NHS Kent and Medway ICB has begun a first-ever system-wide review of maternity, neonatal and women’s health services across the region, responding to national safety findings and local concerns, with three of the four provider trusts currently subject to enhanced national support and oversight.

A system-wide review of maternity, neonatal and women’s health services across Kent and Medway has been launched by NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB), the organisation told Medway Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 19 August 2026.

The review is described as the first of its kind undertaken by the ICB. Maternity, neonatal and women’s health services in the region are provided by four trusts: East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, and Medway NHS Foundation Trust. The ICB’s paper states that three of those four are currently subject to NHS England South East Enhanced Support and Oversight, a formal process used where extra support and closer monitoring are needed to improve safety and quality. The paper does not identify which three.

What triggered the review

The review responds to the national Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, known as the Amos Review, published on 30 June 2026. That investigation heard directly from more than 450 families and engaged over 9,000 staff. Its central finding was that “women, birthing people and families are too often not listened to, heard or believed, with serious consequences for safety, experience and trust”.

The ICB’s paper also noted that Kent and Medway’s spend on hospital-based maternity care is “currently higher than in similar areas”, and that the review will consider how services can be “safe, effective, reduce inequity and be sustainable for the future”, including looking at community and midwife-led models of care alongside hospital-based care.

Governance and timetable

The ICB Board approved the agreed elements of the review’s Terms of Reference on 21 July 2026 and delegated final sign-off of the complete Terms of Reference to the ICB Chair, in consultation with the Chief Executive, following further engagement and co-design with all four provider trusts in August 2026.

An engagement event in August 2026 was planned, with each trust’s Chief Executive, Director of Midwifery and senior clinical leadership invited to attend. The Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership, which brings together the experiences of mothers, birthing people and families, has been given a standing place on the review’s Programme Board.

The ICB’s paper noted that an Independent Clinical Chair appointment is a “critical path dependency” and that the Programme Board cannot convene until this is confirmed.

No service changes proposed yet

The committee was told that no decision about the future shape of maternity services is being sought at this stage. The report stated that if the review’s findings lead to a recommendation to change how services are configured, this would include formal oversight by the committee and the Kent Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee where relevant. Financial modelling will take place after the evidence-gathering and engagement phase.

The committee was asked to confirm whether it wishes to receive further updates as the review progresses, and in particular ahead of any future recommendation involving potential changes to service configuration.

Sources

Top image: illustrative — not a photograph of a Kent or Medway hospital.