New maternity inspection ‘unit’ demanded by government review

Ministers should create a new specialist unit to assess maternity services because the Care Quality Commission does not have the credibility to do so, a government review has concluded.

Baroness Valerie Amos’ national maternity and neonatal investigation, established by former health secretary Wes Streeting a year ago, published its final report, recommendations and 12 trust-level investigations today.

Among the eight national recommendations, it says ministers must establish a “specialist regulatory unit” to provide assessment for maternity and neonatal services.

The report said: “We do not consider that CQC has credibility as the regulator of maternity and neonatal care with clinical teams, executive teams, or families.” The Department of Health and Social Care’s oversight of the regulator has also been “insufficient”, with “limited evidence… that [it] has addressed the significant problems CQC continues to experience”.

Baroness Amos cited a recent example of a service being rated “good” despite serious safety concerns being raised with her team.

The report says officials should “work with CQC to improve its effectiveness immediately and start work to put in place a specialist regulatory unit…[which] must include clinicians from a range of professional backgrounds”.

Asked by HSJ, the review team said it intended for this to be a dedicated unit within the CQC.

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Source: HSJ, 30 June 2026