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."
