Health secretary Sajid Javid has appointed a new chair to investigate concerns over baby deaths at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH). Parents who had come forward had called upon midwife Donna Ockenden to do so, but this no longer looks to be the case.
It is understood Ms Ockenden, the senior midwife behind the report into the Shrewsbury and Telford maternity scandal, and who had agreed to urgently investigate concerns, was not asked to do so by the Health Secretary. This means she will not investigate, with former NHS Trust chairwoman Julie Dent CBE having instead been chosen.
Nottinghamshire Live was told by representatives of bereaved families that they had been informed Dent had instead been selected as of April 22. They are expected to make an official announcement soon.
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More than 100 families who have experienced the 'same failures', through NUH maternity services, had sent a letter to Sajid Javid calling for an independent review, having expressed concerns over the current Independent Thematic Review. They said they had "no confidence" and thus called upon Mrs Oakenden to herself investigate.
The local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group review was launched after the health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), found "serious concerns" in NUH's maternity services, rating them as 'inadequate' following inspection in October 2020.
The NHS trust, which runs the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital, was served a warning notice by the CQC in March after it again found a number of concerns remained with its maternity department. It follows 46 babies suffering brain damage and 19 being stillborn in the city between 2010 and 2020, resulting in millions of pounds being paid out in negligence claims.
Speaking of the appointment, the health secretary said: "The NUH maternity review must urgently bring about real change and prevent more families from suffering. I'm confident the appointment of Julie Dent, with her extensive experience, will deliver a review that helps address these tragic failures."
The appointment of Ms Dent represents an important shift. But crucially it falls short of a full public inquiry which families and campaigners say is necessary.
