The NHS is facing a critical challenge as patient safety concerns continue to escalate, with an estimated 37 avoidable deaths occurring each day, according to a report published by Patient Safety Watch and compiled by Imperial College London. The report highlights worsening patient safety metrics, with 12 out of 22 indicators showing decline over the past two years.
Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has raised concerns that the planned abolition of NHS England could divert attention away from urgent patient safety issues. He warns that while restructuring efforts may address bureaucracy, they should not overshadow the pressing need to improve care standards on the frontlines.
Maternity Services at the Center of the Crisis
The most alarming concerns are within NHS maternity units, which have been under scrutiny following multiple high-profile failings. The financial burden of litigation claims related to maternity care has now reached nearly £2 billion annually, further straining NHS resources. Hunt highlighted disparities in maternal outcomes, particularly for Black women, who remain nearly three times more likely to die during childbirth compared to White women.
Independent reviews by Donna Ockenden and Dr. Bill Kirkup into maternity services at trusts such as Nottingham University Hospitals, Shrewsbury and Telford, East Kent, and Morecambe Bay have repeatedly uncovered serious failures. These include avoidable deaths, staff shortages, and a culture that prioritizes “normal births” at the expense of timely medical interventions.
The Urgent Need for Reform
To address these concerns, Hunt has called for a series of urgent reforms, including:
- A turnaround programme for failing maternity units: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated 10% of NHS maternity services as “inadequate,” necessitating immediate intervention and special measures.
- Implementation of recommendations from independent reviews: A central repository should be established to track recommendations from public inquiries and coroners’ reports, ensuring accountability and timely action.
- A cultural shift towards patient safety: The NHS must move away from a blame culture that discourages transparency and learning from medical errors. Lessons from the aviation industry, which has successfully improved passenger safety through open reporting, should be applied to healthcare.
A Call for Immediate Action
The NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan has committed to increasing the number of doctors, nurses, and midwives, but these measures will take years to materialize. In the meantime, urgent actions are needed to prevent unnecessary maternal and neonatal deaths.
“If England had the same maternity safety standards as Sweden, 1,000 more babies would survive every year,” Hunt emphasized. “We cannot afford to wait for new NHS structures to be put in place before tackling these life-threatening issues.”
The coming months will be crucial in determining whether policymakers prioritize patient safety amid NHS restructuring efforts or if systemic failures will continue to put lives at risk.
This article is published by Fellow Nurses Africa, bringing you the latest updates on healthcare policies, reforms, and frontline nursing challenges. Stay informed at FellowNurses.com
