The investigation will look at worst-performing services in the country, but also across the entire maternity system, bringing together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of actions to ensure every woman and baby receives safe, high-quality and compassionate care.

The investigation will consist of two parts. The first will urgently investigate up to 10 of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units, including Sussex, to give affected families answers as quickly as possible.

The second will undertake a system-wide look at maternity and neonatal care, bringing together lessons from past inquiries to create one clear, national set of actions to improve care across every NHS maternity service.

The investigation will begin its work this summer and report back by December 2025.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘For the past year, I have been meeting bereaved families from across the country who have lost babies or suffered serious harm during what should have been the most joyful time in their lives. 

‘What they have experienced is devastating – deeply painful stories of trauma, loss, and a lack of basic compassion – caused by failures in NHS maternity care that should never have happened. Their bravery in speaking out has made it clear: we must act – and we must act now.

‘I know nobody wants better for women and babies than the thousands of NHS midwives, obstetricians, maternity and neonatal staff, and that the vast majority of births are safe and without incident, but it's clear something is going wrong.'

In addition, the government is establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Streeting, and to be made up of a panel of esteemed experts and bereaved families.

Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive at NHS England, said: ‘Despite the hard work of staff, too many women are experiencing unacceptable maternity care and families continue to be let down by the NHS when they need us most. This rapid national investigation must mark a line in the sand for maternity care - setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high-quality care for all.

‘Transparency will be key to understanding variation and fixing poor care - by shining a spotlight on the areas of greatest failure we can hold failing trusts to account. Each year, over half a million babies are born under our care and maternity safety rightly impacts public trust in the NHS – so we must act immediately to improve outcomes for the benefit of mothers, babies, families and staff.'

Kate Brintworth, chief midwifery officer for NHS England, said: ‘Through this rapid investigation and the immediate actions announced today, we are determined to transform services so that every family receives safe, personalised and dignified care at one of the most significant and vulnerable times in their lives.

‘We know we have significant issues to address concerning safety and culture within maternity and neonatal services, and Black and Asian women and those in deprived areas still face worse outcomes, so we must redouble our efforts to improve care for all.'

Speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) World Conference later today (23 June), Streeting will outline a series of measures to immediately improve care.

This includes:

• The NHS chief executive and chief nursing officer will meet with trust leaders in the areas of greatest concern, over the next month to drive forward urgent improvement, outline consistent expectations in changing culture and practice, and hold leaders to account for failing
•  new digital system will be rolled out to all maternity services by November to flag potential safety concerns in trusts and support rapid, national action
• an anti-discrimination programme to tackle inequalities in care for Black, Asian, and other underserved communities.

Reaction

Chief executive of NHS Providers, Daniel Elkeles, said: ‘This rapid investigation needs to get to the heart of why maternity services in England are falling far short of where they need to be and what needs to change to improve the quality of care for all mothers and their babies in the future.

 ‘It must get to the root of why there are significant, systemic challenges that affect trusts' ability to consistently deliver high-quality care as well as morale and culture within maternity services.

‘It is right that efforts to drive tangible improvements to maternity and neonatal care are front and centre in this review. The families whose lives have been devastated by failings in maternity services deserve nothing less.'

Liberal Democrat health and social care spokesperson, Helen Morgan, said: ‘While it is right to properly investigate why families are being repeatedly let down at their most vulnerable moments, this must not come at the expense of urgent action to improve care.

‘Right now the Government seems to be merely paying lip service to maternity safety, slashing ringfenced funding and allowing the Ockenden Review's recommendations to be kicked into the long grass.

‘The Immediate and Essential Actions from that review must be implemented without delay, to prevent more families from enduring avoidable heartbreak.'