Parents 'optimistic' for full maternity inquiry

Fiona Winser-Ramm and Lauren Caulfied are among the parents calling for a full independent inquiry into Leeds maternity services

Bereaved parents have said they are "optimistic" the health secretary will hold an independent inquiry into Leeds maternity services.

Wes Streeting said on Monday that Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust would be included in a rapid maternity review in England, but affected families said this would only "scratch the surface" and a full inquiry was needed.

Streeting earlier met members of a Leeds maternity services support group, many of whom had lost babies whose deaths may have been preventable.

Lauren Caulfield, whose baby Grace was stillborn in 2022 following failings at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI), said the group was "optimistic the health secretary will make the correct decision".

"The problems in Leeds go way beyond what a national maternity investigation would be able to achieve," she said.

Angela Welsh was sent home from LGI in 2011 while pregnant, having been told her son, Kion, had died and she would have to give birth to him three days later.

She said: "It was absolutely traumatising, I was distraught. I was forced to give birth to my son. I begged, 'can I have a C-section', and they said no.

"After we all spoke to [Streeting] you could see it in his face, he was upset after listening to the absolutely horrifying stories.

"He did actually say, 'I came in today with a definite answer, but I'm leaving unsure'.

"I have faith in him, and I do believe that he was absolutely changed by today."

Angela Welsh said she had "faith" that Streeting would change his decision

In January, a BBC investigation found at least 56 babies' and two mothers' deaths may have been preventable at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in the past five years.

In 2022, the trust had the highest neonatal mortality rate in the UK, of 4.46 per 1,000 live births, which is 70% higher than the average rate at comparable trusts.

Amarjit Matharoo, whose baby was stillborn at LGI in January 2024, said: "Some of the pushback we gave to [Streeting] was, 'if not Leeds, where?'"

At 32 weeks pregnant, she had attended LGI twice in 24 hours with severe pain in her abdomen but was sent home each time with paracetamol.

She said: "We know Leeds has the worst maternity in the country.

"If not Leeds, what would cause an inquiry to be triggered?

"That was something he has really taken on board."

Parents held a press conference after meeting with Streeting earlier

Fiona Winser-Ramm, who helped set up the support group, said she felt Streeting was "starting to realise" a rapid review was "not going to achieve what he is hoping to achieve".

"It's not going to go deep enough. It's going to scratch the surface. It's not going to get to wider issues, especially where cultural issues are part of it," she said.

She said a "wait and see" culture had been described by hospital staff at the inquest after the loss of her baby Aliona Grace, who died in January 2020.

Dr Magnus Harrison, chief medical officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We welcome the inclusion of Leeds in the national maternity and neonatal investigation and fully support its focus on improving maternity and neonatal safety across the country.

"We recognise we have not always delivered the highest quality of care to every family, and we are extremely sorry to the families who have lost their babies or had poor experiences when receiving care in our hospitals.

"Families will be at the heart of this national investigation, and we are fully supportive of this."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said the repeated failures in the region were "shocking".

"We are deeply grateful to the families in Leeds for their courage in sharing their stories," they added.

"We'll be looking very closely at how best to make the improvements required."

Ms Welsh said the support group would not stop campaigning until the government agreed to a full independent inquiry.

"We are fighting to put things right, so other women don't have to suffer the way that we did," she said.

"Our babies didn't die in vain."

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