NHS facing another national maternity services review

Another major inquiry into patient safety within NHS maternity departments is being considered, HSJ has learned, this time by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body.

HSJ has previously reported about concerns that trusts have been swamped with “overwhelming reporting requirements” and unclear regulation and standards on maternity as the result of a series of high profile reviews undertaken in recent years.

HSSIB carries out thematic reviews of safety issues which do not apportion blame. It has not looked into maternity since it was launched in 2023.

Chief executive Rosie Benneyworth told HSJ: “There are national issues in maternity… it was increasingly hard for us to explain why we were not looking at maternity as it appears to meet our criteria.” These criteria include systemic failings in multiple providers.

Dr Benneyworth continued: “We are very keen that we don’t duplicate other work. The focus for us is making recommendations into national bodies. But we are very aware with maternity there has been an enormous amount of work.”

The HSSIB investigation could examine why recommendations from other bodies and inquiries have not been implemented. It may also examine “risk management” and whether learning has been shared after incidents. It could lead to a series of reports published over a year.

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Source: HSJ, 20 May 2025