Nottingham midwives describe impact of maternity review

Midwives have spoken about the impact of a review into maternity services in Nottingham.

The units at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust are being examined by midwife and healthcare expert Donna Ockenden.

It follows dozens of baby deaths and injuries at the Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital.

The review is also urging more black and Asian mothers to get in touch, after they highlighted concerns.

It comes as it was announced several affected families would later meet staff from the trust and NHS England, alongside Ms Ockenden, in a bid to improve relations and patient safety.

Black and Asian families previously told the Nottingham review they have a "deepened mistrust" of the service.

Ms Ockenden sent a letter to the trust's chief executive Anthony May, explaining her concerns with the way the trust treats black and Asian women within its maternity services, which are currently rated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as inadequate.

The letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), said the trust had failed to communicate properly with black and Asian women and failed to appreciate cultural sensitivities.

In response, the trust said a new task force, made up of midwives, doctors, researchers, advocates and black and Asian staff and families, had been set up to specifically address the feedback raised.

Midwives Gemma Poole and Sabah Ghaffar are working with the review, in particular focusing on bringing in more black and Asian voices.

They told the LDRS many more white families have come forward to speak to the review team, compared to response rates from black and Asian families.

"We have seen women's trust and willingness to come forward to speak about their experiences at NUH significantly decrease in the last six months," Ms Poole said.

"I think it's a combination of the black maternal health report, the fact that baby loss statistics are getting worse, and the fact that families don't see change at NUH.

"They lack confidence in the service and you can only reverse that with action, not words."

Ms Poole praised Ms Ockenden's work in bringing about change.

"Donna's review - it's a breath of fresh air," she added.

Kelly Powell-Williams, a urology oncology nurse at the trust, said she had three rounds of IVF and three miscarriages.

She found out she was pregnant with twins in November 2022, but lost one baby at eight weeks. She is now 27 weeks pregnant.

She said: "Representation is really important. When I was first looking for fertility treatments in Nottingham, there were no black or brown women on the website. There was also no information about what happens when you have a miscarriage.

"I don't think I will feel completely reassured until my baby is here, given the statistics about the disparities around black maternal health. It's a constant worry."

Michelle Rhodes, chief nurse at the trust, said: "Listening to women and families who use our maternity services is crucial to making the improvements that we all want to see.

"We know that more must be done to ensure that the voices of women from all the communities we serve are heard and we welcome the feedback from Donna Ockenden and her team."

The review team can be contacted on [email protected].

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