National investigation into maternity and neonatal services

In August 2025 the Government announced that Baroness Valerie Amos had been appointed to lead the independent investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services nationally to drive urgent improvements to care and safety. The investigation will identify ways to urgently improve care and safety, with Baroness Valerie Amos working closely with bereaved and harmed families. It will also review the maternity and neonatal system, bringing together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of actions to ensure every woman and baby receives safe, high-quality and compassionate care.

It was announced on Monday 15 September 2025 that University Hospital Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is one of 14 trusts nationally that are included in the investigation.

Our services remain available, safe and provided by passionate and compassionate health and care professionals.

Every year thousands of women give birth in our hospitals and community, and we want each and every one of those women to receive excellent care and have a positive experience with us. In the overwhelming majority of cases this is happening – our safety record, and our patient feedback in recent years, compares well to the national picture – but we know that we have not always got everything right, and we always want to take any possible opportunity to improve further.

We are doing all we can to listen to the experiences of families using our services and the experiences of our colleagues. We welcome and encourage families that are using or have used our services, as well as our colleagues, to get involved in the national investigation should you want to share your experiences – whether your experience has been difficult, or if it has been positive – so that all maternity and neonatal services across the country can learn from your feedback.

Committed to listening and improvement

At UHSussex, our midwifery and obstetric teams have been working closely with the Maternity Safety Support Programme (MSSP) to improve care for women, babies, and families.

Together, we’ve delivered a Maternity Improvement Plan and real progress has already been achieved thanks to this focussed work, and recognised by the MSSP team. But we know that learning, and making positive changes, must be a continuous process.

Our commitment to improving maternity care

A dedicated contact centre is being set up by the national team so that feedback, questions and concerns can be logged and responded to. In the meantime, if you wish to share your experiences please contact our PALS team including that your enquiry relates to the National Maternity Enquiry. We will record any contacts from families about the investigation and hold them confidentially until the national process is underway to be passed securely to national enquiry team. If you would like to discuss your questions or concerns with a member of the UHSussex maternity or neonatal team, please let us know and we can arrange this.

Questions and answers about the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation

This information has been shared by Baroness Valerie Amos to help local communities, colleagues and wider partners understand more about the investigation she is leading.

Why have these 14 Trusts been selected for investigation?

The decision to review these 14 trusts is based on a range of factors. These include data and metrics designed to capture individual elements of a Trust’s outcomes and its patients’ experiences – such as the CQC maternity patient survey and MBRRACE-UK perinatal mortality rates.

The final selection has also been made with a view to working to ensure a diverse mix of trusts, including:

Variation in case mix
Trust type
Geographic coverage
Provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, including consideration of social, economic and racial inequalities
Family feedback
Where previous investigations have taken place.

By taking this approach the Investigation can capture experience and learning from a wide range of trusts, ensuring the findings are relevant across the system.

What is the scope of the investigation?

The aims of the investigation are:

To develop and publish one set of national recommendations to:

Drive the improvements needed to ensure high quality and safe maternity and neonatal care across England
Reduce inequalities and promote health equity in the delivery of those services

2. To ensure that the lived experiences of women, babies and families, including fathers and non-birthing partners, are fully heard and used to inform the development of the national recommendations.

3. To conduct and publish 14 local investigations of maternity and neonatal services in NHS Trusts and use these alongside other sources of data and evidence gathered by the investigation to inform the development of the national recommendations.

How will the investigation be conducted and how long will it take?

Local investigations will be carried out by trained investigators who will spend several days on site at each trust, supported by a small team. Our current expectation is that visits will take place between October and December 2025, though these timings are indicative only and may need to change.

We are aware of the pressures faced by all Trusts during the winter months and are keen to be as flexible as possible in our approach, while meeting the ambitious timelines for this review. We are committed to providing at least two weeks’ notice for any information requests, as well as advance notice of site visits, to ensure the process is as manageable as possible.

Are individual staff members personally under investigation?

This investigation is about understanding and identifying lessons learned and driving the improvements needed to ensure high quality and safe maternity and neonatal care across England.

Will staff be expected to give evidence or speak to investigators?

The local investigations team will speak to some staff. They will be notified in advance if the team would like to hear from them as part of their work.

This investigation is about understanding the experiences of affected women and families, identifying lessons learned and driving the improvements needed to ensure high quality and safe maternity and neonatal care across England.

Will women and families be expected to give evidence or speak to investigators?

The local investigations will invite contributions from women and families who use the local services, but there will no obligation to contribute in this way. The national Investigation will also be conducting a public call for evidence so women and families who feel more comfortable contributing via this route will be able to do so.

Will representatives from the local Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships and/or Local Maternity and Neonatal System have an opportunity to provide evidence or speak to the investigators

The local investigations will invite contributions from all relevant parties when gathering evidence.

This site uses cookies

Committed to listening and improvement

How to share your feedback

Questions and answers about the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation