University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust part of national investigation

They have said they welcome the investigation and will work openly with the investigation team.

The Government has announced that 14 hospital trusts will be examined in a national investigation into maternity and newborn baby care.

The investigation will include the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

In an open letter to the commnunity the trust has said "We welcome the investigation and will work openly with the investigation team – it is a valuable opportunity to reflect, learn, and contribute to national progress. 

We want to reassure people using our maternity and neonatal services that the safety, wellbeing, and experience of women, babies and families is, and always will be, our highest priority.  

Over the past two years our teams have made significant improvements – from strengthening how we listen to families, increasing the number of midwives and consultants, and enhancing facilities, through to investing in new technology and ways of working. These changes and wider ongoing improvement work are enhancing both the safety and quality of care. 

We know there is more to do and there are some families who have not received the standard of care they deserved. To those families we are deeply sorry, and we remain committed to listening and working with you.  

We are confident the national investigation will help us on our improvement journey, as well as enable us to contribute to national learning."

The Health and Social Care Secretary and Baroness Amos have agreed the terms of reference of the independent investigation, which will include understanding the lived experiences of families, reviewing the quality and safety of services, identifying the drivers and impact of inequalities and identifying barriers to making improvements. 

The 14 trusts have been chosen for investigation based on a range of factors. These include data and metrics, such as the CQC maternity patient survey and MBRRACE-UK perinatal mortality rates, as well as criteria to determine a diverse mix of trusts:

• 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 
• Three trusts – Shrewsbury and Telford, East Kent Hospitals and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay – have been chosen where previous investigations have taken place and learnings from these will be incorporated in this new investigation.