Nottingham maternity review: Proposed chair steps down from role

Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust runs both the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital

A woman who was set to lead a review into maternity services in Nottingham has declined to take up the role.

Former NHS trust chair Julie Dent's appointment to lead an examination of Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust was announced last month.

Now a letter has cited "personal reasons" for her not taking the job.

On Wednesday, four representatives from a group of families involved met Health Secretary Sajid Javid to discuss the review.

The families have previously asked for Donna Ockenden, who led an inquiry into failings in Shropshire, to lead a review.

In a letter to families, Sir David Sloman - chief operating officer for NHS England and NHS Improvement - said he would provide more information on the steps taken to find a new chairman at a later date.

"The NHS remains committed to ensuring that the experience of families, any themes identified across maternity safety incidents, and concerns raised, all drive rapid improvements in care for women and babies in Nottingham," he said.

In a joint statement, the families said: "We are grateful to Sajid Javid for meeting with us and for taking a personal interest in our campaign.

"It is the first time that families have been properly listened to by senior healthcare professionals since Jack and Sarah Hawkins originally whistle blew the problems in maternity care at NUHT back in 2016.

"Today feels like the first significant step towards ensuring the protection of babies and mothers from death and harm in the future."

They added they planned on sharing "detailed information" with Mr Javid over the coming weeks, and repeated their previous call for a public inquiry.

Families had questioned the independence of the ongoing review

Mr Javid said he met some of the families "to listen and understand their concerns about the review".

"It is crucial that the best possible leadership is in place to deliver an independent review that leads to real change, and I am working with the NHS to deliver on this and ensure no families have to go through the same pain again," he said.

Maternity units run by the trust - which oversees care at Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen's Medical Centre - have been rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) since 2020.

The review - commissioned by the local clinical commissioning group (CCG) and NHS England and NHS Improvement - was launched following dozens of baby deaths and injuries.

It recently emerged the number of families taking part in the review had increased from 84 to 461.