Leeds maternity

BBC News

17-06-2025

When Tassie Weaver went into labour at full term, she thought she was hours away from holding her first child. But by the time she was giving birth, she knew her son had died.Doctors had previously told Tassie to call her local maternity unit immediately, she says, as she was considered high risk and needed monitoring, due to high blood pressure and concerns about the baby's growth. But a midwife told her to stay at home.Three hours later she called again, worried because now she couldn't feel her baby moving. Again, she was told to stay at home, the same midwife saying that this was normal because women can be too distracted by their contractions to feel anything else."I was treated as just a kind of hysterical woman in pain who doesn't know what's going on because it's their first pregnancy," the 39-year-old tells us.When she called a third time, a different midwife told her to come to hospital, but when she arrived it was too late. His heart had stopped beating.Tassie and her husband John believe Baxter's stillbirth at the Leeds General Infirmary (LGI), four years ago, could have been prevented - and a review by the trust identified care issues "likely to have made a difference to the outcome".The couple are among 47 new families who have contacted the BBC with concerns about inadequate maternity care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTH) NHS Trust between 2017 and 2024. These include parents who told us their babies died or had been injured, and women who described injury and trauma following inadequate care.They had seen our January investigation into the potentially avoidable deaths of 56 babies and two mothers at the trust between 2019 and 2024.Following the latest families' accounts, LTH told the BBC it was "deeply sorry" they had been let down by the care they had received and said it recognised it needed to make improvements.The trust's chief medical officer Dr Magnus Harrison said it had taken "clear steps to make real and lasting changes" since unannounced inspections in December 2024 and January 2025 by England's regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC)."We are investing in our workforce, focusing on consistently safe staffing levels, and strengthening our culture to prioritise openness, compassion and respect," he added.
If you have been affected by the issues in this story, you can contact the BBC Action Line here
As well as the new families, three new whistleblowers - two who still work for the trust - have shared concerns about the standard of care at its two maternity units - at the LGI and St James' University Hospital. This is in addition to the two we spoke to in our initial investigation.Both units are rated "good" by the CQC, but the whistleblowers believe that rating does not reflect reality.There was a problem with the culture, one senior staff member told us. "People [staff] are scared to raise concerns because nothing ever happens when they are raised. So there's a 'what's the point' attitude," they said.The BBC has also learned that 107 clinical claims were made against LTH for obstetric-related deaths and injuries between April 2015 and April 2024. This was obtained via a Freedom of Information request to NHS Resolution - the health service's insurance arm.More than £71m was paid during this period including for 14 stillbirths, and 13 fatalities involving mothers or babies. These babies included Tassie's son, Baxter.
'I knew we needed help'
Tassie's care was graded by the trust's review team - which should include an external member - as a D, the lowest possible.It confirmed that "the mother presented with reduced fetal movements but management was not appropriate"."I knew that me and my baby needed help, and I tried to communicate that as clearly as I could, and I didn't get that help," Tassie says. "Labour is painful, but when you know the baby's dead… I can't even explain."The review group also agreed that Tassie should have been offered an induction earlier at 39 weeks given the combined risks of hypertension and growth concerns with her baby.Dr Harrison from the trust said it offered "sincere apologies and condolences" to Ms Weaver and her family for their "distressing experiences and loss".He added: "Immediate internal and external reviews of the care provided were undertaken and we made a number of changes as a result of this tragic case."
In total, 67 families have now told the BBC they experienced inadequate maternity care at Leeds. All are calling for an independent review into its maternity services.Common themes were expressed repeatedly by the 47 new families who contacted the BBC when we spoke to them. These included women feeling like they were not being listened to when they raised concerns, a lack of compassion, and families saying the trust made them feel like they were alone in their experience.One of the families paid an undisclosed settlement was Heidi Mayman and her partner Dale Morton, who gave birth to their first daughter Lyla in 2019, two years before Tassie gave birth to Baxter. Lyla died aged four days.Heidi also believes her concerns were not taken seriously during her "traumatic" labour. Lyla was born in poor condition about 37 hours after Heidi says she first called the LGI's maternity assessment centre, reporting blood and fluid loss. During her labour she also repeatedly raised concerns about reduced fetal movements and worsening pain."I just wish she were here. I feel like it's just ruined our lives, I'll never get over it," Heidi told us.An external investigation following Lyla's death by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB), identified safety recommendations.Lyla's dad, Dale says reading the investigation, which outlined the protocols the midwives had failed to follow was "just like a catalogue of errors".
'Swept under the carpet'
In January, we reported that 27 stillbirths and 29 neonatal deaths at LTH between 2019 and mid-2024 - and two deaths of mothers - had been judged to have been potentially preventable by a trust review group.The deaths reviewed included babies with congenital abnormalities and newborns and mothers transferred after birth for specialist care. The trust said the number of potentially-avoidable neonatal deaths had been "very small".Following our report, a group of parents wrote to Health Secretary Wes Streeting calling for an urgent review into Leeds' maternity services following the BBC investigation, to be led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden. He has written to the families but not yet made a decision.We have now spoken to a total of five whistleblowers, three still working for the trust, who have echoed concerns raised by families.One of them is a senior clinical staff member who told us they have seen "near misses" because of inadequate staffing levels.They also recalled an incident, in which a baby died, which they believe could have been prevented if issues had been recognised earlier during the labour.This staff member told the BBC the trust does not "learn from their mistakes" and often things are "swept under the carpet".
'Taking concerns very seriously'
A full report of the CQC's findings following its inspection of the trust's maternity and neonatal services, including all action it has told the trust to take, is due to be published shortly.The trust was given immediate feedback regarding urgent concerns which required action to address identified risks, the CQC told us. It also took enforcement action requiring the implementation of safe staffing levels.Two months after our initial report, NHS England placed the trust under its maternity safety support programme (MSSP) which works to improve trusts where serious concerns have been identified."We are taking the concerns raised by families about the quality and safety of maternity care in Leeds incredibly seriously," chief midwifery officer for England, Kate Brintworth, said.LTH's Dr Magnus Harrison said in a statement: "We are fully committed to ensuring that every family receives safe, respectful and compassionate care. We recognise we need to make improvements."He added: "We have commissioned an independent external review to complement NHS England's Peer Quality Review of our neonatal services, so that we can better understand the data on neonatal outcomes."
Do you have more information about this story?You can reach Divya directly and securely through encrypted messaging app Signal on: [phone], by email at [e-mail], or her Instagram account.