Bereaved parents calling for maternity review for the whole of the UK

They say Wes Streeting's maternity investigation could go further

Richard Stanton (left) and Rhiannon Davies (right) with their MBE for services to maternity healthcare
Author: Amelia Salmons and Ella PickoverPublished 24th Jun 2025

Bereaved parents are calling for an investigation into maternity services in England, to be extended to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Wes Streeting said the investigation is needed because trusts and regulators are failing and women aren't being listened to.

Rhiannon and Richard's story:

Rhiannon Davies and Richard Stanton lost their daughter Kate Stanton-Davies at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in 2009.

A report revealed their daughter's death could have been avoided.

Since then, they have been campaigning for a review into all maternity services, so that what happened to them does not happen to anyone else.

Rhiannon Davies with her daughter Kate Stanton-Davies

Rhiannon Davies said the announcement of the investigation left her feeling like she had finally been listened to:

"I am very impressed. This should be a real warning to those who are trying to cover up poor care, that scrutiny and accountability is coming.

"However, these issues are causing catastrophic harm in all four of Britain's nations. This is just the first step.

"We hope Wes Streeting will involve the devolved nation's leaders and get them on board as well," she said.

What will the government's maternity investigation look at?

The new maternity investigation is set to focus on the 10 "worst performing" maternity services in England.

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.

"Increasing accountability across the board"

Speaking at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists conference in London, Wes Streeting 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," he said.

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