Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 23, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe UK has launched an investigation into maternity care to address past failures and improve services by 2025, focusing on the worst-performing areas.
LONDON (Reuters) -British health minister Wes Streeting launched an investigation into maternity services in England on Monday, aimed at driving urgent improvements after a series of high-profile failures that have led to the deaths of babies and mothers.
The investigation will aim to report back by December 2025, Streeting said in a statement, adding that it would look at up to ten of the worst-performing services in England as well as reviewing the entire maternity system.
Over the past two decades, there have been a number of scandals in maternity care across the country including at Morecambe Bay, East Kent, Shrewsbury and Telford, and Nottingham.
The local review of maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford, for example, found that failures in care over 20 years may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies and nine mothers.
Streeting said failures in maternity care provided by the state-run National Health Service had caused many families to lose babies or suffer serious harm and should never have been allowed to happen.
"Maternity care should be the litmus test by which this government is judged on patient safety, and I will do everything in my power to ensure no family has to suffer like this again," he said in a statement.
The aim is to create one set of actions to improve maternity care across the country, the statement said. The government will also establish a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce of experts and bereaved families.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by William James)
The investigation was launched by British health minister Wes Streeting after a series of high-profile failures in maternity care across England.
The investigation will look at up to ten of the worst-performing maternity services in England and review the overall maternity care provided by the National Health Service.
Notable scandals include those at Morecambe Bay, East Kent, Shrewsbury and Telford, and Nottingham, where failures in care have led to tragic outcomes.
The investigation is expected to report back by December 2025, aiming to create a unified set of actions to improve maternity care across the country.
The government plans to establish a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce comprising experts to help drive improvements in maternity care.
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