Maternity probe sidelines parents, say campaigners

Grieving families who have lost babies due to NHS failings are being sidelined by a rapid review into maternity services, a campaign group has said.

Emily Barley, whose daughter Beatrice died in 2022, said victims were being forced to "compress" their experiences into eight minutes and choose the "most important reasons" that led to their deaths.

The Maternity Safety Alliance (MSA), co-founded by Barley, has renewed its call for a statutory inquiry into maternity services, calling the rapid review "performative".

A spokesperson for the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (NMNI) said its rapid review would allow improvements to be made faster than would be possible with a statutory inquiry.

The NMNI was ordered by Health Secretary Wes Streeting in June last year and will examine 12 NHS trusts, including those in Bradford, Oxford, Somerset and Leicester.

The (MSA) has published fresh criticism of the process, claiming the involvement of families is "limited to sharing their experiences rather than participating in the decision-making processes".

According to the group, the panels arranged to hear from bereaved and harmed families allocate eight minutes per person to share their experiences.

"[It] is not enough time to get into the real detail of what happened and who did what," Barley said, adding that only a "select few" people were chosen to speak directly to the review.

The 37-year-old, who now lives in Cornwall, said the process "lacks the depth and the robustness that I think we really need from any investigation into maternity".

Staff at Barnsley Hospital found an issue with her Barley's daughter's heartbeat during her labour in May 2022.

They then tried to check again but listened to the mother's heart by mistake, and were "falsely reassured" that Beatrice was alright.

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is not one of those included in the review, but said at the time it "entirely accepted" the results of an investigation into the incident and was implementing eight recommendations made.

Barley went on to co-found the MSA, which campaigns for a statutory public inquiry on maternity safety.

The group said it was "deeply concerned" by the rapid review and described it as a "performative approach".

"Many families have been enduring everlasting grief for years with no accountability," it said.

"This is not something that should be rushed or rapid."

Last month, a call for evidence was launched which will be open until 17 March, collecting responses from parents and families affected by maternity care failings for the NMNI.

Barley described this element of the process as an "insult to people whose babies have died".

"People are being expected to compress their experiences of what happened into a 500-word limit," she said.

"People have been put in the really re-traumatising position and being told 'this is your chance to be heard, have your say', and then having to decide what the most important parts are to include, what the most important reasons that your baby died.

"It's just no good."

In December, Baroness Valerie Amos, who is leading the probe published her initial thoughts from the first three months.

She said nothing had prepared her for the "scale of unacceptable care that women and families have received, and continue to receive".

The report detailed discrimination against women of colour, working-class women, younger parents and women with mental health documents.

Barley said the report was a "waste of time".

"It just repeated everything we've heard before, which I think actually is probably what the whole review will do," she said.

In January, Streeting said he was "keeping open the option of a public inquiry" but highlighted that the process can take years.

A spokesperson for the NMNI said its aim "is to develop and publish one set of national recommendations to drive the improvements needed to ensure high quality and safe maternity and neonatal care across England".

"This is a rapid review so improvements can be made more quickly than would be possible with a statutory public inquiry," they added.

A report is due in the spring.

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