‘Serious risk of imminent breakdown’ for maternity units, admits NHSE

Many maternity and newborn units are at “serious risk of imminent breakdown”, regularly hit by leaks and floods, and too cramped to provide the necessary care, an official NHS England report admits.

The national survey of all maternity and neonatal services found 42 per cent nationally were “operational” but in need of “major repair or replacement… soon”. Seven per cent were judged to be even worse, at “serious risk of imminent breakdown”.

Around 155 maternity units were surveyed nationally, and a similar number of neonatal services.

The report said doctors and midwives were losing significant time due to the state of buildings, with 14,500 incidents over the past three years, including power outages and faulty nurse call systems. 

The most common issues disrupting services were water, sewerage and drainage issues – such as leaks and flooding – with more than 5,300 such incidents. This was followed by ventilation and heating – where a typical problem is overheating – at 2,913.

The NHSE review said: “The survey findings demonstrate that much of the current maternity and neonatal estate lacks sufficient physical space to operate in accordance with best practice under current activity levels.

“These existing infrastructure issues will be further exacerbated with the trend towards more complex births, requiring larger teams and more specialist equipment, and many women and families staying longer in hospital.”

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Source: HSJ, 12 September 2025