Leeds maternity units: Independent inquiry into repeated failures

By Chris Gresswell-Green

Published October 20, 2025In: Clinical Negligence, Clinical Negligence - Pregnancy and Birth

Experts from Switalskis who are supporting a number of families affected by medical negligence from their maternity care in Leeds have welcomed the announcement of an independent inquiry into the Trust responsible.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced the inquiry into Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust after repeated failings led many families to be devastated by their care in the maternity units of the Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital.

The news follows an investigation by the BBC earlier this year that showed that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers in the past five years may have been preventable.

Switalskis is supporting a number of families who experience the loss of a baby while giving birth at the two maternity units, along with other families whose babies survived but sustained life-changing brain injuries as a result of negligence.

Commenting on the announcement today, Chris Gresswell-Green , Director and Birth Injury Solicitor said: “Every family who has been affected by the repeated failures in their care while at the Leeds General Infirmary or St James’s will be pleased to see the government taking action like this.

“Nothing can change the tragic outcome for all of the families who have suffered devastating losses or seen their babies sustain life-changing injuries. They will have to live with the impact of the negligence they experienced for the rest of their lives. Worse, they now know that others had suffered failures in their care before they experienced it, which is a hard thing to learn.

“Every failure in care in the NHS or any medical setting is an opportunity to learn and to improve care and patient safety. There are serious questions to be asked of the Trust as to how they allowed so many families to suffer for so long without taking the necessary steps to protect mothers and their babies.

“An independent investigation is essential to establish how care was allowed to fail for so long, how so many patients and families were affected and what steps will be taken to protect every single patient from now on in these two failing maternity units.

“For every single failure in care, there is a family tragedy and lives affected, either by the tragic loss of a child at birth or through life-changing birth injury sustained at the very beginning of a young persons life. It’s vital that no stone is left unturned in ensuring lessons are learned and families can be assured of their safety every time they use these two units.”

Leeds is not the only maternity unit to be under scrutiny at present. A long-running inquiry into maternity care at Nottingham is continuing under the leadership of Donna Ockenden. The government also announced that 14 Trusts would be examined as part of a national maternity investigation, with input from bereaved families.