Nottingham hospital bosses are unlikely to meet a deadline to clear a backlog of incomplete investigations into serious maternity incidents. Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH), which runs the Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital, currently has 53 outstanding maternity incidents which have not yet been investigated.
Serious incidents are unexpected or unintended events that could cause NHS patients harm. The trust had said in September it had a ‘backlog’ of incidents which were due to be investigated. In an update, the trust said it has managed to clear a number of those incidents – but it declared another nine in September and October 2022.
NUH had previously said it had a target completion date for investigations by December 23 – but in the November board meeting, the director of midwifery admitted they had not progressed as quickly as she would have hoped. Maternity services at the trust have been declared ‘inadequate’ by health watchdogs.
