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Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation

Asked by Sir Desmond SwayneConservativeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 17 October 2025UIN 77962

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish (a) the long list of NHS trusts considered by the Chair for inclusion in the Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation and (b) the selection criteria used by the Investigation team to assess those trusts.

Answered by Karin Smyth

The 14 National Health Service trusts to be looked at in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation were announced on 15 September 2025. There are no plans to publish the long list of NHS trusts considered by the Chair for inclusion in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.

The 14 NHS trusts were selected by the independent investigation based on a variety of factors, including results from the Care Quality Commission’s Maternity Patient Survey and Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK’s Perinatal Mortality Rates, in addition to variation in case mix, trust type, geographic coverage, provision of care to individuals from diverse backgrounds, and family feedback.

Three of the trusts have been included due to their inclusion in previous investigations or reviews, these three trusts being the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

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