NHS review highlights negligent maternity services

The NHS will today publish a major review into the safety of maternity services.  It was commissioned following the scandal at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS trust where, over a decade, up to 30 mothers and babies died following negligence. Led by Tory peer Baroness Cumberlege, the review is expected to call for more women to be allowed to give birth at home or in smaller midwife-led centres.

Figures from NHS England show that over 124,000 safety incidents were reported by NHS hospital maternity units last year. The majority did not cause serious harm but they included midwives failing to monitor the fetus’ heartbeat, doctors wrongly administering epidurals, or emergency caesarean sections being carried out too late. More than a third of incidents related to procedures such as forceps error or pain-relieving epidural injections being inserted incorrectly.

Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, is quoted as saying: 

“The sort of things that prevent these incidents are good communication, staff having time to do the job and midwives listening to women. We’re still short of midwives and junior doctors in maternity services and there’s no doubt that when there’s not enough staff, things are more likely to go wrong”.

 Maureen Treadwell, of the Birth Trauma Association charity, is quoted as saying:

 “Far too many women are being injured and too many babies are dying because necessary and wanted interventions are being delayed”.