Donna Ockenden, the senior midwife leading the review into Nottingham maternity failings, says she has heard harrowing stories after dozens of families got in touch. Ms Ockenden, who officially launched the independent inquiry into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) on Thursday (September 1), said she was pleased to be getting started.
Ms Ockenden, who uncovered 200 avoidable baby deaths at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust earlier this year, said "dozens and dozens of families and many, many staff" had already been in contact after an email was set up last month to encourage and allow people to get in touch.
"We are responding to each message individually and I'm responding to many myself," Ms Ockenden told Nottinghamshire Live. "It's a range of concerns, some similar to which we've heard before. I'm pleased that some staff have come forward and I want them to feel confident that they can reach out to us in confidence."
Read more: Donna Ockenden urges families to come forward for Nottingham maternity review
Ms Ockenden added: "As you would expect some of the stories are harrowing and difficult to hear and read, and I think that will be the case going forward. The important thing is that families feel they can make that initial contact."
- People wishing to contact the review can do so by emailing nottsreview@donnaockenden.com
The review was launched after more than 100 families with experiences of maternity failings wrote to former Health Secretary Sajid Javid demanding Ms Ockenden be appointed. A much-criticised initial review was subsequently scrapped.
Outlining her commitments to the people of Nottinghamshire, Ms Ockenden said: "This review has got to help Nottingham maternity services to get safer, and better, as quickly as it can but also in a way that is sustainable so that mothers and babies and families who use their local services can feel confident that we've helped them to improve that service. I want staff to feel confident that we are working towards making their service a better place for them to work and to deliver maternity care."
Officials from NUH said they were deeply sorry for the "unimaginable distress" that had been caused by the maternity failings. In a statement issued on the day of the review's launch, NUH chiefs said: "We know that an apology will never be enough though and we owe it to those who have been failed, those we’re caring for today and to our staff, to deliver a better maternity service for our communities.
"We welcome the review and will work with Donna’s team to achieve this. We also encourage all staff, from maternity and across our trust, to engage with the review to ensure that the process achieves its objectives.
"We know, too, that this is an unsettling time for women and families using our maternity services right now. Please know that the review will not impact day-to-day levels of care and that our teams are focused on maintaining standards and delivering quality care throughout."
NUH's maternity services at Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital remain 'inadequate' following an unannounced inspection from the Care Quality Commission in March to see if improvements had been made.
Read next:
- Settlement reached after baby suffers injuries during birth at Nottingham hospital
- Donna Ockenden hopes to be in Nottingham 'soon' after 'stark' CQC report
- Nottingham maternity report finds evidence of 'bullying behaviour'
- CQC demands 'widespread and rapid' maternity service improvements at NUH
- Read more health news from across Nottinghamshire
