England’s health ombudsman has warned that women and babies are being put at risk after the number of investigations it carried out into maternity care almost doubled last year.
In 2023-24, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman investigated 28 cases concerning maternity care, compared with 15 the previous year. Over the past four years the ombudsman has carried out a total of 80 investigations related to failings in maternity care.
There has also been a steadying rise in the number of investigations upheld or partially upheld since April 2020. In 2023-24, five were upheld and 17 were partly upheld, compared with two and 11, respectively, in 2022-23.
The cases had all initially been investigated by …
