22-05-2025
New maternity safety scheme is welcome, but NHS culture needs tackling
The rollout of the avoiding brain injury in childbirth (ABC) scheme across maternity units in England after a successful pilot has been heartening. It marks a bold and necessary response to a series of devastating public inquiries into NHS failings.
But the NHS's history is littered with ambitious initiatives that have faltered because of cultural resistance.
Healthcare professionals are stretched, under-supported, and weary of top-down directives that feel disconnected from the realities of clinical care. Implementing ABC will require more than guidance — it will require leadership at every level, protected time for training, and support systems that reward transparency over defensiveness.
The public inquiries included investigations into the maternity scandals at Morecambe Bay, Shrewsbury & Telford, and East Kent, which repeatedly exposed systemic issues
