Leicester Hospital Maternity Units Rated Inadequate

Safety of Maternity Unit care at both Leicester Royal Infirmary and Leicester General Hospital has been rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission which inspected the hospitals earlier this year. The Commission found this has put women and their babies at risk.

In February and March 2023, the Care Quality Commission inspected both Leicester maternity units as part of the national maternity inspection programme. The Commission found that since the last inspection, the level of safety of care being provided to women and their babies had deteriorated, putting well-being and lives at risk.

It is disappointing both hospitals in Leicester have been rated at this level so soon after significant concerns regarding the quality and safety of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) led to the establishment of an independent review, led by Donna Ockenden. She and her team are reviewing numerous cases of serious concern at the Hospital Trust in Nottingham and this has led to Nottinghamshire Police announcing their own inquiry into maternity services at the Hospital Trust.

Sadly, this latest news on the inadequate safety rating at two Leicester Hospitals is a reflection of the state of maternity service care across the country which results in too many families needlessly suffering stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries.

If you are concerned about maternity service care you or a loved one has received, please contact Partner Jane Williams, head of our specialist Birth Injury Team of solicitors in Leicester and Nottingham, or another member of our Clinical Negligence Team for an informal discussion.