Lib Dem Martin Wrigley MP calls for maternity care rescue plan for Devon including one-to-one midwife care

Liberal Democrat Martin Wrigley MP has launched a campaign for safer maternity care for families in Devon, to end the crisis which has seen far too many mothers and babies let down.

The proposals would include having specialist doctors present on every maternity unit 24/7, and providing one-to-one midwifery care to every woman during labour. This would ensure it is no more dangerous to give birth at night or at a weekend as at any other time.

Previous research has found that 73% of maternity units in England do not have a consultant present at night, despite most births taking place outside of working hours. Many negligence claims for poor maternity care are linked to failings in care outside of regular working hours.

Maternity care at Torbay Hospital is ranked as requiring improvement, according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Under the Liberal Democrat proposals announced today, all maternity units in the country including at Torbay Hospital would be brought up to “good” or “outstanding” levels of safety. 

The proposals would come alongside a new “capital investment programme” to fix crumbling maternity units in urgent need of repair.

Under the Liberal Democrat plans, money would be saved overall by bringing down the ballooning NHS spend on maternal clinical negligence claims, which was over £1.3 bn for 2024 alone. 

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Martin Wrigley MP for Newton Abbot constituency said: 

“Every family in Devon deserves to feel safe when they go into hospital to have a baby. That means having the right staff in place at all times and making sure mothers get one-to-one care during labour. But too often that is not happening, and families are being let down.

“That is why I’m launching this campaign to rescue our local maternity services up to the highest standards of safety.

“Our NHS staff do an incredible job under pressure but too often they are overstretched and don’t have the support they need.

“We need to get more experienced staff, fix crumbling maternity units and ensure every mother and baby gets the care they deserve”.