NHS Maternity Investigation Launched

If your birth experience was traumatic, your child has suffered significant brain injuries as a result of the circumstances surrounding their delivery or you’ve lost a child due to poor maternity care, you are not alone. Wes Streeting, Health Secretary has announced a landmark national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services, prompted by repeated failures and distressing stories from bereaved families.

This review aims to give affected families answers whilst assessing maternity and neonatal services across the NHS, and consolidate past findings into a clear, national action plan to raise standards of care everywhere.

To steer this effort, the Department of Health has established a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Wes Streeting and composed of clinical experts and bereaved families.

With maternity related claims now making up 41% of all clinical negligence payouts and costing the NHS £1.144 billion in 2023/24, it is now more important than ever that lessons are learnt, and we take steps to prevent future harm from occurring.

How Can Our Team Help You?

“I always felt in safe hands, despite the complexities of my claim” – Legal 500, 2024

Choosing the right solicitor to support you after a traumatic maternity experience is a deeply personal decision. At Taylor Rose, our medical negligence team includes solicitors with years of experience in birth injury and neonatal claims from hypoxic brain injury and stillbirth to undiagnosed complications during the neonatal period.

The team are here to guide and support you through the process.

• Lauren Phillips has extensive experience and has regularly acted for families in complex, high-value birth injury claims and specialises in the quantification of damages.

• Sarah Corbett has handled several complex neonatal negligence cases involving delayed treatment.

• Andrew Bentham has experience in cases concerning shoulder dystocia and other birth injury claims.

• Laura Sylvester has particular expertise in obstetric and birth injury claims.

Our team has helped clients with cases involving:

• Missed signs of fetal distress

• Delays in emergency C-sections

• Failures to recognise shoulder dystocia

• Poor care following delivery

• Failures in neonatal intensive care

Members of our team are also accredited on Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA’s) specialist clinical negligence panel. We understand the lifelong impact of these events and we’re here to guide you through the legal process with compassion and clarity.

Next Steps?

If you or a loved one has been affected by poor maternity or neonatal care, please contact our expert medical negligence team on 020 3540 4444, email at medical.negligence@taylor-rose.co.uk or click contact us on the right of this page.

When you contact us, one of our experienced solicitors will offer a free, confidential consultation to help you understand your options. We will talk through what happened, whether you might have a claim and what the process would involve if you chose to proceed.

We understand how overwhelming this can feel. You don’t have to go through it alone – we’re here to help support you, one step at a time.