Bedfordshire Maternity Services And Cambridge Hospice Face Scrutiny

Two major healthcare stories have unfolded in the East of England, highlighting the persistent challenges faced by maternity and end-of-life care services amid ongoing funding pressures and regulatory scrutiny. On one front, Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, both under Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, continue to grapple with inadequate ratings for their maternity services. Meanwhile, in Cambridge, the Arthur Rank Hospice has narrowly averted the closure of nine critical beds thanks to a community-driven fundraising campaign, after NHS funding cuts placed the future of its care in jeopardy.

At Bedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has maintained its 'inadequate' rating for maternity services, with particular concerns over safety and leadership. This comes after unannounced follow-up inspections in June and July 2025, which found that only limited improvements had been made since the services were first downgraded in 2023. According to the CQC, both hospitals remain in breach of regulations relating to staffing and management, with new breaches identified around safe care and treatment.

The CQC’s findings paint a stark picture. Between January and June 2025, Bedford Hospital’s maternity triage service failed to answer or saw callers abandon 451 out of 2,097 calls due to lengthy wait times—a situation that put women at risk of not receiving timely care. The elective caesarean section service at Bedford was paused 32 times over six months because there weren’t enough staff to support non-emergency cases. At Luton and Dunstable, women faced delays to elective caesareans and induction of labour, with frequent diversions to other hospitals due to staffing shortages.

Incident management and learning were also flagged as serious issues. Inspectors found more than 1,500 open incidents at Luton and Dunstable, with over 1,100 overdue for investigation or closure. Some incidents had remained unresolved for more than 60 days. Across both hospitals, staff had not consistently completed mandatory training, and many clinical guidelines—including those covering baby abduction, postpartum haemorrhage, and sepsis management—were out of date. The trust was not complying with five of ten safety actions in the national maternity incentive scheme for 2024/25.

Carolyn Jenkinson, CQC deputy director of hospitals in the East of England, voiced her concern: "We are deeply concerned that improvements in maternity services were happening too slowly, with little change since our previous inspection." She emphasized that low staffing levels were having the biggest impact on women’s experiences, causing delays and reducing choice.

Despite these shortcomings, the CQC did note that women described staff as attentive and respectful, and reported positive experiences of care overall. Feedback mechanisms, such as the local maternity and neonatal voices partnership, remain active and regularly report to the trust.

In response to the latest CQC findings, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust issued an apology, acknowledging that care had not always met community expectations. The trust highlighted steps taken since the summer 2025 inspection, including the introduction of a dedicated telephone triage midwife and private triage area at Bedford Hospital, daily senior oversight on the labour ward at Luton and Dunstable, and extended Day Assessment Unit hours at Luton and Dunstable. Additional efforts have focused on staff development—such as wellbeing check-ins, an Anti-Racism and Incivility Charter, professional behaviours training, and more flexible access to mandatory and maternity-specific training. Facility improvements include moving maternity services into the new Acute Services Block at Luton and Dunstable and opening community maternity hubs in Bedford at Queens Park and Pine Cones.

David Carter, chief executive of Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "As a Trust committed to delivering excellent care, the latest CQC inspection rating for our maternity services was disappointing for us to hear… But we remain focused in our effort on ensuring that our maternity services consistently meets the standards of care we aspire to give. We are sorry where care has not met the standard our community rightly expects, and our leadership teams will continue to work hard in removing obstacles to allow our maternity colleagues to provide the best care."

The future of local maternity care is also being shaped by national policy. Following the 2023 downgrade, Bedford and Kempston MP Mohammad Yasin raised the issue in Parliament in September 2025, drawing attention to the reduction of homebirth services and calling for the new national review of maternity and neonatal care, led by Baroness Valerie Amos, to address why birthing choices were being cut. Health Minister Stephen Kinnock responded that the investigation would examine systemic issues and that the CQC would continue monitoring Bedford closely. The Amos Review is expected to deliver recommendations to improve safety, leadership, and quality of care across NHS maternity and neonatal services.

While maternity services face regulatory pressure, the Arthur Rank Hospice in Cambridge recently survived a funding crisis that threatened the closure of nine beds. The hospice, which was officially opened by the now Duke of Edinburgh in 2018, provides care both at home and at its facilities in Shelford Bottom and Wisbech. In autumn 2025, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust announced funding cuts to the hospice as part of wider cost-saving measures, including redundancies, to maintain core services within a significantly reduced budget. The trust also revealed plans to create a new end-of-life care ward for patients from Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

Emily Randall Bowen, a supporter care administrator at Arthur Rank Hospice since June 2025, described the potential loss as "monstrous," explaining that the level of care at the hospice far exceeded what was available in a hospital setting. Bowen’s personal connection runs deep—her father died at the hospice in 2021 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. "The impact (of losing nine beds) would be immense, not just for me and my family; the support we got here for my dad and for us was amazing. You won't get that anywhere else, not with this amount of knowledge they have, it's just incredible," she told BBC News.

Faced with the threat of closure, the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity launched a fundraising campaign and successfully reached its £829,000 target by January 2026, ensuring the nine beds would remain open for another year. Sharon Allen, CEO of the charity, expressed both relief and ongoing concern: "I'm under no illusion this is going to be easy; I'm hugely grateful and relieved we are where we are, but I'm already worrying about April 2027 and beyond. The first reason we stay positive is because of the amazing support from our community. When you get the messages of support, the emails, letters, phone calls, and saying 'we want to support you', that gives you hope and belief."

The long-term future of hospice funding remains uncertain. In January 2026, county Liberal Democrat MPs, including Ely and East Cambridgeshire MP Charlotte Cane, met with Health and Social Care Minister Stephen Kinnock to discuss a sustainable funding strategy for hospice care. The Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, for its part, said it was "delighted the fundraising campaign has raised enough money to keep the nine beds open at Arthur Rank Hospice for another year," and pledged to continue working closely with the hospice as a valued partner.

Both stories underscore the ongoing struggles and resilience within the NHS and its partners. Whether in the delivery room or at the end of life, the region’s healthcare providers are striving to balance quality, safety, and compassion against a backdrop of tight budgets and regulatory demands. The coming months will reveal whether the recent improvements and community efforts will be enough to secure lasting change.