Cruel comments, racism and cover-ups: key findings from England’s maternity care report
A damning report published as a result of an investigation into England’s maternity care found instances of NHS Trusts covering up their failings and falsifying records to bereaved families, among a catalogue of several failings.Some of the most shocking examples given in the interim report included bereaved mothers facing cruel comments from maternity staff, shocking incidents of racism and discrimination, cover-ups and a lack of accountability from NHS trusts, alongside glaring structural and staffing issues within maternity wards.The report highlighted “unacceptable” instances occurring where staff made cruel or insensitive comments to families when they were most vulnerable, including after baby loss.In one example, a doula, supporting a bereaved mother who had waited a few hours after her waters broke before attending the ward, said the consultant “barked” at them.“They said, ‘Well, why didn’t you come sooner? Are you stupid?’”, the doula said.
“Now, how can you accept care from somebody who is so dismissive of you, and who talks down to you, and is so condescending?”In another case, a family member described feeling that the staff were incredibly dismissive of their family after baby loss,“They just wanted to get rid of us and nobody really took that time to give us that care really,” they said,“Then as we were leaving, we were told, ‘Make sure you cover his face because you don’t want to upset anybody,’”The investigation found numerous incidents of shocking systemic and interpersonal racism directed at black and Asian women within maternity and neonatal care,In some instances, Asian women were stereotyped as “princesses”, implying that they were unable to cope with pain and excessively demanding.
One community organisation told the investigation that they had heard a hospital staff member say: “The bloody Asian ones just go on and on and on.”By contrast, black women were described as having “tough skin” and being able to tolerate excessive pain, while being stereotyped as angry or aggressive.During an evidence panel as part of the investigation, one woman said: “I was begging for help … I was made to feel like I was that aggressive, angry black woman.But that isn’t me.”Another added: “I feel like, for us black ladies, they feel like we can handle the pain, even when we are complaining we are in pain.
”Many families told the investigation that they experienced a brazen lack of transparency, as well as “cover-ups” and defensiveness from NHS trusts in the aftermath of birth trauma and baby loss.In one instance, one family member said that when they requested their medical notes in paper format, what they received did not match what had been sent electronically previously.“So I can see the amendments made, there is a lot that are redacted,” they added.Another said: “[The trust] magically handed my solicitors magical notes that reappeared out of nowhere after three years”, which they knew to be inaccurate.Maternity staff were found to have been consistently overstretched by their demanding workload, often having to juggle multiple tasks to compensate for staff shortages.
One midwife told the investigation that they were called into a busy delivery suite because it had “gone bonkers”, despite it not being their familiar area,“So we are half the time having to ask people what to do,” they said,“We’re not providing the same service that the delivery suite midwives can do because they know it like the back of their hands,”Midwives also expressed “embarrassment” at their profession as a result of public scrutiny and criticism experienced, while others struggled with burnout,Maternity rooms were also frequently seen to be out of action due to leaking roofs and fire hazards, the investigation found, with staff often having to deal with basic repairs which delayed time they could have spent on delivering care.
Record number of rough sleepers in England last year, official figures show
Record numbers of people slept rough on the streets of England last year, according to the latest official statistics.An estimated 4,793 people spent the night in tents, doorways and parks on a single night in autumn 2025, up 3% year on year, and overtaking the previous peak of 4,751 in 2017, though charities believe these figures underestimate the scale of the nation’s homelessness crisis.2025 was the fourth year in a row that rough sleeping numbers have risen. The figures also show that the number of children in homeless families living in temporary accommodation increased to the highest levels on record, up 12,020 in a year to 175,990.Charities said the recent upward trend in rough sleeping and temporary housing was unlikely to be reversed without government action to tackle the impact of high private sector rents and build more social housing
Jersey approves bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults
Jersey’s parliament has given final approval to a bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults who live on the island.Members of the States Assembly voted by 32 to 16 on Thursday in favour of the bill, which will now need royal assent before it becomes law.A private member’s bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales is being scrutinised by the House of Lords, with some campaigners accusing peers of obstructing its passage.The bill, introduced by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater in October 2024, would allow adults with a prognosis of six months or fewer to live to have the option of an assisted death.It can become law only if both Houses of Parliament agree on its final wording
Mumsnet calls for under-16s social media ban with cigarette-style health warnings
Mumsnet has launched a campaign to introduce a ban on social media for under-16s featuring health warnings in the style of those on cigarette packets.The deliberately provocative national advertising campaign calls for all social media to be banned for children under the age of 16. The images on billboards and social media make a number of stark statements related to health.They claim that “three hours or more social media a day makes teens more likely to self-harm”, that teen phone addiction doubles the risk of anxiety, that social media use can increase the risk of eating disorders in young people and that addictive social media use in teens is linked to higher risk of suicidal behaviour.The ads request that people email their MP and “demand an under-16s social media ban”
Cruel comments, racism and cover-ups: key findings from England’s maternity care report
A damning report published as a result of an investigation into England’s maternity care found instances of NHS Trusts covering up their failings and falsifying records to bereaved families, among a catalogue of several failings.Some of the most shocking examples given in the interim report included bereaved mothers facing cruel comments from maternity staff, shocking incidents of racism and discrimination, cover-ups and a lack of accountability from NHS trusts, alongside glaring structural and staffing issues within maternity wards.The report highlighted “unacceptable” instances occurring where staff made cruel or insensitive comments to families when they were most vulnerable, including after baby loss.In one example, a doula, supporting a bereaved mother who had waited a few hours after her waters broke before attending the ward, said the consultant “barked” at them.“They said, ‘Well, why didn’t you come sooner? Are you stupid?’”, the doula said
CPS issues new guidance on ‘honour’-based and dowry abuse
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has published new guidance for its lawyers to help tackle “honour”-based abuse, with spiritual and immigration abuse included for the first time.The guidance was updated to reflect growing concerns around evolving forms of abuse and to tackle what the CPS described as “emerging harmful practices”.It is provided to prosecutors considering criminal cases, and now covers dowry abuse, immigration-related exploitation and transnational marriage abandonment.In a form of domestic abuse, perpetrators may exploit a person’s immigration status to control and entrap them. The perpetrators can do this by threatening them with being deported or reported to the authorities, withholding vital documents, controlling finances or restricting access to support services
UK anti-slavery watchdog calls for overhaul of adult sexual services sites
The anti-slavery watchdog has called for a complete overhaul of websites advertising sexual services after an investigation revealed they can act as “accelerators” of exploitation for sex workers using them.While working online can provide enhanced protections for some, a new report from the independent anti-slavery commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, investigated the experiences of women who said they were exploited on the adult services sites, which typically allow users to browse through images and videos of women selling sex in their local area.She reviewed data from 12 websites, interviewed 12 survivors and identified gaps in current legislation for women who operate online doing webcam work, and those who advertise sexual services online and then arrange to meet buyers of the services offline.The report, published on Thursday and titled Behind the Profile: Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Through Adult Services Websites, highlights weak safeguarding and calls for stronger controls on these sites to prevent exploitation,It also urges an overhaul of the fragmented and ambiguous regulatory framework, which has not kept pace with changes to the sites, and more support for survivors of this form of exploitation.Before such websites existed, sex workers often advertised their services by placing business cards in phone boxes
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