In an open letter to service users following a BBC report on maternity failings, chief medical officer Dr Magnus Harrison offered his condolences to those who have lost loved ones.

Dr Harrison said: ‘Since the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in December 2024, we have taken clear steps to make real and lasting changes, with support from NHS England and the CQC. We have also commissioned an independent external review to complement NHS England's Peer Quality Review of our neonatal services, so that we can better understand the data on neonatal outcomes.

‘We are investing in our workforce, focusing on consistently safe staffing levels, and strengthening our culture to prioritise openness, compassion and respect. Recognising and responding to the moments that matter to our patients is essential to building the maternity service that all our families deserve.'

The chief medical officer said the trust delivered over 8,500 babies each year with ‘the vast majority of those are safe and positive experiences for our families.'

He acknowledged the trust ‘must go further', however, to ‘make sure everyone's experience is as good and safe as it possibly can be'.

Dr Harrison said the trust had appointed 55 new midwives since autumn 2024 with a further 35 are due to begin work in autumn 2025.