‘Moral distress’ at trust’s ‘persistently underfunded’ neonates service

“Persistent underfunding” and staff shortages at a teaching trust’s neonatal service is likely to have harmed long-term development of newborn babies, an NHS England review has found.

A peer review of the service at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, commissioned by NHSE, also found “burnout and moral distress” among its staff, linked to a lack of psychological support for them.

The review was one of two commissioned by LTHT to look at its neonatal and maternity care, following concerns. HSJ reported in February that MBRRACE-UK, the national mother and baby mortality audit, showed the trust had the highest extended perinatal mortality in the country in 2023, 2022 and 2021.

A summary of the neonatal review, published in LTHT’s September board papers, said: “This shortfall [in allied health professional staff] not only affects compliance with [National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] guidance for the neonatal follow-up programme but also results in non-compliance with the service specification for inpatient neonatal care.

“As a result, there is likely to be a negative impact on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes for patients and reduced support for families.”

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Source: HSJ, 23 September 2025