The media has been flooded with maternity scandals in recent years, and sadly they show no sign of slowing down as more and more NHS trusts come under scrutiny. It begs the question – what is happening to our maternity units?

Nottingham, Swansea Bay, Yeovil, and Gloucestershire NHS trusts are all subject to investigations currently with each showing a worryingly similar pattern of failings and distressing stories from women.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is currently subject to the largest maternity review in NHS history as senior midwife Donna Ockenden investigates thousands of cases of neonatal deaths, stillbirths, maternal deaths and birth injuries.

A report into maternity and neonatal services at Swansea’s Singleton Hospital, carried out at the end of 2024, found multiple failings in safety and care. There were reports of women being left alone during labour and giving birth outside proper areas and failures to recognise and treat infections. Many families felt ignored or unable to raise concerns.

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has also been put in the spotlight after it recorded nine stillbirths and a maternal death in just four months at the end of 2024. The spike in stillbirths triggered investigations and six have been reported as patient safety incident investigations and one is to be investigated by the maternity and neonatal safety investigations team.

Yeovil Maternity Services has announced it will close for at least six months after the unit was rated “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission and the service failed to meet safety requirements.

These reports paint a disturbing picture of maternity care in the UK today. Whilst we await the outcomes of many investigations, we hear many stories of a lack of staff training, under-staffing, a lack of resources and a culture of fear and cover-ups as contributing factors to these ongoing issues, and, without significant and genuine change, we fear these failings will continue.

If you have been affected by maternity care failings at any of the named hospitals or a private medical facility in the UK, our experienced and caring medical negligence team may be able to help you to get the answers you need and the compensation you are entitled to.

Call us on 02920 391773 or email medicalnegilence@geldards.com