Yet another maternity scandal, this time at University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust
A joint investigation by BBC News and The New Statesman has yet again exposed failings in maternity care, this time at University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust. This comes in the wake of an earlier joint investigation unearthing failings in maternity care at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and adds to the growing number of maternity scandals, also involving NHS trusts in Leeds, East Kent, Morecambe Bay, Shrewsbury and Telford and Nottingham.
The investigation at UH Sussex discovered that:
- At least 55 babies who died between 2019 and 2023 may have survived with better care.
- A review of nine stillbirths in 2021 and 2022 revealed opportunities were missed in all cases.
- External investigators warned that a “normal birth” culture promoting a vaginal delivery with minimal medical intervention was causing concern.
- Payments for maternity errors at the trust were the highest in England in 2025. This would suggest that due to poor care, babies have suffered serious harm and consequently have secured compensation awards to meet their complex and lifelong needs.
These latest revelations only serve to strengthen the picture nationally that maternity care is in crisis.
After the Francis report into the widespread failings at the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust back in 2013, many NHS Trusts promised to prioritise patient safety, embrace the values of transparency and accountability and learn from their mistakes, to ensure they were never again repeated.
But since that time, there has been scandal after scandal.
It is, of course positive that the urgently needed maternity review by Baroness Amos is now underway and families will be at its heart. It is hoped that this time round, valuable lessons will be learned and constructive steps taken to ensure mistakes are not repeated and that standards will improve. However, this all comes too late for families who have suffered unspeakable loss or harm and whose lives have already been so seriously impacted by national maternity failings.
Our specialist Child Brain Injury team represents families affected by poor maternity care nationwide.
