Medical negligence lawyer welcomes independent inquiry into maternity failings at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Leigh Day’s Head of Medical Negligence Suzanne White has welcomed the announcement of an independent inquiry into maternity services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust following a series of critical inspections and regulatory concerns.
Posted on 20 October 2025
The inquiry, announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, will investigate repeated failures in care at Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital. It follows a BBC investigation which revealed that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers over the past five years may have been preventable.
The BBC reports that after meeting with families affected by poor maternity care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was "shocked" that families faced "repeated maternity failures” that were “made worse by the unacceptable response of the trust".
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is responsible for both Leeds General Infirmary and St James’ Hospital in Leeds. In June 2025, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) downgraded the maternity units at both hospitals to “inadequate” following unannounced inspections. The CQC raised serious concerns about patient safety, citing risks of avoidable harm, poor incident reporting, and a culture that discouraged staff from raising concerns.
The inquiry into Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will run alongside a wider national review into maternity and neonatal services across England, announced earlier this year and led by Baroness Valerie Amos. That review aims to identify systemic issues and improve safety and outcomes for mothers and babies across the NHS, including at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
The Department of Health has not yet confirmed who will lead the inquiry or its terms of reference for the Leeds-specific inquiry, but there have been calls for it to be chaired by a senior figure with experience in uncovering systemic failings in maternity care like Donna Ockenden, a senior midwife who led the review into maternity failings at Shrewsbury and Telford and is currently leading the review into maternity failings in Nottingham.
Suzanne White, head of the medical negligence team at Leigh Day who supports a number of families affected by failings in maternity care, said:
“After years of waiting, bereaved families and injured mothers and babies affected by poor maternity care at Leeds Teaching Hospitals will finally get an independent inquiry into the trust’s maternity services.
“This inquiry is a vital and long-overdue step towards accountability. The downgrade by the CQC and the scale of reported failings point to deep-rooted issues in maternity care at the trust. We hope the inquiry will provide clarity and drive the changes desperately needed to properly safeguard mothers and their babies.”
Suzanne White
Suzanne White is head of the medical negligence team and has specialised in this area of law since qualifying in 1999.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust maternity and neonatal care is “inadequate” and has “significant shortfalls”, report finds
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has graded maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as “inadequate” and identified “significant shortfalls” in the standard of care as it published its findings into maternity and neonatal services.
Leeds hospitals newborn death rates reflect experience of mother represented by Leigh Day
A mother whose baby suffered catastrophic brain damage during birth at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says her experience reflects subsequent reports of a high number of neonatal deaths in Leeds.