As many as 750 bereaved families have come forward for the 'extremely large' review into maternity failings at Nottingham's hospitals in what could be the biggest maternity NHS scandal to date. The review in Nottingham, which began in September, is expected to last 18 months - with the final report estimated to be published in 2024.
But Donna Ockenden, the chair of the independent inquiry, said that local families "should not have had to fight as hard as they did for this review to get off the ground". The expert midwife, who chaired the inquiry that uncovered failings leading to 201 baby deaths in Shrewsbury and Telford, launched the review into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) on September 1. She hopes that the review will be kept as a legacy for the bereaved families "who had to fight to be heard over many years".
"If there is something that we must learn across England's maternity services, it is that families deserve to be listened to always, and should not have to fight in the way that both the Shrewsbury families and now, more recently, the Nottingham families have had to," Ms Ockenden said. "The vast majority of families who have come forward are just so pleased to be listened to."
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Last month, Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), which is at the centre of the maternity review, said that more than 1,000 families have been identified as having cases which could be relevant to the review. It came after 700 families previously came forward with their concerns.
More than 1,500 families are expected to be covered by the Nottingham review, which would make it the largest maternity scandal faced by the NHS. For context, 1,486 families were examined during the Shrewsbury and Telford review. But the Shrewsbury review covered cases spanning over several decades, from 1973 to 2020, whereas the Nottingham review will investigate cases from 2012 onwards.
NUH said that, alongside Ms Ockenden, it had written to all of the families identified and that letters would arrive with information about how they can contact the review.
Recollecting a heartfelt moment from one of the families contacted, Ms Ockenden added: "We have had a family saying that they received my letter and cried tears of joy because somebody at last is listening to them. We have had lots of communication like that."
She continued: "When we look at the main components that we will be looking at, we are talking about babies who have suffered severe brain damage, babies who have died in the first weeks of life, and mothers who suffered severe harm and mothers who have lost their lives. What we are going to be hearing about from these families is absolute tragedy - life-changing tragedy.
"That, with all the expertise in my team - I cannot put that right, I cannot turn the clock back. So while families are truly grateful to be heard, and they are glad that they are telling me, they are glad that their experience will go on to make better care for others - I cannot undo what has happened to them. I cannot take away the tragedy, the hurt, and the distress that has happened to them. I think this is something that all of us in the review team keep in our minds. You cannot turn back the clock. We wish we could but we cannot."
Ms Ockenden has recruited more than 80 midwives and doctors who will be "on the ground". They will be carrying out clinical reviews, and her team is part of more than 40 NHS trusts across the country, stretching from Newcastle in the north right down to Cornwall in the southwest.
"So that gives my review, I think, a lot of validity and relevance. All of them come together to do some excelllent work in the review."
More than 250 members of staff have come forward so far to assist with the investigation. But Ms Ockenden has called for the "hundreds and hundreds" of former and current midwives and doctors to "do the right thing" and help with their review.
"We recognise that to make that first contact is not easy," Ms Ockenden said. "So what I would like to say to staff, first of all, is that everything you tell us will be kept in the strictest confidence, unless of course, they raise something that is a real concern to patient safety. Then of course, quite rightly, they would understand that we need to act on that."
She added: "It can be deeply distressing for staff, but what I would like to say is that this is their opportunity to make things better because by telling everything they have to tell us, we can put this information together - to help Nottingham's maternity services better and safer. So I would like to call upon all staff to please, do the right thing, and come forward."
The independent Nottingham review, which is deemed to be "extremely large", is at its early stages. "I think of it as building a house - you do not start putting up the walls until you have got a very strong foundation," Ms Ockenden added.
Throughout the summer, and officially from the start of September, her work focused on ensuring that all the legal agreements are in place - and that "strictly confidential information" will be handled appropriately. "The trust has been working hard behind the scenes to identify all of the cases that they think may be relevant to our team."
Ms Ockenden has stressed that consent must be given by the families before the team can access their medical records. The 750 families who have assisted with the review so far come from a range of different backgrounds, including members at the Nottingham Muslim Women's Association. Interpreting services will be available in a number of languages other than English, to ensure that "all families can feel confident in coming forward", Ms Ockenden added.
NUH's maternity services at both the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital are currently rated 'inadequate' by the Care Quality Commission.
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