Care Quality Commission to host inquiries into poor maternity care

By Ian Jones, Reporter30th March 2023News EnglandCare Quality Commission, Care Standards, Hospitals, Inspection, News England, NHS, Nursing / Midwifery, Registration / Regulation

Investigations into poor maternity care will be transferred to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Government has announced.

In a written statement, health minister Maria Caulfield said the current maternity work of the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) will now be hosted by the hospital and social care regulator.

In January 2022, then health secretary Sajid Javid said a separate “special health authority” would be established to continue the independent maternity investigation programme currently run by the HSIB.

Ms Caulfield’s statement said: “The department (of health) is committed to ensuring the continuation of independent, standardised maternity investigations that provide learning to the system and contribute to the Government’s ambition to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries in babies occurring during or soon after birth by 2025.

“Following careful consideration, the department has determined that the most appropriate and streamlined mechanism for delivering the valued and independent maternity investigations is for the function to be hosted within the Care Quality Commission.

“The purposes of the maternity investigation programme remain as set out last January: to provide independent, standardised and family focused investigations of maternity cases for families; to provide learning to the health system via reports at local, regional and national level; analyse data to identify key trends and provide system wide learning; be a system expert in standards for maternity investigations; and collaborate with system partners to escalate safety concerns.”

Ian Trenholm, chief executive of the CQC, said: “We are delighted to welcome the maternity programme and its team of investigators.

“The programme will be hosted by the CQC and will maintain its independence, while benefiting from the additional support that a large organisation offers.”