Maternity Services in England: Recent Reports and What They Mean for Families

Recent weeks have seen a series of significant and concerning developments regarding maternity services in England.

Earlier this month, we published an article on a campaign launched by MP Theodora Clarke and Louise Thompson (former Made in Chelsea star) calling for the appointment of a dedicated Maternity Commissioner. The campaign, which had secured over 150,000 signatures at the time of writing, followed recommendations made in the 2024 Birth Trauma Inquiry Report. The full article can be found here.

The Ockenden Report: Key Findings

On 24 June 2026, Donna Ockenden published her long-awaited report (the Ockenden Report) following a review of maternity and neonatal services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (the Trust). This review, which examined over 2,500 cases, is the largest of its kind.

Ms Ockenden, a former midwife, previously chaired the investigation into The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Her 2022 report into that Trust identified failings which led to the potentially avoidable deaths of over 200 babies and nine mothers.

In relation to the Nottingham review, Ms Ockenden stated that the Trust had been aware, as early as 2010, of serious concerns regarding the standard of maternity and neonatal care but failed to act appropriately. The review identified 444 maternity cases and 76 neonatal cases, between 2012 and 2025, where outcomes were considered “potentially avoidable”.

The investigation examined care across the full spectrum of pregnancy, childbirth and aftercare, including antenatal, intrapartum, neonatal and postnatal care, as well as maternal deaths. It also considered wider issues relating to corporate culture and leadership within the Trust.

Systemic Issues Identified

The Ockenden Report highlights a number of recurring and systemic failings, which can broadly be grouped into the following areas:

Clinical practice and patient care

• Delayed escalation of emergencies and failures to follow clinical guidance
• Poor monitoring of patients during labour
• Missed opportunities for safeguarding

Workforce pressures and culture

• 73% of staff reporting that they regularly feel they are working in "crisis mode"
• Heavy reliance on agency and locum staff
• The prescence of favouritism and cliques amongst staff

Leadership and governance

• Concerns that management were "invisible, unapproachable and unresponsive"
• Heavy reliance on agency and locum staff
• A lack of adequate communication and support for both staff and patients

These findings reinforce concerns about both the safety and consistency of maternity care and the extent to which systemic cultural issues can impact clinical outcomes.

Immediate Actions and Martha’s Rule

In addition to setting out its findings, the Ockenden Report identifies a number of Immediate and Essential Actions aimed at improving maternity care across both the Trust and England more broadly.

Following publication of the report, it was confirmed that Martha’s Rule will now be rolled out to all maternity services in England.

Martha’s Rule - named after 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died following failures in her medical care - provides a mechanism for patients, families and staff to request an urgent independent review where there are concerns about a patient’s condition or treatment.

The Amos Report: A National Perspective

Alongside the Ockenden Report, Baroness Amos has published findings arising from a national review into NHS maternity and neonatal services (the Amos Report), commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Baroness Amos described maternity care in England as “not fit for the now and not fit for the future”.

An earlier interim report published in February 2026 highlighted a number of deeply concerning issues, including structural racism, poor working relationships between staff and alack of compassion within maternity services.

The final report includes recommendations aimed at driving systemic reform, including:

• The creation of a Maternity and Neonatal Comissioner
• Improvements to the quality, transparency and accountability of investigations following harm or death
• Recognition of racism, discrimination and inequality as critical maternity safety issues

Despite these recommendations, some families affected by poor maternity care have expressed concern that the report does not go far enough and have called for a full statutory public inquiry into maternity services in England.

National Response

The Government has indicated that it intends to convene a national task force to develop an action plan for improving maternity care, including consideration of the scope and role of a new Maternity Commissioner.

What This Means for Families

Taken together, the Ockenden and Amos reports highlight longstanding and systemic concerns regarding the safety, governance and culture of maternity services across England.

For families who have suffered injury, loss or substandard care, these findings reinforce the importance of thorough and independent investigation. Many of the issues identified - such as delayed escalation, inadequate monitoring and failures in communication - are commonly encountered in clinical negligence claims relating to maternity care.

NHS Trusts are under a legal duty to provide care that meets a reasonable standard in accordance with accepted clinical practice. Where that duty is breached and harm results, affected families may be entitled to pursue a claim for compensation.

How We Can Help

Our specialist Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Team has experience advising families in relation to complex maternity claims, including cases involving birth injury, stillbirth, neonatal death and maternal injury.

We continue to monitor developments arising from these reports and are available to provide clear, sensitive and expert advice to those who may have been affected.

For more information about Martha’s Rule, please see our previous article here.