Newborns kept on unsafe wards, NHS reports finds

Pregnant women are giving birth in maternity units plagued by water leaks, power outages, and faulty equipment, laying bare the crisis of the NHS's crumbling hospital buildings.

- REBECCA THOMAS

A new report for NHS England flagged more than 14,000 safety incidents at maternity units in the past three years, fuelling disruptions, such as delays to planned C-sections.

The report warns of the “unsafe” condition of some hospital maternity wings, highlighting outdated, overheating, and “frequently broken” equipment, and also found that at least 7 per cent of buildings are “at risk of imminent breakdown”.

It also highlighted overcrowded wards, some rooms that were too small to move pregnant women in an emergency, and security concerns, such as a lack of CCTV, and areas without natural light or ventilation.

NHS England said: “In the last three years, there have been 14,519 formally reported instances in the maternity and neonatal estate where clinical services have been interrupted or service delivery has been impacted as a direct result of poor physical conditions.”