Government adviser pushes for patient safety probe

Wes Streeting and the government’s maternity adviser are urging a safety body to consider investigating the NHS’s handling of a “severe yet poorly recognised” condition which can cause “life-changing harm”.

The former health secretary and Michelle Welsh have written to the Health Services Safety Investigations Body about hospitals failing to listen to women experiencing Placenta Accreta Spectrum.

The move follows around 100 women launching the Action for Accreta campaign earlier this year. They warned about the failures in care for patients experiencing PAS, a serious pregnancy complication where the placenta attaches too deeply into the uterine wall.

One harmed mother shared how her baby had suffered a stroke at birth, and another explained her child now has cerebral palsy, with many hospitals failing to diagnose until it was too late.

Campaign founder Amisha Adhia was turned away from five specialist hospitals, while others shared permanent injuries to their bladders or bowels, and around a third of women surveyed underwent emergency hysterectomies.

Mr Streeting, who is Ms Adhia’s local MP in Ilford North, and Ms Welsh warned that women experiencing the condition were not listened to despite raising concerns and asking for help.

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Source: HSJ, 12 August 2026