Maternity care in the NHS is facing a decisive moment, with growing evidence that repeated inquiries are no longer driving safer outcomes. In this blog, Dr Richard Dune reflects on Donna Ockenden’s warning that the system already knows what is going wrong and must now focus on action rather than further investigation. Drawing on lessons from Shrewsbury, Nottingham and Leeds, he examines how workforce shortages, gaps in training, weak leadership and cultural failures continue to undermine safety. The article explores why implementation, accountability and competence assurance must now take priority if maternity services are to deliver meaningful, lasting improvement for mothers and babies.

Dr Richard Dune reflects on key insights from the Amaree Women’s Network Conference 2025, examining how women’s leadership, lived experience, and community-driven approaches are shaping more equitable, safe and sustainable health and care systems. Drawing on powerful voices from across health and care, this article explores how women are redefining leadership, culture, and system change, highlighting the urgent need for equity, belonging, and human-centred governance.

CQC ratings reveal the deeper systems that shape safety, culture and patient experience. In this blog, Dr Richard Dune examines why hospitals fall into an inadequate rating, what the CQC looks for when judging leadership and safety, and how services like Hull Royal Infirmary’s emergency department have begun turning fragile progress into meaningful improvement. He explores the structural issues that drive failure, from weak governance and unsafe staffing to poor IPC and medicines management, and shows how leadership, culture change and quality improvement can transform care. This analysis outlines what health and care leaders must prioritise to rebuild trust, strengthen compliance and move confidently from inadequate to good.

The Lampard Enquiry is the first statutory public investigation into deaths in NHS mental health inpatient care, examining more than 2,000 cases in Essex. In this blog, Dr Richard Dune explores how its findings are reshaping the national conversation on patient safety, governance, and accountability across the NHS. He highlights how systemic failures in leadership, culture, and oversight have driven the need for reform, and why the enquiry’s lessons must translate into lasting change through stronger governance frameworks, digital compliance systems, and compassionate, learning-driven leadership.