The head of the General Medical Council has warned that a toxic culture of cover-up within the NHS risks normalising harm to mothers and babies. Charles Massey, the GMC’s chief executive, is due to tell delegates at a Health Service Journal conference in Manchester that workplaces can go wrong when trainees fear speaking up. He argued the so‑called tribal nature of medicine can pit staff against each other, discouraging people from raising concerns or admitting when something goes wrong. In such environments, openness and candour can decline, increasing patient risk.

GMC data show that 27% of obstetrics and gynaecology trainees have hesitated to escalate a patient to a more senior clinician, a higher rate than in other medical specialties. The same findings point to above‑average workloads, bullying and a sense of being unsupported by colleagues in the obstetrics and gynaecology field. Massey will say the data indicate a situation where patient safety is compromised by unhealthy culture, and that harm to mothers and babies risks becoming normalised. He will urge employers to foster belonging and inclusion in the workplace.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has launched a national maternity investigation into what he describes as systemic failures in NHS care. Families affected by baby deaths have said they have been gaslit in their search for the truth. The inquiry will focus on trusts of greatest concern, such as Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, while also taking a system‑wide look at maternity and neonatal care to produce a single set of actions. A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Streeting, has been created and is led by Baroness Amos, with the aim of reporting in December.