The NHS in England is facing a potential £27.4 billion bill for maternity negligence claims since 2019, according to an analysis of NHS figures. This sum far exceeds the health service's roughly £18 billion budget for newborns over the same period. The number of families taking legal action for obstetrics errors reached a record of nearly 1,400 a year in 2023, double the number in 2007, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show.
Labour MP Paulette Hamilton, acting chair of the Commons health and social care select committee, described the figures as 'absolutely shocking' and representing a 'devastatingly high number of deaths and injuries of mothers and babies'. She added that the financial cost was 'eye-watering'. An NHS source noted that about half of the 1,400 annual claims may not result in compensation, but legal costs are significant; the NHS has spent £24.6 million on legal fees for unsuccessful claims in the past six years.
NHS Resolution, which handles negligence claims for NHS trusts in England, reported in its latest annual report that the cost of settling all outstanding maternity-related claims, including incidents not yet leading to legal action, was £37.5 billion. This amounts to nearly two-thirds of its total £60 billion clinical negligence liabilities bill, described by senior MPs as 'jaw-dropping'. Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said it was a 'matter of national shame' that more is spent on maternity litigation than on running maternity services.
The £27.4 billion figure is the estimated value of claims arising from incidents since April 2019. NHS Resolution cautioned that the figure could change due to the average three-year gap between incidents and claims, and the Treasury discount rate affecting future compensation values. The revelations come amid growing alarm over maternity care, with health secretary Wes Streeting ordering a national investigation into failing services following scandals at several trusts. Inspections of 131 maternity units between 2022 and 2024 found up to two-thirds rated 'inadequate' or 'requires improvement' for safety.
