Donna Ockenden says she is "saddened that Nottingham families have had such a horrible time" amid growing speculation that she may head an independent review of Nottingham's troubled maternity services. She was responding to a note in Jeremy Hunt's newsletter which suggested the Department of Health see her as "too independent" for the job.
Families have consistently called for her after her report on maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust found more than 200 babies had died over a period of two decades. It comes amid growing calls for a similar review into services at Nottingham University Hospitals, which runs the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital.
There have been 34 known maternity investigations following adverse incidents at NUH since 2018, according to representatives of the families. They have involved three maternal deaths, 22 babies who faced potential severe brain injury, four neonatal deaths and five stillbirths. The current review has seen 500 families speak out about the maternity services in the city and it came after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said its services had been "inadequate" in an inspection in 2020.
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A Twitter user posted a snippet of what Jeremy Hunt, who chairs the health and social care committee, said in his most recent newsletter: "The [Nottingham] families have reiterated calls for Donna Ockenden to lead the review into the maternity services at Nottingham after she seemed to confirm she would be free in July. If that is the case and the families are happy to wait until then I can't see any other barriers to appointing her but it sounds she still won't be.
"For some reason the Department of Health appears to think she is too independent - which of course is precisely why Nottingham families do have confidence in her. It feels like another own goal. I am meeting the families tomorrow."
In response, Ms Ockenden tweeted: "Thank you Derek! [she] has definitely seen it! I am so saddened that the Nottingham families have had such a horrible time - I’m lost for words really…"
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