A "toxic" cover-up culture at the NHS is risking harm to mothers and babies becoming normalised, the doctors' regulator chief is set to reveal.

Chief Executive of the General Medical Council (GMC) Charles Massey will tell delegates at a conference on Monday “something must have gone badly wrong” in healthcare settings where new doctors are afraid to speak up.

The regulator boss suggests the "tribal" nature of medicine could result in staff and doctors contending with one another, which may lead to people feeling fearful of admitting mistakes.

Mr Massey will tell the Health Service Journal patient safety congress in Manchester: “That doctors are making life and death decisions in environments where they feel fearful to speak up is profoundly concerning.

A 'toxic' cover-up culture at the NHS is risking harm to mothers and babies becoming normalised

“Those are the very factors that lead to cover-up over candour and obfuscation over honesty. And it is in those cultures that the greatest patient harm occurs.

“Everyone in this room will be aware of the scandals of recent years concerning maternity care. This is one of the most high-risk and high-pressure areas of medicine.

“One where the consequences of things going wrong can be especially tragic and far-reaching, affecting both a mother and her baby, not to mention their wider family.”

More than one in four (27 per cent) of obstetrics and gynaecology trainees admitted they have felt wary of escalating a patient to a more senior member of staff, according to GMC data.

The regulator boss (left) suggests the 'tribal' nature of medicine could result in staff and doctors contending with one another

GMC findings also revealed the specialist practice has higher rates of bullying, greater workload stress and doctors who feel they do not receive sufficient support from their peers.

Mr Massey is set to tell the conference: “These data suggest a situation where, too often, patient safety is falling victim to unhealthy culture.

“The unthinkable – harm to mothers and their babies – is at risk of being normalised. And toxic culture is in no small part to blame."

The watchdog chief will affirm that mutual respect between medical colleagues is vital, despite the “notoriously tribal” field.

Mr Massey will say: 'The unthinkable – harm to mothers and their babies – is at risk of being normalised'

Mr Massey will plead with healthcare employers to take responsibility to ensure their workplaces promote inclusion and a sense of belonging to their staff members.

He will say: “Behind these statistics lie real people, real tragedies.

“I have met some of them and their testimony is searing.

"So for them, and for all the patients we’re here to serve, we must demand better, and never accept as normal cultures which don’t have safe care at their heart.”

The speech comes just months after Health Secretary Wes Streeting launched a national maternity investigation in England into “systemic” failures in NHS care.

Mr Streeting said that bereaved families have been frequently "gaslit" in their quest for answers.

NHS trusts and regulators across the country are failing with “too much passing the buck”, according to the Health Secretary.

The investigation will begin investigating the trusts most in crisis, including Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, and is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.