London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 01, 2025

Pregnant women put at risk amid maternity staffing crisis at scandal-hit NHS trust, watchdog finds

Pregnant women put at risk amid maternity staffing crisis at scandal-hit NHS trust, watchdog finds

A UK health sector watchdog has warned that pregnant women were exposed to “avoidable harm” due to shortages of trained maternity staff at NHS hospitals under a trust that is at the centre of a high-profile infant deaths scandal.
An investigation by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that low staff numbers at the East Kent Hospitals Trust meant that midwives often had to work 20-hour shifts with little time for a break. The shortfall in staff with the right qualifications and training meant that women had to be transferred to different hospitals during labour on occasion.

The BBC reported that 15 babies have died in the trust’s care since 2011. In June, it was fined £761,000 for “wholly avoidable” mistakes by staff at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital that led to the death of a baby in November 2017.

Following inspections at four hospitals under the trust in July, the CQC found that staff often had to take care of two pregnant women at one time – raising the risk of a mistake during births. As well, it noted that the trust’s senior leadership was failing to “manage the priorities, risks, issues and challenges the service faced.”

According to CQC head inspector Amanda Williams, management had resorted to “offering staff financial incentives to work above their contracted hours” in order to address the lack of manpower. Meanwhile, hospital workers “felt that continually reporting short staffing had not improved the situation.”

Noting that the Covid-19 pandemic had worsened staffing shortages, the trust’s chief nursing officer, Sarah Shingler, said it had made a “£1.6m investment to fund an additional 38 additional midwives with 26 already in post.”

Earlier this year, the CQC had warned that two in five maternity services in the country were not performing well enough, with 41% of hospitals inspected receiving ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ ratings. Last week, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) warned of an “exodus” of midwives in the UK – with 57% of maternity staff reportedly considering leaving their jobs.

Although NHS maternity services received a £96 million stimulus this year, including funding for an additional 1,000 midwives and £26 million for safety training, the RCM reported a shortage of 2,000 midwives in England alone.

There are similar gaps in staff recruitment across the health service, with NHS Digital figures showing that the total number of full-time vacancies had reached 93,806 in June 2021, an increase from 83,203 a year earlier. Meanwhile, nursing post vacancies in England had hit 38,952 over the same period – an increase from 37,760 – with one in 10 nursing posts on acute wards in London remaining unfilled.

The government has pledged to increase the number of NHS nurses by 50,000 by 2025 and NHS England announced £28 million in September 2020 towards overseas recruitment of nurses. However, trade unions and groups representing the service’s 1.4 million employees have in recent months urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to increase spending to tackle chronic staffing pressures.

NHS doctor Tomasz Pierscionek recently told RT that the problems of overwork and underfunding had existed long before Covid, but the pandemic exposed how deep those problems ran. The intense pressure medical staff are still under is likely to result in huge gaps in their ranks, he added.

“A Royal College of Nurses’ survey revealed that a third of nurses are thinking of leaving. And the British Medical Association found that one in five doctors are thinking of quitting,” Dr. Pierscionek said, adding that it was a “vicious circle.”

“The more pressure on staff, the more staff will get sick and leave, which will increase the pressure on those that remain. Bear in mind that a lot of staff, in the last year and a half, had to go off sick with Covid themselves, or had to isolate because someone living with them had Covid. That put even greater strain on services,” he added.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Elon Musk Critiques Senate Budget Proposal Over Job Losses and Strategic Risks
Los Angeles Riots ended with Federal Investigations into Funding
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Education Secretary Announces Overhaul of Complaints System Amid Rising Parental Grievances
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Trump Ends Trade Talks with Canada Over Digital Services Tax
UK Government Softens Welfare Reform Plans Amid Labour Party Rebellion
Labour Faces Rebellion Over Disability Benefit Reforms Ahead of Key Vote
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Host Lavish Wedding in Venice Amid Protests
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
North Korea to Open New Beach Resort to Boost Tourism Economy
UK Labour Party Faces Internal Tensions Over Welfare Reforms
Andrew Cuomo Hints at Potential November Comeback Amid Democratic Primary Results
Curtis Sliwa Champions His Vision for New York City Amid Rising Crime Concerns
Federal Reserve Proposes Changes to Capital Rule Affecting Major Banks
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Media Over Iran Strike Coverage
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
Big Four Accounting Firms Fined in Exam Cheating Scandal
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
Australia's Star Casino Secures $195 Million Rescue Package Amid Challenges
UK to Enhance Nuclear Capabilities with Acquisition of F-35A Fighter Jets
Russian Shadow Payments via Cryptocurrency Reach $9 Billion
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
×