UK to appoint maternity commissioner after damning report
Related: 14 NHS trusts facing national investigation into their maternity care
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.
