NHS to spend almost £100m improving maternity safety after Shrewsbury care disaster

The NHS is to spend almost £100m to make maternity units across the NHS safer for mothers and babies in a major victory for families and The Independent – which has been campaigning for better training for midwives and doctors.

NHS England announced the investment on Thursday in response to the care scandal at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.

As well as boosting the numbers of midwives and doctors on wards, NHS England said the money would include an extra £26.5m for safety training for midwives and doctors across England.

The £96m represents one of the biggest investments in maternity services for decades. A total of £46m will be to used to recruit 1,000 extra midwives along with £10m for the equivalent of 80 extra doctors. As well as training cash will also be used to create new roles to oversee trusts safety and help recruit staff from overseas.

The investment is a direct response to the poor care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust where The Independent revealed in 2019 that dozens of babies and mothers had died or been left brain damaged as a result of persistent poor care over decades. An inquiry is examining more than 1,860 cases, making it the largest maternity scandal in NHS history.

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Source: The Independent, 25 March 2021