Bereaved parents said they have been left ‘furious’ after a leaked message sent to maternity staff at Nottingham University Hospitals responded to Donna Ockenden’s visit to the city by criticising media coverage. The Director of Midwifery at the trust, Sharon Wallis, sent an internal memo to staff in maternity after Ms Ockenden met families in Nottingham who have lost babies in incidents at the trust, which runs the City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre.
Afterwards she also gave interviews to local journalists outlining how her review would move forward. Experienced midwife Ms Ockenden led a previous review into Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust’s maternity services.
The review will officially start in September 2022 and is expected to last around 18 months – depending on the number of families who come forward. Jack and Sarah Hawkins, whose baby Harriet died in 2016 at City Hospital, said there was “no excuse” for the message that was sent to maternity staff.
