An analysis based on NHS figures shows that the potential cost of maternity negligence claims in England since 2019 has reached £27.4 billion, which significantly exceeds the estimated £18 billion budget allocated to maternity care over the same period.
This staggering figure reflects the deeply rooted crisis in maternity care. Rather than investing in strengthening maternity services, including the infrastructure, lack of staffing and the expansion and sustainability of community-based models such as home birth services, birth centres, and midwife-led units, funds are increasingly spent on clinical negligence claims.
This speaks to a wider systemic issue: instead of listening to women and birthing people and providing personalised, rights-based care, concerns are often escalated into legal processes. Driven by fear of negligence claims, many NHS Trusts interpret “safety” through a defensive lens, using risk assessments to restrict or deny care based on blanket criteria such as race, age, BMI, or immigration status. These practices often overlook individual needs and undermine informed decision-making.
The system prioritises self-protection over the rights, needs, and safety of women and birthing people.
But it should be the opposite. Blanket restrictions do not make care safer. They erode trust, exacerbate inequalities, and contribute to further harm and future claims.
True safety and the key to reducing negligence claims lies in respectful, rights-based, personalised, and equitable care.
That is why we are calling on the government to introduce a SAFE Maternity Care Act to uphold all women and birthing people’s right to choose where, how, and with whom they want to give birth, and to ensure the state meets its obligation to provide safe, respectful, and accessible care for all.