Union Safety - Official Website of NW BT Union Health and Safety Coordinators Committee

**Reports find widespread Misogyny and Racism indemic within the NHS**

Save Liverpool Women’s Hospital Campaign commeted on the release of two damning reports issued in June, into the state of Maternity Services in NHS England. These inquiries were chaired by Baroness Amose and DR Ockenden at the behest of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with the promise of action being taken and that all recommendations would be followed.

Such a promise has been made many many times before whenever the is an inquiry into Government department failings and those of public services, Yet virtually none of the receommendations are ever followed through. The fire at Grenfel is classic example, with many more around women's health including Maternity services, having not been implemented.

The Amos report investigated 12 NHS Trust Hospitals, and found damning evidence of large scale neglect, bullying, racism, dismissive attitudes towards pregnant patients, and similarly, the Ockenden Report into Maternity services at Nottingham University Hopsitals NHS Trust, was just as damning, following the avoidable deaths of babies and mothers

Yet the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Itegrated Care Board on Merseyside wants to close down the Liverpool Women's Hospital whilst pretending to care about improving maternitty services in Liverpool by following the national trend of cramming maternity services into under-funded, under resourced, with stressed out staff; NHS General Hospitals!

“We demand significant and lasting improvements in the NHS maternity service here in Cheshire and Merseyside and across the country. What we have known from women’s personal experiences has now been presented as formal reports. But many other reports raised the alarm before June 2026. Governments, NHS top bosses and the media knew what was happening long before recent reports and thought it acceptable.

No ifs, no buts, no whining excuses. Things must change! Invest don’t cut!

For all our mothers, sisters, daughters, friends and lovers and for all the babies save Liverpool Women’s hospital and every maternity hospital and service in the UK!

If these reports are brushed under the carpet as the 20 or more previous reports have been, this harm will be further normalised and the damage extended to ever more women and babies. There must be long term sustained improvements in staffing, in resources, and in buildings and equipment.

We stand with the staff who kept the service afloat under terrible conditions and demand consequences for the managers and senior staff in the higher echelons of the NHS and in Government who saw the damage and ignored midwives’ and doctor’s complaints. Some of the maternity services in the UK provide wonderful service. We demand safe working conditions and improved staffing for midwives, obstetricians, anaesthetists and all the related workforce. The NHS needs more midwives, more obstetricians, and related professions, not as a one off but consistently over a decade.

All those involved in individual acts of cruelty, malice or neglect must be held accountable, but so must the senior administrators and politicians who knowingly allowed this situation to develop and continue.

Britain can afford a good maternity service. The NHS began seventy-eight years ago when the country was far poorer and reeling from the damage - emotionally, physically and financially done by World War Two. Liverpool’s children were still playing in bombsites, as the NHS was founded. The country decided it was important and invested in the NHS. In turn, this dramatically improved the lives of women and babies.
The damage to maternity is echoed in other aspects of the NHS. Demand that the NHS is restored, repaired and rebuilt.

Women need a greater voice in the service.
Women have had to fight for their rights before and will fight now.

Join us in campaigning for better staffing, an end to cuts, more respect for women giving birth, and protection for women’s right to choose their own birth options.

You can contact the ICB team involved in the changes and eventual closure of the Liverpool Women's Hospital here:

england.nw-specialisedbabieschildren@nhs.net to air your views and ask questions regarding the lack of advertising of the public 'engagement' excercise held in June at which the chair stated there would be no taking of notes of the public attendance and record kept of the issues raised by the public at the public meetings of which there were only three held!

Source: Save Liverpool Women's Hospital Campaign / Cheshire and Merseyside ICB