NHS maternity probe to include Mid and South Essex NHS Trust
Health Secretary Wes Streeting made the announcement earlier today
A new maternity investigation is set to focus on the 10 "worst performing" maternity services in England.
Leeds and Sussex maternity services will be examined as part of the investigation, officials confirmed after Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a national investigation into maternity services.
There have been a series of maternity scandals in recent years, with official reviews launched into a number of services including those in Nottingham; East Kent; Shrewsbury and Telford and Morecambe Bay.
Officials said these independent reviews found similar failings in compassionate care - including the failure to listen to women, concerns over safety and issues with leadership and culture.
Bereaved families in other areas have also called for their own inquiries, including families in Sussex, Leeds and Oxford.
The Department of Health and Social Care said the new investigation will consist of two parts.
The first will investigate up to 10 of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units, including Sussex, in the coming weeks to give affected families answers as quickly as possible, according to the Department of Health.
The second will be a "system-wide" look at maternity and neonatal care, uniting lessons from past maternity inquiries to create one clear set of actions designed to improve national NHS care.
Officials have confirmed there will be local reviews into services in Leeds and Sussex, with the other areas to be confirmed "shortly".
The Department of Health and Social Care said that during the next month NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey and chief nursing officer Duncan Burton will meet the trusts of greatest concern, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex.
It is expected that during these meetings the top NHS officials will "hold them to account for improvement".
Wes Streeting said he would be looking at individual cases of families in Leeds and Sussex who suffered from NHS failures.
Speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists conference in London, he said: "We'll bring in a package of measures to start taking action now, increasing accountability across the board, and bringing in the cultural change we need to see.
"Within the next month, the NHS chief executive, Jim Mackey, and the chief nursing officer, Duncan Burton, will meet the trusts of greatest concern, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, to hold them to account for improvement."
He added: "I'm currently discussing with Leeds families the best way to grip the challenges brought to light in that trust by their campaigning, reports in the media and the latest CQC report, and I'll be ordering an investigation into nine specific cases identified by families in Sussex who are owed a thorough account of what happened in those cases."
Matthew Hopkins, Chief Executive of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“The care and safety of families using our maternity and neonatal services is an absolute priority. Our mortality rates are within the expected levels, so are not a cause for concern.
“We are delivering an action plan in response to the CQC enforcement notice relating to our maternity services which is improving the safety of maternity care and the experience of the families using our hospitals.
“We will support any work to tackle health inequalities and improve maternity services for families across the country.”