Wes Streeting launches independent inquiry into maternity failures by Leeds hospitals
Parents welcome independent inquiry into maternity failings
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced an independent investigation into maternity and neonatal service failures at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
- The decision follows campaigning by bereaved families who say their babies were harmed due to failures and criticised the trust's response.
- Families are calling for Donna Ockenden, who led inquiries into Shrewsbury and Nottingham maternity failings, to head the Leeds investigation, and for police involvement.
- The announcement comes after the Care Quality Commission downgraded the trust to "inadequate" in June, citing serious risks to women and babies and a "blame culture".
- Previous reports, including the Ockenden review into Shrewsbury, highlighted hundreds of baby deaths or brain damage cases due to failings, with the Nottingham inquiry currently ongoing.