Fourteen NHS Trusts Under Spotlight in Urgent Maternity Review Across England
The government has momentarily verified that fourteen NHS sanitarium trusts will be placed at the centre of a nippy and wide-ranging public inquiry into maternity and neonatal care.
The review aims to address longstanding issues that have affected families and staff likewise, bringing safety and care advancements to the van.
This inquiry, led by Baroness Valerie Amos, will put affected families at its heart, drawing on their lived experiences to shape its findings and recommendations.
Families who have suffered tragedy and detriment have formerly contributed to drafting the disquisition’s compass, helping to ensure the process reflects their voices and enterprises.
The review’s focus is clear. It’ll assess the quality and safety of services across maternity and neonatal units, relating systemic excrescencies and walls that help advancements.
The overarching thing is to ensure that every mama and invigorated receives safe, compassionate, and attentive care, wherever they’re in England.
14 NHS trusts have been named as part of the government’s investigation into maternity care.
Families will be at the heart of the review, to improve care outcomes across the country.
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— National Health Executive (@thenhenews) September 15, 2025
The disquisition follows exposures of failures across multiple trusts, including ignored enterprises, unsafe surroundings, and leadership failings.
These patterns have prompted urgent government action to address issues that have persisted for over fifteen years.
Some trusts already feature in the latest NHS performance rankings, underscoring areas where improvements are desperately needed and helping to prioritise efforts based on where services are falling short.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting commented: “Bereaved families have shown extraordinary courage in coming forward to help inform this rapid national investigation alongside Baroness Amos.
What they have experienced is devastating, and their strength will help protect other families from enduring what they have been through.
I know that NHS maternity and neonatal workers want the best for these mothers and babies, and that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but I cannot turn a blind eye to failures in the system.
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.”
The fourteen trusts were named based on data and feedback, including motherliness checks and perinatal mortality rates, reflecting a different representation in terms of terrain, case mix, and patient demographics.
Particular attention will be given to trusts serving marginalised groups and those where inequalities, social, economic, and ethnic, are most pronounced.
Three trusts, Shrewsbury and Telford, East Kent, and Morecambe Bay, are being redefined following earlier reviews.
Perceptivity from these former examinations will be incorporated to drive advancements.
The full list of NHS trusts included in this investigation is:
- Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust
- East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
- The 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
Baroness Valerie Amos further emphasised the importance of inclusivity: “It is vital that the voices of mothers and families are at the heart of this investigation from the very beginning.
Their experiences, including those of fathers and non-birthing partners, will guide our work and shape the national recommendations we will publish.
We will pay particular attention to the inequalities faced by Black and Asian women and by families from marginalised groups, whose voices have too often been overlooked.
Our aims are to ensure the lived experiences of affected families are fully heard, to conduct and publish 14 local investigations of maternity and neonatal services, and to develop recommendations informed by these that will drive improvements across maternity and neonatal services nationwide.”
Kate Brintworth, Chief Midwifery Officer for England, added: “This independent investigation is a crucial step in driving meaningful change in maternity and neonatal care, and the diverse range of trusts selected.
Including where previous investigations have taken place to incorporate learnings will provide valuable insight to help teams across the country improve care for women, babies, and families.
I want to reassure women and families that staff are continuing to work hard to provide the best possible care and want to do everything they can to support them.
We would encourage them to talk to their midwives and maternity teams if they have any concerns.”
This disquisition will run in tandem with the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, a panel of experts and families chaired by the Health Secretary, to maintain instigation and ensure that reforms aren’t just planned but legislated.
The taskforce will also attack wider challenges, from stark inequalities affecting Black, Asian, and deprived communities to issues about compassion and safety within services.
The disquisition is set to deliver interim findings in December 2025, with final recommendations aimed at improving motherliness and neonatal care across England that meet the loftiest norms of safety, quality, and equity.
This action marks a vital moment in the NHS ongoing sweats to rebuild trust and ensure that every family receives the care they deserve.
