Nottingham families affected by maternity failings say they have been given hope after meeting the midwife in charge of a new review. Donna Ockenden met with parents, some of whom had babies who died or suffered serious injuries, in the city on Monday, July 11.
Jack Hawkins, who attended along with wife Sarah and 10 other parents who were instrumental in securing the review, said he feels it will "clearly be the review we hope it will be". Mr Hawkins, whose baby Harriet was stillborn after a series of failings at Nottingham University Hospitals' (NUH) in 2016, told Nottinghamshire Live: "It was good and as we expected it would be. It was a really helpful meeting.
"She listened, she was interested in what we had to say, everything's pointing towards a review that will be good for Nottingham." After the meeting, Ms Ockenden said she was very pleased to have met the families.
Read more: Settlement reached after baby suffers injuries during birth at Nottingham hospital
She said she would establish the review's terms of reference - or "building blocks" - before it begins in September. "The ultimate aim is to make sure that the performance of the trust's maternity service in Nottingham improves as quickly as possible so that local families can once again have confidence and pride in the safety of the maternity services," she said in a video statement.
"For everyone involved, this review must result in timely, real and sustained change and improvement to maternity care in Nottingham." Mr Hawkins hopes the review can lead to more affected families sharing their stories.
"In Nottingham, if you think you've had bad care then maybe get yourself ready and talk to family and friends about if you're going to come forward," he encouraged. "And hopefully the answer is yes because the more people who come forward, the more information and the better the review will be."
NUH's scandal-hit maternity services at Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital are rated 'inadequate' by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Ms Ockenden, who uncovered 200 avoidable baby deaths at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust across two decades, was hired in May to conduct a similar review in Nottingham.
It came one month after more than 100 families wrote to former Health Secretary Sajid Javid. A heavily-criticised initial thematic review was scrapped midway through.
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
