NHS Maternity Units Accused of Covering Up Harmful Errors in Childbirth
A damning government-commissioned report has exposed that NHS maternity units in England frequently resort to covering up harmful mistakes during childbirth, including falsifying medical records and denying bereaved parents answers. The inquiry, led by former Labour cabinet minister Lady Amos, reveals that "negligent" care has devastating emotional and psychological consequences for families, with disputes among maternity staff having a "disastrous" impact on mothers.
Systemic Failures and Discrimination in Maternity Care
The report highlights that ethnic minority and poorer women experience worse outcomes due to racism and discrimination within the system. Additionally, recent rises in older motherhood and obese women having babies have contributed to maternity care becoming more complicated. Lady Amos concluded, "The system is not working for women, babies and families, or for staff," after months of discussions with hundreds of families and healthcare professionals.
She added that NHS trusts continue to provide poor care because they fail to learn from previous maternity scandals, leading to a cycle of unresolved issues. "It is a source of continuing distress to families, and great frustration to staff, that the areas identified in previous reviews and investigations as requiring action do not seem to have been addressed or have only been partially addressed. This cycle must stop," Amos emphasized.
Staff Shortages and Basic Care Deficiencies
Lack of staff significantly affects every stage of maternity care, resulting in long delays for assessments, planned caesarean sections, and induced labors. Mothers are often unable to have home births due to unavailable midwives or attend brief antenatal appointments that hinder proper pregnancy discussions. The relentless pressure on maternity units means mothers are sent home after giving birth without adequate assessments and struggle to get advice when needed. "It is unsurprising that women and families report a lack of basic care and support," Amos noted.
Cover-Ups and Falsification of Medical Records
The 35-page report excoriates NHS trusts for compounding trauma by resorting to secrecy rather than transparency. Families reported feeling that there had been a "cover-up," facing resistance when requesting medical notes, and instances of notes being amended or redacted. One woman shared how, three years after her daughter's birth, the trust provided "magical notes that reappeared out of nowhere after three years," which were inaccurate based on her mother's records. "It [the NHS] shouldn't have this cloak and dagger over your notes," she stated.
Paul Whiteing, chief executive of patient safety charity Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA), commented, "The evidence that Baroness Amos has uncovered shows the shocking lengths that some staff are going to, such as hiding or falsifying medical records, in order to cover their tracks. This shows the scale of the challenge to improving maternity and neonatal services and care." He added that such defensive behaviors cause additional distress to families already dealing with grief or upset.
Political Response and Calls for Action
Health Secretary Wes Streeting commissioned the inquiry last August following a series of maternity care scandals at NHS hospitals, including those in East Kent, Leeds, Morecambe Bay, Nottingham, and Shropshire, alongside soaring negligence lawsuit costs. The Nottingham inquiry, covering 2,500 cases of alleged poor care, is the largest in NHS history and is due to report in June.
MP Layla Moran, chair of the Commons health and social care committee, urged ministers to implement immediate improvements without waiting for Amos's final report, due in the coming months. Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrats' health spokesperson, criticized the government's inaction, stating, "From collapsing ceilings in maternity units to rising injuries and deaths, we have accepted the unacceptable for British women. How much more suffering will the government permit?"
Streeting responded, "Baroness Amos's report lays bare the systematic, sustained and recurring failures in maternity and neonatal care across the country, which have left too many mothers, babies and families as victims of avoidable NHS tragedies." He announced plans to launch a taskforce to develop an action plan based on the report's recommendations.
Impact on Healthcare Professionals
The report also revealed that public scrutiny and criticism have become so intense that some midwives hide their name badges or uniforms in public or lie about their jobs to avoid backlash. This underscores the broader systemic pressures facing maternity staff amid ongoing crises in care delivery.
