Extra £95m for maternity services after Shropshire hospital scandal
NHS England has announced an extra £95m in funding for maternity services following a damning report into avoidable deaths of mothers and babies.
It's understood the measures will include the recruitment of 1,000 midwives and 80 consultant obstetricians.
Additional training and development programmes to support culture and leadership will also be introduced, as well as measures to increase surveillance to identify issues earlier.
The move follows a report published in December that detailed serious failings which led to the unnecessary deaths of babies and mothers at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust.
The investigation - by independent midwife Donna Ockenden - is looking into more than 1,800 cases of poor maternity care over twenty years.
It has already identified seven "immediate and essential actions" needed to improve maternity care at services across England, although the inquiry continues.
The chief executive of the Trust apologised for the "pain and distress'' caused to mothers and families due to poor maternity care - after the review found staff had been "flippant'', "abrupt'' and "dismissive''.
The review also said the deaths of Kate Stanton Davies in 2009 and Pippa Griffiths in 2016, whose families had campaigned for an independent review into maternity care at the trust, "were avoidable''.
On today's announcement, Professor Jackie Dunkley-Bent, NHS England's chief midwifery officer, said: "Thanks to the efforts of NHS staff, there have been huge improvements in maternity services for women in England over the last decade - from fewer still births and better post-birth check-ups for new mums, to safely supporting the birth of up to 600,000 babies during the pandemic.
"Today's report shows not just how safe it is to give birth in this country, but how we plan to make new and expectant mums' experience of care better.
"The funding means we can build on and accelerate progress and make maternity services in England safer and better for women, babies and their families.''