Nottingham maternity review: Hayley Coates calls on parents to join

A mother whose week-old baby boy died after a series of failings is urging other parents to share their experiences with a review into the maternity service.

The review, led by midwife Donna Ockenden, is investigating failings at Nottingham's two maternity units.

Hayley Coates said her son Kaylan's birth at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in 2018 was traumatic.

The trust that runs the hospital said it was committed to making changes.

The review comes after dozens of babies died or were injured at hospitals run by the trust - the QMC and Nottingham City Hospital.

Ms Coates, 30, from Broxtowe, said an inquest had found her son's death could and should have been avoided, had her request for a Caesarean section been listened to.

Kaylan suffered serious injuries during a forceps delivery and died from a hospital infection a week later.

Ms Coates said: "It's been life-changing. Something like that should never have happened.

"My son should still be alive. A lot of things went wrong.

"The entire time was a blur and the whole time my son was in neonatal, I spent by his side.

"I never really left his side at all."

Although Ms Coates has gone on to have other children she said she has never got over the loss of Kaylan.

"I suffer with depression, PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] and it's completely changed me as a person," she said.

"The pain of losing a child is just something you can't explain to anybody and even other parents that have lost children - their pain will be different to what I'm going through."

She said she hoped as many people as possible would engage with the review.

"I want to share my story to encourage other mothers and fathers to come forward with their experiences," she said.

"Maybe their babies have not passed away but they have had injuries or complications.

"They could still bring their views forward and help with the investigation so [it's] desperately needed."

The latest figures suggest 949 families have contacted the review, while the total number of staff stands at 411.

Michelle Rhodes, chief nurse at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, said: "I offer my unreserved apologies for the distress that has been caused due to the failings in our maternity services.

"We are committed to making the necessary and sustainable improvements to provide the best possible care for women and families who use our maternity services.

"This is why we will continue to do all we can to support the work of Donna Ockenden's independent review."

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