The team behind the review into maternity failings at Nottingham hospitals have issued a message to staff who came forward as part of the initial inquiry which was scrapped. In May last year, leading midwife Donna Ockenden was appointed to chair a new review into Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust's (NUH) 'inadequate' maternity services.
Bereaved families had called for her appointment following widespread criticism of an initial 'thematic' review, which had been jointly commissioned by the local Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS England. But Ms Ockenden's team, who have been keeping families updated with regular updates, have now called on the 50-plus members of hospital staff who came forward under the thematic review.
Through the independent review's Twitter account, Ms Ockenden's team said those staff members had contacted the old review which was brought to a close last June. And those members of staff will now be sent letters asking for permission to allow for their information from the old review to be transferred to the new team.
Read more: 'Tears of joy' as families heard in Nottingham maternity review that will last 18 months
In a separate tweet from her personal account, Ms Ockenden wrote: "If you think you contacted the old (closed) maty review look out for a letter from them & reply to it! Without your permission we can’t receive your info or contact you! EMAIL US: staffvoices@donnaockenden.com - let’s get every voice heard!"
More than 1,500 families are expected to be covered by the Nottingham review, which would make it the largest NHS maternity scandal in the UK, following the 1,486 families examined during a maternity review led by Ms Ockenden in Shrewsbury.
The Shrewsbury and Telford review covered cases from more than 40 years, from 1973 to 2020, whereas the Nottingham review will investigate cases from 2012 onwards.
It comes after reports that dozens of babies had died, were left with serious injuries or brain damage due to the care they received at Nottingham’s City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre. NUH's maternity services at both of the aforementioned hospitals remain as having been rated 'inadequate' by the Care Quality Commission.
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