Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has apologised after Baroness Amos's national review found urgent failings in maternity services. The trust admits a gap between intended care and families' experience and has invited the Amos team to reconnect with affected families. While neonatal services hold an "Outstanding" CQC rating and maternity services are "Good", councillors are demanding measurable evidence that promised changes — including IT and unit layout improvements — are making care safer.
Bradford Hospital Leaders Apologise After National Maternity Review; Face Scrutiny Over Neonatal Care
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Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has issued a renewed apology to families affected by shortcomings in its maternity and neonatal services after a national review led by Baroness Amos highlighted serious failings across England.
Background
The trust was one of 12 organisations examined in the Amos review, which concluded that maternity services nationally need "urgent" reform and are not consistently fit to provide high-quality care. The report identified a "clear gap" between how staff say they intend to care for women and how families actually experienced that care in Bradford.
Report, Apology and Engagement With Families
In a report prepared for senior councillors, the trust says it "sincerely apologises" and commits to using families' experiences to drive improvement. Trust leaders described parts of the Bradford findings as "difficult to read" and acknowledged the bravery of families who contributed evidence to the investigation. The trust says it has asked the Amos team to contact contributors on its behalf and offer those families the opportunity to speak directly with hospital staff.
Actions Promised
The trust has outlined a set of immediate and medium-term steps, including efforts to:
- Streamline patient record systems that currently do not interface with each other.
- Re-examine the layout and patient flows in the Women's and Newborn Unit.
- Address staffing pressures and patient-flow challenges.
The trust also pointed out that its neonatal services recently received an "Outstanding" rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), while maternity services were rated "Good".
Limits, Investment Needs and Scrutiny
Hospital leaders warned that larger changes to buildings and IT infrastructure would require "substantial" investment that is not currently available. Senior hospital executives are due to be questioned by a cross-party Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee at Bradford City Hall about what concrete steps are being taken to address the issues raised by the Amos review.
"We fully recognise that we cannot change the poor experience of care and poor outcomes for families, but we are committed to listening to families, acknowledging where mistakes were made, and using their negative experiences to shape and support service improvements."
Councillors have urged the trust to provide measurable evidence that action plans are improving safety and outcomes. Councillor Ishtiaq Ahmed said: "Action plans are not accountability. Show us the evidence that they are making maternity and neonatal care safer for Bradford families."
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