The government must not ignore a "national safety scandal" in maternity services, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said, as figures suggest life-altering childbirth injuries in England have reached record levels. Lib Dem analysis of NHS figures showed the number of women suffering potentially life-threatening levels of blood loss is the highest ever recorded in England. Three in every 100 women suffered serious tearing injuries requiring emergency surgery in the first half of this year, something Sir Ed said was a "devastating indictment of our NHS maternity services".
The government is expected to publish a new national maternity and neonatal action plan by the end of the year. Speaking to BBC Breakfast at the Lib Dem annual conference in Brighton, Davey pledged to spend £600m a year on maternity services if in government. He said £1.3bn a year was currently being spent on "failure" through negligence compensation payouts for poor maternity services, but said this investment should go towards prevention instead.
Calling for more senior midwives and consultants, he said: "Our current maternity staff are run ragged - they're massively overstretched. "That's the best way, all the evidence shows, to make sure maternity units are safe," he added. "It is a scandal at the moment - we've seen inquiry after inquiry.
So many women are suffering injuries at birth and we're seeing the loss of babies too; it is a tragedy as well as a scandal." He said ministers "cannot turn a blind eye to this national safety scandal" and mothers "deserve safe, compassionate care". The party pointed to Care Quality Commission (CQC) survey data showing one-in-10 women, about 54,000, were left alone during late stages of labour or childbirth last year, which the Lib Dems said was due to lack of training and staff shortages. More than 8,000 women had postpartum haemorrhages with blood loss of more than 1.5l since the start of this year, more than double the number over the equivalent period in 2021, the party's analysis of NHS figures suggests.
Rates of major haemorrhage peaked between April and June this year, while 32.7 women per thousand needed emergency treatment. The rate of third or fourth degree vaginal tears during childbirth has risen by 29% in the last five years, according to the analysis. The Lib Dem health spokesperson Helen Morgan, who successfully campaigned for an independent maternity commissioner to drive improvements, said reports on previous maternity scandals were "gathering dust".
"Years after the Shrewsbury and Telford scandal which devastated my community - my neighbours and friends - women continue to suffer," she said. "This must be the moment we say 'enough'." A review in 2022 found catastrophic failures at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH) over 20 years may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies. The trust apologised and said it had already put in measures to prevent a repeat.
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