Fourteen hospital trusts are set to be examined as part of a national investigation into the “failures” of NHS maternity and neonatal services.
Baroness Amos will lead an investigation that will consult with bereaved families to drive improvements to England’s maternity care.
New data shows harm to mothers and their babies is at risk of being normalised due to a “toxic” culture of “cover-up” within the health service.
The health secretary previously announced the “rapid” national investigation into NHS maternity services, vowing to investigate 10 trusts – this has now been expanded to 14.
Among the trusts is Oxford University Hospitals Trust, where more than 500 families claim to have suffered harm.
Campaign co-founder Rebecca Matthews said the group, Families Failed by OUH Maternity Services, was “pleased and relieved” to be included.
“For 15 months, our inbox has been flooded with stories of shockingly poor and negligent care at OUH,” she said.
“These include accounts of stillbirth, of babies with brain injuries and women with long-lasting physical and psychological injuries as a result of failings in the maternity care they received.”
She added: “The trust has escaped scrutiny for too long. Now, finally, we hope it will be held accountable.”
Baroness Amos said “it is vital” that the experiences of mothers and affected families are at the heart of the investigation from its “very beginning” and are “fully heard”.
She said: “Their experiences – including those of fathers and non-birthing partners – will guide our work and shape the national recommendations we will publish.
“We will pay particular attention to the inequalities faced by black and Asian women and by families from marginalised groups, whose voices have too often been overlooked.”
Review ‘will not scratch the surface’
But a statement from the Bereaved and Harmed Families in Leeds said the review “will not scratch the service of the frontline care failings at Leeds maternity, let alone get anywhere near a culture that incubates these practices, or the leadership and people that allow these terrible cultures to perpetuate”.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCN) said it is imperative the “investigation gets underway at pace”.
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“It is vital this work gets under way quickly so that the families who have suffered unimaginable harm get the answers they need and hard-pressed maternity staff get the support and investment they’ve been calling for,” said chief executive Gill Walton.
She added: “It should not be the case that, in 21st century Britain, black and Asian women are disproportionately more likely to die during childbirth or soon after, or that their babies are more likely to have poorer outcomes.”
