Nottingham: Maternity inquiry hears of racism between hospital staff

Donna Ockenden has been leading the inquiry into maternity services in Nottingham since 2022

Racism and discrimination has been reported between staff at a hospital trust being reviewed over maternity failings, an inquiry chief said.

Senior midwife Donna Ockenden is investigating how babies died or were injured in the care of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH).

She said racism had been experienced by hospital staff, following similar reports that were made by service users earlier this year.

The trust said action was being taken.

Ms Ockenden said examples of discrimination included staff and families being "mimicked" for their mannerisms or the way they spoke.

The review has been investigating cases at Nottingham's City Hospital and the Queen's Medical Centre

There have also been reports of staff and service users being looked at "in a way that they thought was demeaning" because "they look differently, [or] because they dress differently", she said.

"Very recently, staff talked to us about racism in their own service," said Ms Ockenden. "Sort of micro-aggressions on a daily basis that they experience as part of working within NUH.

"Staff tell us that they have experienced [racism] within NUH. What is interesting is that what staff tell us is mirroring what women have told us about their experience relatively recently.

"I do think that this culture of discrimination and racism is something I know the trust is working on, but having heard from a number of staff and women, there is still much to do."

NUH chief executive Anthony May said discrimination in Nottingham's hospitals was "not something [the trust] will accept".

He added: "I apologise if anyone has experienced racism in our hospitals - this is not something we will accept, and we are determined to make the trust a more inclusive organisation.

"We have plans in place to continue to improve translation and interpreting services, to better engage with seldom heard communities, and to show greater cultural awareness, including through planning initiatives such as all-female elective caesarean and sonography lists."

NUH chief executive Anthony May apologised to people who had experienced discrimination

It comes after the scope of the investigation, the largest in NHS history, was expanded to take a detailed look into antenatal care at the city's two maternity units.

This means the inquiry is now reviewing all contact families have with maternity services until their children are born.

Ms Ockenden said more than 20 women have approached the trust with information about their experiences of antenatal care.

She added: "We thought this would be an opportune time to ask women to come to us and tell us in more detail about their antenatal experiences.

"That workstream is very much open, and we'd like to listen to [people], so please do contact us."

Since starting in September 2022, the inquiry has reviewed the cases of more than 1,900 families, and will look to establish the extent of avoidable harm that happened.

The final report is expected to be published in September 2025.

Families are encouraged to contribute to the inquiry by emailing [e-mail].