Campaigners say rapid NHS maternity review Is sidelining bereaved families
Families who have lost babies due to NHS failings are being sidelined by a rapid review into maternity services, according to the campaign group Maternity Safety Alliance.
The review, ordered by Health Secretary Wes Streeting in June 2025 and led by Baroness Valerie Amos, is examining 12 NHS trusts, with a report expected this spring. But campaigners say the process is rushed and traumatising for families.
Cornish resident, Emily Barley, whose daughter Beatrice died in 2022, co-founded the Alliance.
She said:
“People are being expected to compress their experiences into just eight minutes. For many families, events unfolded over days or weeks with multiple staff involved. Being forced to summarise it like this is re-traumatising.”
The group criticises the review for its short timescale, limited family involvement, and lack of accountability powers. Panels hearing from families allow only eight minutes per person, and surveys ask for experiences to be reduced to a 500-word limit.
Barley added:
“It’s an insult to people whose babies have died. The review just repeats what we’ve already heard before and doesn’t address why babies continue to die.”
In December, Baroness Amos released initial findings highlighting the “scale of unacceptable care” in maternity services, including 748 recommendations made over the past decade.
The report also revealed discrimination against women of colour, younger parents, working-class women, and women with mental health needs.
The Maternity Safety Alliance is calling for a statutory public inquiry, saying the rapid review cannot deliver justice or meaningful improvements.
A spokesperson for the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (NMNI) defended the process:
“This rapid review allows improvements to be made faster than would be possible with a statutory inquiry."
"A national maternity and neonatal taskforce will use the recommendations to develop a new national action plan to improve maternity and neonatal care across England.”
The Alliance urges the Government to abandon the performative approach and conduct a truly independent, transparent inquiry to ensure safe maternity care for all families.