Skip to main content

Government progress on implementing recommendations on maternity care and safety culture to be evaluated

6 December 2023

The committee’s independent Expert Panel has confirmed three areas for its evaluation of government progress on implementing accepted recommendations to improve patient safety.

The evaluation of patient safety recommendations follows an undertaking by Committee Chair Steve Brine, in the wake of the Lucy Letby verdict, to ask the Expert Panel to evaluate recommendations made by a range of inquiries and reviews.

The Expert Panel will examine five recommendations accepted by government on: leadership in maternity care; staff training; safety culture and whistleblowing. The recommendations were made by public inquiries or safety reviews, including the 2015 Morecambe Bay Investigation and the 2013 Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry.

Chair comment

Professor Dame Jane Dacre, Chair of the Expert Panel, said:
“A public inquiry into failings on patient safety, sometimes tragically involving loss of life, will often result in recommendations being made to improve care and increase accountability in future.
“Our Expert Panel will be evaluating five recommendations accepted by Ministers in areas covering maternity care and leadership, staff training and creating a culture of safety and whistleblowing.
“We will assess government progress on implementing recommendations and whether any barriers stand in the way.”

Further information

Image credit: