Health Secretary Wes Streeting is facing calls from a leading maternity expert to prioritise immediate action over launching another major public inquiry into long-standing NHS failings.
Known Problems, Slow Progress
Mr Streeting stated this week he was 'keeping open the option' of a nationwide investigation due to 'widespread and endemic' problems in hospital labour wards. However, Donna Ockenden, the senior midwife who led major reviews into baby deaths at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said the core issues have been understood for over a decade with little advancement.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Ockenden outlined the persistent challenges. 'I can see exactly where he's coming from, but I think that there are key issues that have needed resolution in maternity services for years now,' she said. 'They are workforce, they are training, they are funding, education and culture. That hasn't changed, I don't think, since at least 2010.'
Call for Implementation, Not More Reviews
In her landmark 2022 report, Ms Ockenden set out 22 'immediate and essential actions' to improve safety. Yet, while now reviewing services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, she reported 'very disappointing progress' on implementing those recommendations.
'I think that we must now move to the implementation of these key issues,' she insisted. 'We know what we need to do, and we should now be in the implementation part of this process, not still thinking about things.'
Her comments cast a shadow over a separate rapid review of national maternity care being led by Labour peer Baroness Amos, suggesting it may simply re-examine already well-documented territory.
Families' Pain Drives Calls for Inquiry
Ms Ockenden expressed deep sympathy for families campaigning for a full public inquiry, acknowledging their profound suffering. 'I have huge respect and an enormous amount of time for the families who are calling for a public inquiry,' she said. 'They are often families who have suffered the most appalling life-changing harm.'
She highlighted their continued frustration, often years after their trauma, asking 'what's going on?' to prevent future tragedies. While understanding their demand for a formal inquiry, her central argument remains that the solutions are already known and require urgent deployment across the NHS maternity care system.
