How we are improving your maternity and neonatal services

We recognise that we do not always get everything right for every family and we are committed to continuously learning and improving our services.

There are currently a number of reviews taking place into our maternity and neonatal services which are helping us to ensure we continue to improve.

We want to be open and honest about these reviews and the changes we are making, to reassure our families that we are absolutely committed to providing safe, compassionate care.

Find out more about how we are improving your maternity services Find out more about how we are improving your neonatal services

Independent review into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals – updated 28 September 2026

The Terms of Reference have been published for the Independent Review into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, which will be chaired by Donna Ockenden.

This document sets out the objectives of the review, the eight categories of severe harm or death that the review will look at, and the timescales of the review.

The Trust welcomes the publication of the Terms of Reference for the Independent Review and remains committed to working openly and transparently with the Review Team.

We recognise nothing can undo the trauma for families whose babies have been harmed or have died while receiving care in our hospitals. We are deeply sorry to those families, and we hope this review will provide them with the answers they deserve.

We would also like to reassure families in Leeds who will be using our services currently, that significant improvements are already underway in our maternity and neonatal services, following reviews by the Care Quality Commission and NHS England.

We know there is more to do, and we will continue to improve our services as we strive to ensure that every family receives safe, compassionate, inclusive, and high-quality care.

If you are a family with concerns about your current care, please ask to speak to your midwife, or the Matron, Team Leader or Ward Manager for the area you are currently in, or where you are receiving care. If you wish to raise concerns about your care and share any feedback with us, you can also do this by emailing [email protected]

If you have any further questions about the independent review, you can contact the Independent Review Team directly by emailing [email protected] or call 01243 786993.

Further information on the independent review can be found here: Independent review into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals

National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation

In September 2025 it was announced that Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust would be one of 14 hospital trusts included in a rapid, independent, national investigation into maternity and neonatal services, being independently chaired by Baroness Amos.

However, after the announcement of the independent review (see above), the Government removed Leeds from the national investigation.

Inspections of maternity and neonatal services in 2025

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published its reports following our recent inspections, and has graded the Trust’s maternity services as inadequate, and neonatal services as requires improvement. You can find out more about these here: CQC inspections of maternity and neonatal services 2025
NHS England’s Maternity Safety Support Programme (MSSP) team visited the Trust in 2025 and you can read about their report here: Maternity Safety Support Programme

We have already begun implementing a comprehensive improvement plan, working with the CQC and NHS England, and you can find out more about this on the pages below.