The chair of a review into maternity failings at an NHS trust has said that she will flag any evidence of criminality which could have led to the deaths of babies to the police.
Midwifery expert Donna Ockenden is leading the largest review into failings in maternity care in NHS history at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUHT), which was launched a year ago on Friday.
It is anticipated that about 1,800 families will be involved in the investigation, which is looking at the deaths of several babies and the harming of babies and mothers at NUHT’s three sites in the city.
The Nottingham Families Maternity Group is calling for police to investigate whether anyone is criminally culpable for the failings, claiming they “expect action”.
If my team encountered anything that they felt should be referred to the police, we would do that in a very timely way— Donna Ockenden, review chair
Speaking on Friday, Ms Ockenden said any evidence of criminal activity would be passed on, but said it was a matter for the police as to whether a criminal investigation should be launched.
She said: “I’ve heard those requests and, I think what I can say as chair of this independent review, is that any involvement or not of the police is entirely a matter for Nottinghamshire Police.
“I am meeting with the chief constable next week for an exploratory initial conversation.
“I don’t know what the content of that conversation will be yet, but what I would say to families is that if my team encountered anything that they felt should be referred to the police, we would do that in a very timely way.
“We have a public duty to do that, and we would do that.”
It remains unclear as to when the review’s final report will be published, with a revised timeline set to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
The report’s publication has been pushed back after hundreds more families became automatically involved in the review following a change to the ‘opt-out’ system, which means families have to opt out of being involved, rather than opt in.
It is hoped that this move will encourage more families, particularly those from minority ethnic backgrounds or those for whom English is not their first language, to come forward to ensure all experiences are accounted for.
People do sometimes fear reprisal, colleagues do fear reprisal, and that has to stop— Donna Ockenden, review chair
Letters to families from the review will be made available in languages such as Urdu, with women also able to access information about the review in libraries across the city if they cannot access technology at home.
As well as hundreds of families, 690 staff from NUHT have come forward to share concerns, many of whom doing so anonymously.
It comes as Dr Jack and Sarah Hawkins, a family involved in the review who became one of the first to raise concerns over care at NUHT after losing their daughter due to medical negligence, said they feared more scandals were yet to be uncovered due to staff feeling unable to speak out.
Ms Ockenden said that staff across the NHS should feel comfortable raising concerns to colleagues, but said the fear of reprisal “has to stop”.
She said: “All NHS staff working on the ground should feel that they have the ability to speak up and speak out and be heard, without any fear of recriminations coming back to them.
“There is a freedom-to-speak-up-structure within all of the NHS in England, and I will say to staff, it’s really important that you use that.
“If you see things that concern you, you should speak out.
“Having said that, I talk to colleagues across the NHS in England, inside maternity services outside maternity services, and there isn’t always that confidence to speak up and speak out.
“People do sometimes fear reprisal, colleagues do fear reprisal, and that has to stop.”
Meanwhile, Ms Ockenden, who previously led a similar review into the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, praised the chief executive of NUHT, Anthony May, for his “compassion and kindness” with affected families, claiming he had been “incredibly helpful”.
She said she believes the trust, which meets with her regularly, can make the necessary changes to ensure such failings are not repeated.
She said: “What I’ve picked up to date in the last year is an absolute commitment by the trust to make the change necessary.
“They’re going to need support from NHS England, they’re going to need resourcing for these changes to happen, they’re going to also need support with a retention of really good staff and recruitment of more staff as well.
“Maternity services in any trust is not an island, they do need to be surrounded by bodies and organisations that help them get better.
“We are absolutely committed to playing our part and everyone else, in terms of the funding that they may need, the help they may need, the encouragement they may need, needs to step up as well to help them.”
