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Sky News
5 hours ago
- Health
- Sky News
The biggest challenge facing Wes Streeting over scandalous state of maternity services
This was a powerful speech from the health secretary who is clearly troubled by the scandalous state of maternity services in this country. Wes Streeting has spent the past year meeting bereaved families who have been failed by the NHS. He said he "was kept up at night" after listening to their harrowing testimonies. Announcing a national investigation into NHS maternity services, this review is modelled on the Darzi report into the NHS, commissioned by the health secretary almost as soon as he came into office. It will be "rapid". The terms of reference for the investigation will be known by July. The actual report is expected to be published by Christmas. Mr Streeting accepts this is an ambitious timeline but is driven by the fear that mothers and babies are still being failed and he does not want "any deaths on his watch". And he has not ruled out a future public inquiry, which is what the bereaved families have been demanding. 2:16 The biggest challenge for the health secretary will be to change the culture within maternity units. This has been identified as one of the biggest issues in previous reports by Bill Kirkup and Donna Ockenden. It's why, Mr Streeting said, he chose to make his announcement at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' World Congress Day. What he said would have made for uncomfortable listening for some delegates but he needs them on board to deliver on his promise to make maternity and neonatal care safe. The health secretary clearly has empathy. He has listened to the families torn apart by maternity failings. But if there is any criticism of his action, it is that it could have been taken sooner, up to six months ago. The failures across maternity services up and down the country have been known about for a long time.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS England's DEADLIEST maternity units to be investigated as Streeting launches urgent review into scandal-hit NHS services
Wes Streeting has today announced a 'rapid national investigation' into England's maternity units following a litany of scandals that have rocked the NHS. The new investigation is intended to provide truth to families suffering harm, as well as driving urgent improvements to care and safety. It comes after Mr Streeting met families who have lost babies and amid the ongoing investigations at some NHS trusts into poor maternity care. Announcing the move at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, he said the 10 most at risk units will be investigated. It will also look at the maternity and neo-natal system as a whole. The review will be based on the similar investigation taken into the overall review of the NHS carried out by Lord Darzi. It follows a series of maternity failures including Shrewsbury and Telford and East Kent NHS Trusts, with a record number of services now failing to meet safety standards. Last year, the maternity regulator also found two-thirds of services either 'require improvement' or are 'inadequate' for safety. In a statement, Mr Streeting said: 'Over the last year, I've been wrestling with how we tackle problems in maternity and neonatal units, and I've come to the realisation that while there is action we can take now, we have to acknowledge that this has become systemic. 'It's not just a few bad units. Up and down the country, maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing. 'There's too much obfuscation; too much passing the buck and giving lip service.' He added: 'I have been meeting bereaved families from across the country who have lost babies or suffered serious harm during what should have been the most joyful time in their lives. 'What they have experienced is devastating—deeply painful stories of trauma, loss, and a lack of basic compassion—caused by failures in NHS maternity care that should never have happened. 'Their bravery in speaking out has made it clear. We must act and we must act now. 'I know nobody wants better for women and babies than the thousands of NHS midwives, obstetricians, maternity and neonatal staff, and that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but it's clear something is going wrong. 'That's why I've ordered a rapid national investigation to make sure these families get the truth and the accountability they deserve, and ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again. I want staff to come with us on this, to improve things for everyone. 'We're also taking immediate steps to hold failing services to account and give staff the tools they need to deliver the kind, safe, respectful care every family deserves. '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.' Frontline midwives have previously warned working in the NHS is like playing a 'warped game of Russian roulette ', as there was a risk of harm or death at any time, partly due to 'dangerously' low staffing levels. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) suggests staff shortages and lack of funding is making it harder for midwives to deliver better quality services. The RCM's latest calculation is that England is short of 2,500 midwives. It also comes as another report into the 'postcode lottery' of NHS maternity care last May also ruled good care is 'the exception rather than the rule'. A hugely-anticipated parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, which heard evidence from more than 1,300 women, found pregnant women are being treated like a 'slab of meat'. At the time, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins labelled testimonies heard in the report 'harrowing' and vowed to improve maternity care for 'women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow'.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Why it's never been more important to decriminalise abortion
