Mothers and babies at risk of harm in ‘toxic’ NHS cover-up culture, health leader to say

Mothers and babies being harmed in the NHS risks becoming normalised because of its toxic cover-up culture, a health leader will say, as it emerged that 14 trusts are the focus of a national maternity investigation in England.

Charles Massey, the chief executive of the General Medical Council, will tell a conference on Monday that “something must have gone badly wrong” when trainee obstetrics and gynaecology doctors are fearful of speaking up.

The “tribal” nature of medicine with doctors and other staff pitted against each other could be preventing people from raising their concerns or admitting when things go wrong, Massey will say.

His stark warning came as the government named 14 NHS trusts that are being examined as part of its rapid inquiry into maternity and neonatal services in England.

They are:

• Barking, Havering and Redbridge university hospitals NHS trust.
• Blackpool teaching hospitals NHS foundation trust.
• Bradford teaching hospitals NHS foundation trust.
• East Kent hospitals NHS trust.
• Gloucestershire hospitals NHS foundation trust.
• Leeds teaching hospitals NHS trust.
• Oxford university hospitals NHS foundation trust.
• Sandwell and West Birmingham hospitals NHS trust.
• 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.

The investigation, first announced in June and being led by Valerie Amos, will use lessons learned from previous inquiries to create one “clear set of actions”, in an effort to improve NHS care.

Alongside the investigation, which is due to report preliminary findings in December, a maternity and neonatal taskforce has been set up, chaired by Wes Streeting and made up of experts and bereaved families.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 15 September 2025