Police reviewing more than 100 maternity cases

Police have received a first batch of more than 100 cases out of about 2,000 from an independent review into maternity services, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden

More than 100 baby deaths and injuries at a hospital trust are being reviewed by police.

An independent inquiry into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, has been ongoing since September 2022.

Nottinghamshire Police, which announced a criminal investigation in September 2023, said it had recently started to receive information from the Ockenden review team.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin said all referrals would be "meticulously investigated".

It comes as Ms Ockenden's inquiry nears 2,000 cases, which are being handled by more than 120 clinical reviewers.

Of those, "more than 100 cases" have been referred to police, the force said.

The force told the BBC it had asked the review team to provide information on all the cases they hold.

Donna Ockenden said about 40 new reviewers were being recruited

Mr Griffin said: "I expect the number of referrals will further increase and all cases will be meticulously investigated by a team of skilled and professional investigators who are dedicated to this case."

Affected families remained "at the heart" of the force's investigation, he said.

"We are receiving information from Donna Ockenden's review team and our approach is being underpinned by compassion, care and candour toward those affected," he added.

Ms Ockenden said: "We have signed a memorandum of understanding [to enable us to share information] with Nottinghamshire Police.

"As part of this, the police have asked that we share all review cases with them, and we are currently at the beginning of this process.

"We will continue to share the remaining review cases with Nottinghamshire Police, upon their request."

'Fully co-operate'

Meanwhile, the trust said it had been focused on its "maternity improvement programme" and had seen staff numbers increasing, recruitment into leadership roles and improved staff retention.

The trust added it understood there was "still more work to do".

Tracy Pilcher, chief nurse, said: "We welcome Donna's feedback and the opportunities it provides us to continue to improve our maternity services.

"We are committed to both the independent review of maternity services and police investigation and will fully co-operate with their inquiries."