Overview

• The Care Quality Commission downgraded maternity and neonatal services at Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital to “inadequate” following unannounced inspections in December and January.
• Inspectors cited staff shortages, dirty wards, unsafe storage of medicines and a “blame culture” that discouraged raising safety concerns across both sites.
• A BBC investigation found that at least 56 baby deaths and two maternal deaths between 2019 and 2024 may have been preventable at the trust.
• Since autumn 2024 the trust has recruited 55 additional midwives and is overhauling whistleblowing procedures to improve oversight and patient safety.
• Families led by Fiona Winser-Ramm have met Health Secretary Wes Streeting to demand a full, independent inquiry into maternity care failings.