Largest review of maternity services in the UK set to be in Nottingham

It is widely known that a review of the maternity Services in Nottingham is being carried out by Donna Ockenden. The latest figures show that 1266 families have already contacted by the review team and 674 of those families have given consent to form part of the review itself. With this already in the pipeline, it is expected that around 1700 families’ cases overall will be examined. This will make it the largest review of maternity services to ever have taken place in the UK.

Of the families involved, most have suffered either maternal or neonatal loss, brain injury, stillbirth or alternatively harm to either mother or baby.

Families must explicitly withdraw consent from the maternity services review

With so much at stake, not only for the families who have sadly been already affected but also for the women who are still due to undergo care provided by the Trust (either at the Queens Medical Centre (QMC) or City Hospital), it has been decided that affected families must explicitly withdraw from being considered as part of the review, rather than families having to ‘opt in’ to become involved. The aim is to ensure that all types of cases are considered.

Chairman expected to apologise for maternity services failings

Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) are to hold their annual meeting today, and it is expected that the Chairman, Nick Carter, will speak to these issues. He has previously stated that the Trust will publicly apologise to the people who have experience failings in maternity care, and so those involved will be eagerly waiting to hear the outcome of this meeting.

Maternity services review to ensure representative sample

Unfortunately, the current statistics from the review so far have shown that the response from ethnic minority groups has been low, and Donna Ockenden is now keen to ensure that the review is a representative sample of the rich diversity of people in Nottingham. Ms Ockenden has called for a “radical review” from women across all communities emphasising that “there is significantly more work to do”.

Jane Williams, Partner and Head of the Clinical Negligence team in the East Midlands, welcomed the announcement expected and said:

“Extending the maternity review is a welcome development as Nottingham is one of the largest maternity units in the country and this enquiry’s findings and recommendations needs to represent a watershed moment for significant change and improvement in obstetric care, not only here in Nottingham but also across the country.”

About our maternity negligence expertise

As medical negligence lawyers we have been contacted and represent a number of families and children who have suffered or have lost loved ones as a result of failures in maternity care during labour and birth. These claims seek to ensure that any child who has suffered a preventable injury can access the services they require such as care, therapy, aids and equipment, and suitably adapted accommodation which may assist them during their lives.

For those who have sadly suffered loss we can help to secure support and therapy to help those suffering to come to terms with these devastating events. We can also help secure an apology from the Trust responsible and seek to ensure the same mistakes are not made again.If you or a loved one have similar concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us for a free, confidential discussion.

Related:

• Claims against Nottingham maternity services >