'A culture of cover-up': the NHS maternity crisis exposed

The NHS is facing one of its deepest crises - a string of maternity scandals, from Shrewsbury to Nottingham, Oxford to Leeds. Hundreds of babies have died or been left severely injured in hospitals meant to keep them safe.

So why does this keep happening? Is it about funding, training, or a system that protects itself instead of patients?On this episode of The Fourcast, Krishnan Guru Murthy is joined by Jeremy Hunt MP, who was the Health Secretary between 2012 and 2018; Channel 4 News Health and Social Care Editor Victoria Macdonald who recently reported on a maternity scandal at Oxford University Hospitals. The Trust there has apologised to families and said it was committed to learning from mistakes; and Kayleigh Griffiths, whose daughter Pippa died in 2016 due to failings in care by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. 

Her investigation alongside another bereaved mother Rhiannon Davies into failings at the Trust led to Jeremy Hunt commissioning the Ockenden Review into improving maternity services across the country.  

Griffiths has also been critical of the health watchdog - the Care Quality Commission saying its oversight of maternity services was 'not fit for purpose.' 

The CQC said her complaints were being taken seriously and it was engaging with families directly.