Statement from Gill Walton, Chief Executive, the Royal College of Midwives 

“Today is first and foremost about the families in Nottingham who were failed at one of the most important moments of their lives. Behind every finding in this report is a family whose lives have been changed forever. 

“This report exposes more than a decade of leadership and institutional failure. At the heart of that failure was a healthcare system that refused to listen to women, to families and to the midwives who were raising the alarm for years. Every woman and family deserves to be heard and treated with dignity and compassion. What happened in Nottingham fell devastatingly short of that. 

“Toxic culture, poor behaviours, bullying and racism, have no place in maternity care or the NHS. The RCM has been supporting our members to promote the highest standards in our profession and build trusted relationships with women. We need to do more, working with NHS employers and regulators, to support staff and stamp out racism and bullying in maternity services. 

“This report reflects the staffing emergency that our members have been warning about for years – not just in Nottingham, but in trusts across the country. Midwives raised the alarm and were not listened to. The consequences for families have been devastating. Women and babies cannot receive consistently safe, personalised and equitable care without safe staffing.  

“The Government, regulators and the NHS have repeatedly missed opportunities to act since problems were first identified. The public and NHS staff deserve better and the RCM will not stop until all trust boards take maternity care seriously and the Government commits to dedicated ring-fenced funding to put safe staffing and improvements in maternity care in place. This is for the Nottingham families and for every woman using maternity services today and in the future.”