The National Health Service (NHS) in England is confronting an unprecedented financial burden linked to maternity care failings, with potential costs soaring to £27.4 billion since 2019.
This figure, revealed through a detailed analysis of NHS data, reflects not only compensation payouts but also enormous legal fees arising from clinical negligence claims related to maternity services. The amount dwarfs the NHS’s total budget for newborn care during this period, which stood at roughly £18 billion.
A surge in legal claims against NHS trusts for obstetric errors has fueled this crisis. In 2023 alone, families filed nearly 1,400 claims—a figure twice as high as it was in 2007. These claims relate to incidents ranging from tragic deaths of babies and mothers to lifelong disabilities caused by preventable medical errors during childbirth.
Labour MP Paulette Hamilton, acting chair of the Commons health and social care select committee, described these statistics as “absolutely shocking,” emphasizing the devastating human toll alongside the financial strain. “The words ‘eye-watering’ come nowhere near to describing the enormous cost,” she said, underscoring the scale of both suffering and expense caused by systemic failings within maternity care.
An NHS insider cautioned that roughly half of these claims might not result in compensation payments, but stressed that legal costs alone form a significant part of the total. Over the past six years, the NHS has spent nearly £25 million on legal fees for claims that did not lead to damages.
According to NHS Resolution—the body responsible for managing clinical negligence claims—the overall maternity-related liabilities account for nearly two-thirds of the NHS’s total clinical negligence bill, estimated at £37.5 billion out of £60 billion. Senior politicians have called this “jaw-dropping,” with former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt criticizing the system: “It should be a matter of national shame that we now spend more on maternity litigation than on running maternity services.”
The root causes of these failings appear to include a combination of staff shortages, inadequate monitoring during labour, and systemic issues within NHS maternity units. Recent investigations uncovered that as many as two-thirds of 131 maternity units inspected between 2022 and 2024 were rated either “inadequate” or “requiring improvement” for safety. The Care Quality Commission described these problems as “systemic” and “widespread.”
Specific NHS trusts have been hit particularly hard. Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, downgraded to “inadequate” in maternity safety, paid nearly £72 million in compensation over nine years, covering 107 clinical failings including fatalities and stillbirths. Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, embroiled in a criminal investigation over suspected corporate manslaughter relating to severe birth injuries affecting potentially thousands of women and babies, paid nearly £60 million in damages during the same period.
Legal experts note a sharp rise in birth-related claims, with some firms reporting increases of nearly 80% this year alone. The Department of Health and Social Care acknowledges the scale of the problem, describing the situation as “unacceptable” and vowing to break the cycle of poor care and costly compensation. NHS England is taking immediate action, including enhanced oversight of struggling trusts and measures to improve maternity service safety and quality.
Compensation settlements often cover lifelong care costs, particularly for children who suffer brain injuries at birth due to clinical negligence. Such cases constitute a small number of the incidents but generate the bulk of the financial liabilities.
Health officials stress that improving maternity care quality is imperative to prevent further tragedies and financial drain. The human cost behind these figures is profound—families face devastating losses and lifelong challenges. The NHS is under intense pressure to reform maternity services, aiming to provide safer, more compassionate care for mothers and babies across England.
