Displaying items by tag: Damning Report

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has warned that poor maternity care in NHS hospitals could become 'normalised' without urgent action. A report based on 131 inspections between August 2022 and December 2023 found that 48% of maternity units were rated as 'requires improvement' or 'inadequate’, while only 4% were rated as 'outstanding’. The report highlights systemic issues across NHS services, echoing previous high-profile investigations, such as the Ockenden Review into over 200 baby deaths at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital. The CQC emphasised that the problems identified are widespread and not limited to a few hospitals. The lack of proper equipment, space, and safety measures raises significant concerns about the potential normalisation of serious harm in maternity care. Health secretary Wes Streeting expressed his dismay, stating that childbirth should not be an experience women fear or look back on with trauma. The report stresses the need for immediate reforms to ensure the safety and dignity of women and newborns.

A major report by Lord Darzi, a widely respected surgeon and former health minister, has highlighted serious issues facing the NHS. The rapid review, completed in nine weeks, reveals that the nation's health has worsened, with rising demand for healthcare driven by poor housing, low income, and insecure jobs. Waiting targets for surgery, cancer care, A&E, and mental health services are persistently missed. GP services are overwhelmed, cancer survival rates lag behind other countries, and progress in heart disease treatment has stalled. The budget is inefficiently spent, with too much focused on hospitals and not enough on community care. Workforce challenges include a 5% drop in community nurses and nearly 20% fewer health visitors. The NHS is struggling with outdated equipment, crumbling infrastructure, and disengaged staff.  Sir Keir Starmer has responded to the report by saying that the NHS is ‘broken but not beaten’ and announcing a ten-year plan to reform the service drastically. See

A damning report has found institutional racism, misogyny, and homophobia in the Metropolitan Police - and suggested the force could be broken up if it fails to improve. Met Police Commissioner, Mark Rowley, accepts the findings and systemic failings but says he won't use the term institutional. Officers provided the Review with harrowing testimonies of treatment by colleagues. Complaints were ‘likely to be turned against’ ethnic minority officers, with black officers 81% more likely to be in the misconduct system than white colleagues. Freezers storing victim rape kits were overfilled, and one broke down in a heatwave which meant that rape cases had to be dropped. The PM said trust in the police was hugely damaged, and the London Mayor said it was one of the darkest days in the 200-year history of the force but added it did not necessarily need to be broken up.