A major national maternity investigation has revealed that NHS maternity care risks becoming normalised in its failures, as concerns grow over a toxic culture of cover-ups that is harming mothers and babies in England.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has warned that a “tribal” culture within the health service is preventing doctors and staff from speaking up when things go wrong. This comes as the government named 14 NHS trusts under investigation for maternity and neonatal failings.
NHS maternity safety under scrutiny
Charles Massey, chief executive of the GMC, is expected to tell the Health Service Journal’s patient safety congress in Manchester that many trainee doctors in obstetrics and gynaecology fear escalating patient concerns. GMC data shows that more than one in four trainees (27%) admitted to hesitating before referring cases to senior colleagues.
The GMC also highlighted high levels of stress, bullying, and lack of support within maternity care, which Massey said is creating conditions where “cover-up over candour” and “obfuscation over honesty” prevail.
14 NHS trusts under maternity investigation
The trusts named in the inquiry include:
• Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust
• Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
• 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
The rapid inquiry, led by Baroness Valerie Amos and supported by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, will build on lessons from past maternity scandals, aiming to deliver a single set of actions to improve patient safety. Preliminary findings are expected in December.
Families at the centre of reforms
Streeting stressed that bereaved families will play a central role in shaping reforms: “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.”
Background: Previous maternity scandals
This inquiry follows high-profile scandals at Shrewsbury and Telford, Morecambe Bay, and East Kent, where systemic failings led to the deaths and harm of mothers and babies. Previous reports revealed patterns of neglect, poor training, and denial of problems by NHS leadership.
The government hopes that by consolidating lessons into one nationwide framework, long-standing cultural and structural failings in NHS maternity care can finally be addressed.
