Sussex baby deaths inquiry will ‘fail to learn lessons’ after excluding families, Streeting warned

Bereaved parents say review of nine deaths is too narrow and will urge health secretary to add 60 more cases

An inquiry into the preventable deaths of babies in Sussex will fail to learn the lessons as it “systematically” excluded dozens of families, Wes Streeting has been warned ahead of a meeting with bereaved parents.

The health secretary has ordered a review of nine infant deaths at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust amid maternity scandals across England. However, families are calling on Streeting to expand the investigation to include more than 60 babies who died between 2019 and 2023 and might have survived with better care.