Parents 'horrified' by maternity services report

There are "significant'' concerns about the safety and quality of maternity services at an NHS trust, a report has revealed.

Issues with staffing, a "challenging'' culture and a lack of learning from previous incidents were identified at Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTH) NHS Trust.

NHS England published its findings following a visit to the trust in March this year. It made 101 recommendations to improve the quality of care and ensure the "wellbeing'' of mothers and babies.

NHS England placed the trust under its national Maternity Safety Support Programme (MSSP). Its teams work to improve services where serious concerns have been identified.

Areas of concerns the MSSP report highlighted included:

• Staff describe safety concerns being de-escalated without resolution, and learning from incidents was not robust which meant there was a continuation on previously identified themes.
• Lack of cardiotocography (CTG) machines to enable women to be effectively and safely monitored.
• Issues with escalation process especially out of hours with no clinical or midwifery management on call.
• Challenge in responding to families who have experienced harm and poor outcomes.
• Poor communication and staffing issues with maternity leadership needing improvement.

A group of Leeds bereaved families said the MSSP report, which also highlights good practices, is "truly shocking and horrifying reading".

"As bereaved and harmed families this most recent report, yet again, totally vindicates what we have been saying for years. The culture of denial, the failure to listen and the absence of real accountability are systemic and persistent," a spokesperson said.

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Source: BBC News, 29 July 2025