Nottingham maternity review families 'expect action' over deaths

Families affected by maternity failings at a hospital trust have said they "expect action" against those responsible for dozens of baby deaths and injuries.

The review began after babies died or were seriously injured at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust.

Last month it was confirmed the review would be the largest ever carried out in the UK.

Families praised the review's progress but said no staff had been sanctioned.

The trust has promised to improve "whatever it takes".

Senior midwife Donna Ockenden took over the running of the review, having previously led an inquiry into maternity failings at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust.

She is preparing to examine the cases of 1,800 families, with about 700 current and former trust staff contacting the review team.

In a statement, the Nottingham Families Maternity Group said: "To date, not a single person - clinical staff, managerial staff, board member, commissioner, governance lead - has been held to account for the known, avoidable and predictable failures.

"We expect action, just as there would be if a baby or mother had died or suffered horrific injury in any other circumstance."

Dr Jack Hawkins - whose daughter Harriet died as a result of failings in 2016 - said there were "missing classrooms" of children in Nottingham as a result of failings.

His wife Sarah, both of whom used to work for the trust, added: "There were healthy mothers going in with healthy babies and were coming out with empty car seats, they were having to do CPR on their babies and walk out with tiny white coffins. This was absolutely horrific.

"If this happened in any other walk of life, there would be accountability."

The death of Gary and Sarah Andrews' daughter Wynter, 23 minutes after she was born at the Queen's Medical Centre in 2019, led to the trust being prosecuted and fined £800,000 for its failings.

The couple said they were "incredibly grateful for the review".

Mrs Andrews said: "Every day there are reminders that Wynter is not here and she should be.

"When she died, we said we wanted her death to not to be in vain and wanted to know change had happened.

"We hope Donna Ockenden can find out how the situation came about and how the trust was allowing such poor care to happen."

Trust chief executive Anthony May said he was committed to being honest and transparent with families.

He said: "We still have a long way [to go], but our communities can be assured that maternity services are improving and we are making sustainable progress in a number of areas to benefit the safety and wellbeing of women, families and staff as part of our maternity improvement programme.

"Our trust, our hospitals, are a landmark in these communities and we absolutely have to find a way and the capacity to improve if we're going to maintain the trust and confidence of local people.

"So whatever the cost, whatever it takes, we must respond to the review."

The trust's maternity units at the City Hospital and Queen's Medical Centre have been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) since 2020.

The findings of a recent inspection are expected to be published this autumn.

Ms Ockenden's review was expected to last 18 months, but the scale has since expanded and it is now expected to take most of 2024 to complete - and even run into 2025 when a final report will be published.

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by the issues in this story, please visit the BBC Action Line to find information on organisations that can help.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].