Grieving parents have called for three former NHS managers to be stripped of their honours due to a number of avoidable deaths of babies in Nottingham.
The Government-ordered review led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust found that more than 500 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or died due to “deeply embedded systemic failures” at the “toxic” trust.
The Nottingham Affected Families Group (NAFG), which represents hundreds of families, has sent three separate letters to the Government’s forfeiture committee, each calling for a CBE to be removed.
The Sunday Times reports the letters are asking for a rethink of the honours “in light of the findings of the independent review of maternity services” in the Ockenden report.
The letters note the review’s criticisms are directed at the leadership collectively and “identify significant failures of leadership and governance”, the paper adds.
It is believed one of the letters relates to Dr Peter Homa, who served as NUH’s chief executive from 2006 to 2017 and was made a CBE for services to the NHS in 2000.
Dr Homa told the newspaper of his “profound sadness on reading the findings of the review”, adding: “The families directly and indirectly affected by the service failings at NUH have my deepest, most sincere apologies.”
Dr Homa also told the newspaper the Ockenden report did not make any adverse findings about his personal conduct and denied any suggestion made by the report that he resigned after a critical CQC review, saying “any such association is inaccurate and unfair”.
Sarah and Jack Hawkins’ daughter, Harriet, was stillborn in 2016 under the care of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).
In a statement, they said: “In our minds, there is currently a clear injustice.
“To our knowledge, to date, no senior managers or clinicians have been personally, professionally or criminally sanctioned.
“How can that be right in light of the horrific findings in this independent report?
“Even worse, how can we have an Honours system that appears to reward those who were in charge when such grievous harm occurred under their watch? It’s staggering.”
Sarah and Gary Andrews’ daughter, Wynter, died 23 minutes after being born in 2019.
They believe “accountability matters” to help address public concerns and restore public confidence.
In a statement, the Andrews said: “Following the publication of the Ockenden Report, we were horrified to discover the extent of the failures at Nottingham.
“The culture that was allowed to develop is deeply troubling.
“All we have ever wanted since our daughter died is for the Trust to learn from these failures and improve.
“Unfortunately, there has been no meaningful accountability, and the failure of some senior leaders to engage with the review is further evidence of that.
“We hope the Forfeiture Committee will take the concerns raised by the Families’ Group seriously and take appropriate action to remove honours where it is justified.
“Accountability matters, not only for the families who have suffered such devastating loss, but also to help restore public confidence and ensure that lessons are truly learned.”
A decision to forfeit an honour can be based on events that predate the award or conduct that occurs after the award is made.
The Forfeiture Committee considers cases put to it when the holder of an honour has brought the honours system into disrepute.
The Cabinet Office does not comment on individual cases and NUH provided no comment on former workers.