When I scrambled out of my bathroom on all fours after an abortion in January 2022, I was paralysed by the pain. Fast forward to five months later and again I found myself frozen with pain in the same flat in south London. However, this time round the anguish wasn't physical; instead, it was provoked by news the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade – the landmark decision that legalised abortion nationwide in the US in 1973 – and millions of women had lost their legal right to have a pregnancy terminated. Life has changed immeasurably in America since this seismic decision. Yet the shift has invariably had an impact across the pond, too; with anti-abortion ideologues growing further emboldened and better funded here in Britain. That's why it's never been more important to decriminalise abortion – now. And now, Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Tonia Antoniazzi have both tabled amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill which would seek to decriminalise pregnancy terminations without 'changing anything about provision of abortion care'. It comes after the UK's largest abortion services estimated that police have investigated at least 100 women for having an abortion in the last five years. Amendment NC1 has been backed by 177 cross-party MPs, as well as 50 leading medical bodies, women's rights groups and healthcare providers, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Medical Association. MPs will be voting on it today. These calls are by no means new. Rather, abortion providers, charities, medical bodies, activists and MPs have spent years calling for abortion law to be disentangled from criminal law and overseen in the same way that other medical practices are. But their demands have often fallen on deaf ears for a whole range of reasons. One is the fact that many Britons are oblivious that abortion care remains firmly ensconced in criminal law. For those who need a refresher on how abortion law works here: pregnancy terminations can be legally carried out within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy in England, Scotland and Wales – but only if the abortion is approved by two doctors, with the health professionals agreeing that continuing with the pregnancy would be riskier for the physical or mental health of the woman than having an abortion. If a medical professional delivers an abortion outside of the terms of the 1967 act, they are at risk of being prosecuted. Legislation passed in 1861 means any woman who ends a pregnancy without getting legal permission from two doctors can technically face up to life imprisonment – fortunately, this does not currently happen in reality. Abortions after the 24-week mark can only be legally performed in very restricted situations, such as if the mother's life is in danger, or the child will have a severe disability. So, why are so many people so keen to reform abortion law? Well, for starters, it is hardly surprising there is enthusiasm to change legislation which dates back to a time when young boys risked their lives as chimney sweeps – and public executions were legal. Additionally, the desire for reform arises from the recognition that those who access abortions outside regulated provision or past the cut-off point are (for the most part) highly vulnerable. As such, they need support and care, not the psychological pressure and impending doom of a police investigation hanging over them; or worse still, being locked up in a prison system riddled with human rights abuses. 'Our lawmakers have a choice to make,' Sarah Salkeld, deputy medical director at leading abortion provider, MSI Reproductive Choices, tells The Independent. 'Do they want to be part of the 'green wave', moving gender equality forward? Or do they want to see prosecutions of vulnerable women on their watch? At a time when reproductive rights are facing rollbacks in many countries, and with the anti-rights movement feeling emboldened by the reversal of Roe v Wade in the United States, it could not be more important that here in the UK, elected lawmakers stand up for women and support everyone to get the medical care they need safely, confidentially and free from the threat of invasive investigation and prosecution.' She points out that women who have illegal abortions sometimes have significant mental health problems, or may be domestic abuse victims, or teenagers whose parents are opposed to abortions. 'I don't see how it would be in anyone's interest to prosecute somebody who has gone to such desperate measures,' Ms Salkeld says. 'It just doesn't feel right and it doesn't support someone who is clearly in a very difficult position and we are talking very small numbers of people here who would potentially be in that position.' For this reason and more, it is high time we decriminalise abortion. With the far right growing around the world and its war on reproductive rights ramping up, reform feels especially urgent. MPs were set to debate similar amendments around this time last year but ongoing campaigning efforts were abruptly cut short when a snap election was called and parliament was dissolved to make way for this. When I think back to my own nightmare experience of having an abortion – something I wrote about in a first-person story for The Independent – I am reminded of the fear I felt contending with overwhelmed abortion providers. In the end, overstretched services meant I was left near the 10-week cut-off point for a medical abortion, which involves taking pills. If I had gone past this deadline, I would have been forced to have a surgical abortion. While all abortions are safe, surgical ones are riskier and more of an ordeal as they involve going to hospital for a procedure. For some, an abortion will be the most traumatic experience of their lives. For others, it is not. But the important thing to bear in mind is the fact your experience of a termination is not just dictated by your personal feelings or physical health. On the contrary, external factors can transform a straightforward procedure you quickly recover from into a living nightmare that needlessly drags on and on. Sadly, it is the latter that women so often encounter when they are pulled into the criminal justice system after having an abortion. We finally have the chance to change that – and improve women's lives.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Abortion decriminalisation plans pushed by Labour MP
A Labour MP has launched a bid to decriminalise abortions, after campaigners revealed estimates that police have prosecuted more than 100 women under abortion laws in recent remains a criminal offence in England and Wales unless under strict circumstances - including taking place before 24 weeks into the pregnancy with the approval of two doctors - under a 164-year-old Antoniazzi, Labour MP for Gower, tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to decriminalise the process without "changing anything about provision of abortion care".Antoniazzi said the current situation was "unacceptable" and led to police prosecuting vulnerable women. Last year a BBC investigation found an unprecedented number of women are being investigated by police on suspicion of illegally ending a investigations followed natural pregnancy loss, the report by File on 4 loss is investigated only if credible evidence suggests a crime, according to the National Police Chiefs' issue was in the news again this week when Nicola Packer, 45, was cleared by a jury of "unlawfully administering" herself with abortion pills at home during a coronavirus lockdown in had taken prescribed