Bereaved Leeds families 'relieved' as new health secretary Yvette Cooper vows to improve maternity care
Yvette Cooper MP has said she will work ‘urgently’ to improve maternity services
Families fighting to improve maternity care in Leeds have welcomed the new health secretary’s commitment to urgently improving maternity safety.
Yvette Cooper, MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, has been appointed as Health and Social Care Secretary in Andy Burnham’s new cabinet.
In a statement on her appointment, Ms Cooper said: “It’s a real honour to be appointed Health Secretary by Andy Burnham - 27 years after I worked on the first NHS Cancer Plan as a junior health minister.
"I’m looking forward to working urgently to improve maternity services, to take forward plans for social care, and to once again play a part in supporting our National Health Service, Labour’s proudest achievement.”
On Saturday, hundreds of bereaved and harmed families attended a first meeting with senior midwife Donna Ockenden, who will lead an independent review into failings at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
While families have welcomed Ms Cooper’s commitment to prioritising maternity safety, they have urged the new health secretary to launch a statutory public inquiry into failings in maternity and neonatal care across the country.
In a statement, the Leeds Maternity Families Group said: “We are relieved to see that the newly appointed Health Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has noted her commitment to improving maternity safety as an urgent priority, and we hope that she will meet with bereaved and harmed families across the country to hear directly what needs to change.
“Many families in Leeds have shouldered the immense burden of re-living traumatic experiences, sharing thoroughly collated research and explaining our reasons why further action is needed from the DHSC to address the harm occurring at a local and national level.
“Our hope is that Yvette Cooper will already grasp the extent of the problem, as many of her constituents rely on the care of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. We are imploring her to support and engage with the work being done by Donna Ockenden’s team in the Independent Review into its maternity services.
“Families across the country are calling for a statutory public inquiry to establish the full extent of failings in maternity and neonatal care across the country. Those calls must be listened to by the new Health Secretary.
“We would welcome the opportunity to meet with Yvette Cooper and work with her to ensure the voices of families help shape the urgent improvements that are needed.”
An investigation by the BBC found that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in the space of five years, between January 2019 and July 2024, could have been prevented.
Saturday's meeting marked the start of the formal investigation, which will look at maternity care in Leeds over a 15-year period and potentially examine up to 3,000 cases.
The Trust has previously said it was “taking significant steps to address improvements,” and promised to work “openly, honestly and transparently” with the review team.