Baby deaths: Largest maternity review in history of NHS to be published
The largest maternity review in the history of the NHS is due to be published, detailing how widespread failings led to the deaths of babies and caused avoidable harm.
Around 2,500 families and more than 800 members of staff have contributed to the review into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, with the organisation having already paid out millions of pounds in compensation and fines after being prosecuted for poor care.
The government-ordered review of NUH’s maternity services has been led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden and is expected to detail how failures at every level contributed to families suffering harm.
Nottinghamshire Police launched a corporate manslaughter case last year as part of a wider criminal investigation into maternity failings at NUH, which runs Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre.
On Monday, Nottinghamshire Police said two men had been arrested “in connection with operating practices in the mortuary service” provided by the trust.
The men, aged 55 and 59, were arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.
Regulators the General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) are investigating allegations against individual staff from NUH.
Among those affected are Jack and Sarah Hawkins, whose daughter Harriet was stillborn in 2016 after multiple failures, including a lack of monitoring of Mrs Hawkins during labour.
NUH claimed there were no errors in the care provided by the trust and Harriet’s death could not be avoided.
Mr and Mrs Hawkins and other families are calling for a statutory public inquiry into poor maternity care.
Mr Hawkins, 57, worked for the NUH trust as a hospital consultant at the time Harriet died, while Mrs Hawkins, 43, was a senior physiotherapist.
Mr Hawkins told the Press Association: “Our biggest thing is, how has this happened in plain sight of the state, the mandarins in the Department of Health and Social Care, the board of NHS England?
“How on earth have we allowed it that there are 1,000 avoidable baby deaths in this country every year and, in a particular place, there are this many schools’ worth of children missing or damaged beyond belief, and dead mums and damaged mums? How have we got here?”
Mrs Hawkins said: “It’s massive, because we worked there as well.
“Not only was our daughter killed, but we couldn’t go back to our careers, our jobs, everything. Every single aspect of life was changed.
“I know a lot of Nottingham families just want some form of justice, to clear their children’s name, to know that the harm that was caused wasn’t their fault.
“I think there needs to be individual sanctions, because at the minute – and in Nottingham – you can harm or kill babies and nothing happens. There is no accountability.
“And if you set that as a standard, you’re not going to have an open and honest culture, because it’s just going to be swept under the carpet.”
Mr Hawkins explained how some of the worst aspects included the trust covering up mistakes.
An initial review by NUH not involving Mr and Mrs Hawkins concluded there were no errors in care and Harriet’s death was from infection.
“We have a dead child. We have a dead child, and she was killed, in essence, by the NHS, who knew that they were killing babies, but they just didn’t tell Sarah and I,” Mr Hawkins said.
“And instead of saying, ‘Jesus, we knew this is terrible’, they said, ‘No, you did something wrong. She was wrong. We did everything right’ and just tried to bury us.”
The couple had their legal case against the trust settled out of court for £2.8 million.
Last year, they spoke of their heartbreak after discovering Harriet’s body had been allowed to decompose so badly by NUH it had to be triple-bagged for her funeral.
The couple told PA they had been made aware of Monday’s arrests relating the NUH’s mortuary.
Gary and Sarah Andrews, whose daughter Wynter died in 2019 some 23 minutes after being born, said they have been failed by NUH, which was prosecuted over the care it provided to the family.
The trust was fined £800,000 after admitting failings in the care of baby Wynter.
Mr Andrews, 38, told PA: “The report being published today needs to serve as a wake-up call to the NHS locally and nationally, that what’s gone on before cannot be allowed to continue.”
The couple have a son, Bowie, aged four.
Mrs Andrews, 41, told PA: “I think, personally, it’s got harder because we watch Bowie grow up and realise all the milestones we’re missing with Wynter and that’s heartbreaking.
“We should have never had to fight in the first place and actually we should not be doing it now. We shouldn’t have to be doing this.
“There should be accountability, and it shouldn’t be on families to have to fight to be heard and believed.
“And actually, the impact on our lives… The death of our daughter means we’ll never be the same again.”
The NMC said it was looking at 96 fitness to practise cases relating to maternity care at NUH.
Of these, 80 were at an initial assessment stage, while 15 were undergoing full investigations.
One case of a midwife had been investigated and was due to be decided on. An interim order meant they were currently unable to practice.
The GMC, which regulates doctors, was looking at 62 cases, of which 53 were at initial stage and nine were at early investigative stages.
GMC investigators were also reviewing more than 300 information reports passed to them from the Ockenden review, it told PA. The Ockenden review covers the period April 2012 and May 2025.
Last February, NUH was ordered to pay £1.66 million after pleading guilty to six charges brought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of failing to provide safe care and treatment to three mothers and their babies.
Published: by Radio NewsHub