- The government has announced plans to appoint a national maternity commissioner following a damning report by Baroness Valerie Amos, which exposed repeated failures in NHS maternity care.
- Lady Amos's “rapid review” highlighted systemic issues, including women not being listened to, embedded racism and discrimination, fragmented services, and a culture of medical misogyny leading to avoidable harm.
- Key recommendations from the report include ensuring families have the right to independent investigations, improving hospital culture and teamwork, and guaranteeing 24/7 senior medical cover in delivery units.
- The government has agreed to the national commissioner role, committed to publishing a national action plan on maternity in December, and will create 1,000 temporary midwife positions.
- Despite the government's response, some groups like the Maternity Safety Alliance and the Birth Trauma Association have criticised the commissioner role as not being meaningfully independent and the review as a missed opportunity.
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