New maternity warning system 'could have stopped Leeds tragedies'

A new maternity safety alert could have prevented tragedies involving mums and babies in Leeds, the NHS has said.

- by Harriet Sutton

Angela Welsh, Fiona Winser-Ramm, Lauren Caulfield, taking part in a press conference in Leeds.

(National World)

The new warning system, rolled out this week, will analyse data being recorded routinely by maternity teams on wards to spot whether there are potential emerging safety issues which need urgent attention and action.

If the system detects a pattern or trend in the data which seems out of the ordinary, it will send out a warning signal indicating a safety check should be carried out urgently.

Once a signal is generated, it is mandatory for the maternity unit to carry out a critical safety check within eight working days and share action taken with regional and national teams.