Hope maternity services have 'turned a corner'

Donna Ockenden said managers at one point had taken their "eye off the ball"

The head of the independent review into failings at Nottingham’s two maternity units says she believes the trust may have made significant progress.

The cases of nearly 2,000 families are being examined by the inquiry into baby deaths and injuries.

In July, senior midwife Donna Ockenden expressed concern improvements at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust had "stalled".

But she has now said that due to work being put in by managers and staff she is "hopeful that we have turned a corner".

The City Hospital is one of two centres which are under investigation

Ms Ockenden has given an update into the review - now the largest of its kind in the UK - which this month marks its second anniversary.

It has been exploring stillbirths, neonatal deaths, injured babies, maternal deaths and care of mothers dating back to April 2012, and in May was expanded to include antenatal care.

Ms Ockenden said: "I think there was a time over the early summer, to use a football analogy, 'the eye was very definitely taken off the ball'. I am hopeful that we have turned a corner.”

She also admitted she was hearing from family and staff about a growing level of concern about the service, rather than a reduction.

But she felt this might be the result of people feeling more confident about speaking out.

Trust chief executive Anthony May has backed the improvements, said Ms Ockenden

She said: “When I hear the same concerns, when I am having to repeat the same concerns over and over again [to the trust ], that is really frustrating.

"But that does not mean I am going to stop.

"Families can see the work that we are doing, and they hear what they say does count, and does lead to ongoing improvements.

"But equally, there is still a lot of work to do. We are on a mission here."

She also accepted Anthony May, the trust's chief executive, was fully committed to making maternity services “safer, kinder and more inclusive".

Despite this, she said there had been more issues over bereavement services and also discrimination towards some families.

In July, the trust launched the "Everyone is Welcome" initiative, backed by its "new organisational values : kind, inclusive, ambitious, and one team".

The review expects to deliver its final report in September 2025.

Analysis

By Rob Sissons, East Midlands health correspondent

For harmed families, the investigation has been a chance to finally feel listened to and get closer to the truth about what has gone wrong with Nottingham’s maternity services for so many years.

Donna Ockenden is respected by campaigning families as someone who understands the issues facing maternity, is prepared to challenge NHS management, and is compassionate and kind in her approach to traumatised families who, for years, say their concerns were minimised, denied or brushed aside.

Crucially, Ms Ockenden and her team will make judgements on individual cases as to whether harm was avoidable and whether, with adequate care, babies and women would have been likely to survive or avoid injury.

In this way, the report will expose the depth and scale of failings.

The final report will undoubtedly receive huge national media attention, and if a statutory wider public inquiry into maternity failings has not been agreed to by the government by then, we can fully expect renewed calls for one to be organised.