Asian women and by families from marginalised groups, whose voices have too often been overlooked.
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.
The 14 trusts announced today have been chosen for investigation based on a range of factors. These include data and metrics, such as the CQC maternity patient survey and MBRRACE-UK perinatal mortality rates, as well as criteria to determine a diverse mix of trusts
- Variation in case mix
- Trust type
- Geographic coverage
- Provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, including consideration of social, economic and racial inequalities
- Family feedback
- Three trusts – Shrewsbury and Telford, East Kent Hospitals and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay – have been chosen where previous investigations have taken place and learnings from these will be incorporated in this new investigation.
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
- Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust / Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for England said
This independent investigation is a crucial step in driving meaningful change in maternity and neonatal care, and the diverse range of trusts selected – including where previous investigations have taken place to incorporate learnings– will provide valuable insight to help teams across the country improve care for women, babies and families.
I want to reassure women and families that staff are continuing to work hard to provide the best possible care and want to do everything they can to support them – we would encourage them talk to their midwives and maternity teams if they have any concerns.
The investigation will run alongside a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce – set up and chaired by the Health and Social Care Secretary and made up of a panel of esteemed experts and families – to keep up momentum and deliver change.
This will address several issues facing maternity care in England – including the devastating inequalities facing women from Black, Asian and deprived backgrounds face, and wider concerns over a lack of compassionate care and safety.
NOTES TO EDITORS
