NHS investigator says maternity unit care 'appalling'

A former NHS inspector said a hospital's maternity services may not have had to close if she had been listened to.

Maternity services at Yeovil District Hospital shut in May 2025 due to safety concerns and are set to reopen in April.

Amanda Ford, a registered nurse and midwife, said her concerns were not listened to after she witnessed "appalling care" and a baby death that should not have occurred while working for the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB).

Yeovil District Hospital said it strived to have an open, safe culture and acknowledged it did not always get this right. The HSIB no longer exists and its successor organisations declined to comment.

Ford, 56, worked for the HSIB in the South West from 2019 to 2020.

"Yeovil was one of my first units I was asked to go and investigate some incidents," said Ford.

"Within a month… I just was appalled. One was a baby death. That's a death that shouldn't have occurred - of a very healthy baby.

"One was a lady who was put through labour, who basically shouldn't have been labouring, and she was lucky to have survived that and her baby survived. It was just appalling care."

Ford has not provided the BBC with identifying details of either case.

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Source: BBC News, 26 February 2026