MPs say maternity services in England need improving
The safety of maternity services in England has not improved quickly enough, including at a Cumbrian hospital, a report by MPs has found.
Recurrent failings at south Cumbria's Morecambe Bay, East Kent, Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals led to the inquiry investigating how maternity safety can be improved.
The Health and Social Care Committee commissioned an expert panel to evaluate the Government's commitments on maternity services.
The panel found that all areas were performing below expected levels, or were inadequate.
Professor Ted Baker, chief inspector of hospitals at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) told MPs that maternity services were "not improving fast enough" and "we still had notlearned all the lessons."
Maternity incidents remain the single highest cost of claims against the NHS in England.
This represents 40% of all health claim payments.
Health and Social Care Committee chairman Jeremy Hunt said: "Although the NHS deserves credit for reducing baby deaths and stillbirths significantly, around 1,000 more babies would live every year if our maternity services were as safe as Sweden.
The former health secretary added: "Despite a number of high-profile incidents, improvements in maternity safety are still not happening quickly enough."
A 2015 inquiry found that a "lethal mix" of failures at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust led to the unnecessary deaths of eleven babies and one mother between 2004 and 2013.
Chief midwifery officer for England Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent said: "The NHS is committed to providing safe, compassionate maternity services and, while there has been progress over the last five years of the maternity transformation programme, including a 25% reduction in stillbirths in the last decade, it is clear there is still work to be done.
"That is why we announced a £95 million funding boost earlier this year – for trusts to bolster workforce numbers, roll out better training and development programmes."