The Global State of Patient Safety 2025 report, produced by Imperial College’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (with NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration and Patient Safety Watch) was published on Thursday 29th January 2026. The report assesses healthcare safety across 38 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, including the UK.
The report was launched at the House of Lords on Thursday evening by Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP and former Health Secretary Sir Jeremy Hunt MP. Judy Ledger MBE, CEO and Founder of Baby Lifeline, and Sara Ledger, Head of Research & Development, were pleased to be invited to attend this important event.
The report outlines the need for maternity care to remain a national priority. Maternity was also a key focus of the launch event, with almost all speakers reinforcing that improvements to maternal and neonatal safety are paramount in saving lives and improving care.
Key findings from the report:
- Patient safety worldwide is improving (with some caveats, such as that available data from lower- and middle-income countries is incomplete, and that there are some time lags within the data)
- Across the 38 countries, Norway ranked first for patient safety
- The UK remained 21st out of 38 for patient safety – unchanged since 2023
- If the UK had matched the rate of treatable mortality of Switzerland, the UK could have had 22,789 fewer deaths in 2021
- The report positions maternal and neonatal outcomes as central to understanding patient safety:
- Global neonatal mortality showed continued long-term downward trends, but the report highlights areas of improvement for the UK
- If the UK had matched the neonatal mortality rate of Japan (which ranked first for this measure), the UK could have had 1,123 fewer neonatal deaths in 2023.
While these figures represent important areas for improvement, the data also represent individuals and families – lives that could have been saved.
Global progress, but persistent gaps in maternity and neonatal safety
The overall ranking places the United Kingdom 21st (unchanged from the previous report published in 2024), and offers insights relating specifically to maternal health, neonatal outcomes, and preventable harm – areas that sit at the heart of Baby Lifeline’s mission.
The ranking used four patient safety measures and data sources:
- Maternal mortality
- Treatable mortality (causes of death that can usually be avoided through timely and effective care)
- Adverse effects of medical treatment
- Neonatal disorders (including preterm birth complications, neonatal sepsis and other infections).
The report positions maternal and neonatal outcomes as central to understanding patient safety, and identifies a long-term, worldwide decline in both neonatal and maternal mortality. However, the report recommends further investigation and action to reduce the rates and causes of neonatal mortality in the UK, particularly in relation to preterm birth (babies born before 37 weeks’ gestation).
At the launch event, Sir Jeremy Hunt MP spoke about the need to “look globally,” in order to find opportunities to save lives. For example, if the UK had matched Japan’s rate, the UK could have had 1,123 fewer baby deaths in 2023.
Action needed to reduce preventable harm
The Global State of Patient Safety 2025 report identifies areas where harm could be reduced, including by “addressing certain risk factors and upstream deficiencies in care.”
However, data released earlier this month by MBRRACE-UK shows slow progress in improving the maternal death rate in the UK: in 2022–24 it was 20% higher than in 2009–11, when the government set its ambition to halve maternal mortality. Excluding COVID‑19 deaths made minimal difference, indicating structural drivers beyond the pandemic.
The leading causes of maternal death were thrombosis and thromboembolism (blood clots), cardiac disease, and psychiatric causes including suicide. Black and Asian women are still more likely to die than white women, and those living in deprived areas are still more likely to die than those living in the least deprived areas.
Sadly, last year’s MBRRACE-UK Saving Lives, Improving Care report found that, for nearly half (45%) of the 263 women that died in 2021-2023 and whose care was assessed, improvements in their care may have made a difference to the outcome.
The UK has much work to do to improve outcomes for women, birthing people and babies, in order to make care better and safer, and reduce preventable harm where possible.
At the launch event, Dr Blerta Maliqi, Unit Head, Patient Safety and Quality of Care at the World Health Organization warned that the UK must not become complacent about maternity safety, stating that the recommendations made in the Global State of Patient Safety 2025 report are “known levers for change.”
Wes Streeting MP outlined some of the measures that the current government is putting in place to improve maternity safety, including the National Maternity and Neonatal Review, led by Baroness Amos, and the introduction of early warning scores. “With so many competing instructions,” he said,” we want to ensure there are clear priorities for care providers that will make the most difference, most quickly.”
A Strategic Imperative for Maternity and Neonatal Safety
For the UK, the findings from the Global State of Patient Safety 2025 report highlight clear gaps between the UK’s current performance and what is demonstrably achievable. In maternity and neonatal care – areas with profound long-term consequences for families and communities – this gap carries particular weight.
Nevertheless, the report affirms that substantial reductions in preventable harm are possible. Realising this potential will require sustained, coordinated effort across the maternity and neonatal safety landscape – an agenda at the core of Baby Lifeline’s mission.
