Maternity care in the UK

That this House notes the devastating toll of deaths and trauma in childbirth on families across the country; further notes that the Care Quality Commission investigation of over 100 maternity units found that 65% are not sufficiently safe; notes that maternity services are afflicted by low staff morale, burnout, absenteeism, and the loss of trained staff; notes that maternity cases account for nearly 60% of the cost of NHS clinical negligence claims; regrets that many women do not automatically receive referral to mental health and other services after a miscarriage; further regrets the prevalence of inadequate equipment, inappropriate and crumbling maternity wards, and of weak management of incidents and slow triage of those in need of urgent intervention; regrets that failures identified at Shrewsbury and Telford and East Kent Hospitals are widespread and, years later, have not been adequately addressed; believes that addressing disparities in obstetric care is essential for a fair society; further believes that the UK should strive to be the safest place in the world to have a baby; calls on the Government to urgently implement the Immediate and Essential Actions in the Ockenden report; and further calls on the Government to end needless tragedy in our maternity units, and ensure that every woman who is giving birth can expect the highest standards of safety, professionalism, care and respect.