Senior midwife open to lead Sussex maternity review

Donna Ockenden said it was not acceptable that families had to fight for answers to what happened to their babies

A senior midwife has said it would be "an honour" to lead a review into maternity services in Sussex.

Families who lost babies under the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust (UHSx) have been campaigning for 18 months for an inquiry and have insisted that senior midwife Donna Ockenden is appointed to lead it.

Donna Ockenden is a former clinical midwife who led the Ockenden Review into failings in maternity care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

Ms Ockenden said it was "an honour to be trusted by families", but that it was not her decision.

Ms Ockenden is currently leading the largest investigation ever carried out into maternity failings in the NHS.

A total of 2,297 cases of harm to babies and women are being examined as part of the independent review into Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Ockenden said: "The Nottingham families have discussed this with me and I have said that I feel confident that there is a way that I can do this, that I can lead this review [in Sussex] without in any way impacting on the timeline for Nottingham.

"So it's waiting now to speak to the Secretary of State in the coming days where I can outline how that can be achieved."

Katie Fowler and Rob Miller have called for an inquiry following the death of their baby daughter Abigail

Nine families in Sussex, who say medical errors led to their babies' deaths, were promised a review by Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

When asked if the Sussex families should have had to fight to learn what happened to their children, Ms Ockenden replied: "Absolutely not."

"It is about compounded harm," she said. "They've already suffered the most appalling life-changing harm and to then have to fight to get answers is just not acceptable and we've got to stop this."

Katie Fowler and Rob Miller's baby daughter Abigail died at two days old at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton in January 2022.

The couple said it was important that any review was led by someone they trust.

"In the words of the health secretary, we are owed a thorough account of what happened to our babies," they said.

"Donna has shown through her work in Shrewsbury & Telford and Nottingham that she is the right person who has the teams and methodology in place to carry out this vital review."

More than a dozen families have now come forward in Sussex raising concerns. As a group, they have said they have been "left out in the cold with no progress since June.

"All of our MPs in Sussex and the chair of the APPG on maternity have jointly urged Mr Streeting to appoint Donna Ockenden without delay," they said.

The group added that they were "grateful she has confirmed she and her team are able to do this."

The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.