abortion medicine when she was around 26 weeks pregnant, beyond the legal limit of 10 weeks for taking such medication at home. She told jurors she did not realise she had been pregnant for more than 10 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said Ms Packer's trial demonstrated "just how outdated and harmful" current abortion law was and called for are among several royal medical colleges, charities and trade unions backing Antoniazzi's collected by the UK's largest abortion services have found at least 100 women have been investigated for having an abortion in the last five years. Of those, six have appeared in court according to data collected by British Pregnancy Advisory Group (Bpas), National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service (NUPAS) and MSI abortion said: "There is simply no world in which prosecuting a vulnerable woman who may have experienced a medical complication, miscarriage or stillbirth is the right course of action."She said her amendment, laid before Parliament on Tuesday, is "tightly drawn - not changing anything about provision of abortion care, the time limit, the right to conscientious objection or any other aspects of abortion law".She added: "I am confident that, when Parliament has the opportunity to vote on these proposals, my colleagues will agree that never again should a woman be prosecuted for ending her own pregnancy in England and Wales." The amendment follows repeated calls to repeal sections of the Offences Against the Person Act were completely illegal under 19th Century law until it was modified by the 1967 Abortion Act, which initially allowed them to take place up to 28 weeks. This was reduced to 24 weeks in after 24 weeks are allowed only if:the woman's life is in dangerthere is a severe fetal abnormalitythe woman is at risk of grave physical and mental injurySince 2018, women in England have taken the second abortion pill at home, aligning the rules with Scotland and the same rules apply in Scotland, it has a distinct healthcare and legal laws are currently under review in Scotland following appeals from advocacy groups' to decriminalise the process. Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in were 251,377 abortions recorded in England and Wales in 2022 - the highest number since the Abortion Act was introduced and an increase of 17% over the previous 88% of recorded abortions took place before 10 weeks, after which the procedure must be carried out in an approved clinic or NHS hospital. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
The Independent
11-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
NHS launch programme to reduce brain injuries in childbirth
A nationwide NHS programme aiming to prevent brain injuries during childbirth is set to launch in September. The Avoiding Brain Injuries in Childbirth (ABC) programme will equip maternity staff with enhanced training to detect and respond to signs of fetal distress during labour, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced. The initiative will focus on improving responses to obstetric emergencies, including situations like a baby 's head becoming trapped in the mother's pelvis during a Caesarean section. Following a successful development and pilot phase, the government-backed programme aims to significantly reduce preventable birth-related brain injuries, thus lowering the incidence of lifelong conditions such as cerebral palsy, the DHSC stated. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: 'All expectant mothers giving birth in an NHS hospital should have peace of mind that they are in safe hands. 'This vital programme will give staff across the country the right tools and training to deliver better care to women and their babies, reducing the devastating impact of avoidable brain injuries. 'Under our Plan for Change, we are supporting trusts to make rapid improvements and training thousands more midwives – but I know more needs to be done. We will put women's voices right at the heart of our reforms as we work to improve care.' The national rollout follows a pilot in nine maternity units that was launched in October and delivered by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute. The pilot has shown the programme will fill a gap in current training by bringing multi-disciplinary teams together to work more collaboratively to improve outcomes, the DHSC said. It added that the programme will give clinicians more confidence to take swift action in managing an emergency during labour. It is expected to reduce inequalities in maternity outcomes across England – so that most maternity units achieve outcomes comparable to the highest-performing 20% of trusts. Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said: 'The ABC programme supports multi-disciplinary maternity teams to deliver safer, more personalised care. 'Hundreds of maternity staff, including obstetricians, midwives and anaesthesiologists have been involved in developing and testing this quality improvement programme. 'We have heard what a difference it makes, supporting teams to work effectively together in time-sensitive and high-pressure situations. The RCOG is extremely proud to have been part of this fantastic collaboration.' Gill Walton, Royal College of Midwives chief executive, said: 'Every midwife, maternity support worker, obstetrician, anaesthetist and sonographer wants to provide good, safe care – and the best way to do that is by working and training together. The ABC programme has brought together all those involved in maternity care, offering practical solutions to some of the most acute clinical challenges. 'Crucially the ABC programme tools and training have been developed based on the voices of women, families and maternity staff. This has been the key to the success of the pilot programme. 'Equally the will and drive of midwives and the wider multi-disciplinary team to improve safety and outcomes for women and their families has been evident across the course of the training at the pilot sites.' Professor Mary Dixon-Woods, director of The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute, said: 'The ABC programme design is based on the principle that evidence-based, co-designed patient-focused standardisation of clinical practice can reduce unwarranted variation and improve care and outcomes. 'Crucially, this needs to be supported by comprehensive improvement resources, including training, tools and assets to enable good clinical practice and teamwork and respectful and inclusion communication and decision-making with women and birth partners. 'The pilot has shown that it's possible to train people effectively and efficiently. A national commitment to implement the programme at scale will be important in ensuring that the benefits are seen.'
