Health secretary James Murray has described Lady Valerie Amos's devastating report on maternity care in England as a 'watershed moment', pledging to dismantle 'toxic dynamics' that damage relationships between hospital staff. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Murray announced the appointment of a powerful maternity commissioner to drive urgent transformation of childbirth services.
Amos report highlights systemic failures
The 181-page report found that maternity care had not kept up with major demographic changes, including older motherhood and a dramatic rise in caesarean sections. Lady Amos concluded that for many women 'the care they receive is not good enough and can result in avoidable harm'. She identified 'shocking' failings including women being ignored, poor triage, chronic understaffing, and a culture where units prioritise reputation over openness.
'Culture is where so much of the responsibility lies. That culture is the most deep-rooted cause of the failures we have seen, and the most fundamental thing we must change,' Murray told MPs. 'We will dismantle toxic dynamics, boost staff morale and support better teamwork between midwives, doctors and other clinicians.'
New maternity commissioner to champion families
The UK's first maternity and neonatal commissioner will co-chair the national maternity and neonatal taskforce with the health secretary. Their role will be to champion the voices of women, babies and families within government. Donna Ockenden, author of last week's inquiry into the Nottingham maternity scandal, is widely expected to become the new commissioner.
'This has to be a watershed moment. We must break the cycle of recommendations sitting on a shelf gathering dust,' Murray said. The taskforce's action plan for safer care is due in December.
Amos's eight recommendations
Lady Amos made eight key recommendations to improve care, including: overhauling maternity triage services with more staff; granting families the right to independent investigations; replacing the 'brutal' compensation system with one where hospitals admit errors immediately; and rooting out racism and discrimination 'embedded throughout the maternity and neonatal system'.
She noted that many previous recommendations had not been implemented or proved short-lived. Some maternity units are so old they are now 'unsafe', and widespread understaffing is compromising care and causing 'trauma and moral injury' to staff.
Mixed findings and controversy
In a rare positive finding, stillbirths and neonatal deaths are at near-record lows, but progress has stalled since 2020. The report was overshadowed by the resignation of clinical adviser Dr Bill Kirkup, who disagreed with wording on 'normal birth ideology'.
