Hungry mothers and dirty wards - maternity care 'much worse' than anticipated, review chief says

According to a recent study, hungry mothers, dirty wards, and inadequate care are blighting England's maternity services, though staff are still suffering from death hazards while working in some units. Baroness Amos, who is leading a study into maternity care, said that what she has seen so far has been much worse than she had expected. Some women felt responsible for their baby's death, while others suffered from a lack of compassion, care, or apology when things went wrong, with homeless and black mothers often being at the end of discriminatory services.

The systemic failures that result in preventable tragedies cannot be ignored,

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who supervised the study, said.

Baroness Amos said she was confident on BBC R4's Today program on Tuesday. As a result of her research, she hopes that something will happen as a consequence of her investigation. She said that although she did not have the authority imposed by a federal oversight, she was looking for systemic improvements that might improve the quality of care in hospital trusts around the country. She said she had heard reports of women who are being left in stories. Women are bleeding in the toilets, the room came to an end. However, she reiterated that she was investigating the worst cases. There's a lot of good care out there, she said, and several trusts are doing

good jobs. The Baroness Amos' report, according to Streeting,

demonstrates that far too many families have been let down, with devastating consequences.

I know that NHS workers are dedicated professionals who want the best for mothers and babies, and that the overwhelming majority of births are healthy, but that preventable tragedies cannot be ignored,

he said. After previous inquiries revealed the difficulties, but no further action has been made, the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation is supposed to produce a series of national recommendations to improve maternity and neonatal services. Baroness Amos' final report will be published in the spring, but an interim analysis - her observations and initial impressions three months into the investigation - will reveal how ingrained poor care is. The former UN diplomat said that she accepted skepticism and criticism of her approach. "Families are increasingly concerned that the system has failed them. I am really keen that this does not happen this time. And I believe the fact that the Secretary of State has expressed such keen interest is the thing that will make a huge difference. According to the Amos report, several inquiries over the last decade, including inquiries into maternity services in Morecambe Bay, Shrewsbury & Telford, and East Kent, have resulted in 748 recommendations for changes being made. Nonetheless, the tragedy persists – the biggest maternity investigation in the NHS's history, involving around 2,500 people in Nottingham – is set to conclude in June, while another inquiry into care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is also underway.

Baroness Amos said she had regularly visited seven NHS hospitals as well as visiting over 170 families: the investigation has also involved with workers in maternity care. Some people were thrown rotten fruit, while others said they were facing death threats after negative publicity or were posted on social media. They said that adverse media attention could make providing high quality care more difficult, but that it also served as a catalyst for change. Baroness Amos's inquiry is controversial. Any families believe that there are limitations on what it can do, as well as the short time it takes to do it, means that no further action will follow. Emily Barley of the Maternity Safety Alliance, which wants to see a formal public inquiry into maternity deaths, said the initial reports had prioritized staff concerns while minimising the avoidable harm that occurs in NHS maternity services every day.

This is absolutely the wrong way to fix the deep-seated and long-standing maternity care deficits, and we're not sure why [Wes Streeting] is allowing this farce to continue.

Today's best credible option,

Tom Hender, whose son Aubrey was stillborn in 2022, believes that a complete public inquiry is the

only credible alternative.

The report is already finding more than the chair expected,

he said.

This should be the first indication that the scope isn't appropriate and that the problems are larger than the timeframe can cope.

In the new year, streeting will lead a new National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which will be responsible for implementing Baroness Amos's recommendations. Following the study, he has stated that families who have received poor treatment will remain at the forefront of the care. Although Baroness Amos'

long-standing problems we've heard about for years,

James Titcombe, a long-serving maternity advocacy advocate who lost his son Joshua in 2008, said he was supportive of the campaign because it was the only way in a lifetime for maternity services.

When Rhiannon Davies, who lost her daughter Kate in 2009 and was instrumental in establishing the inquiry into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, says Baroness Amos

is listening, and we should hope her work leads to real, urgent improvement" when she announces her findings next year.

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