A senior midwife who led the investigation into what was dubbed the worst maternity scandal in NHS historical past has mentioned she could be prepared to guide an inquiry into the deaths of dozens of infants at one of many UK’s largest hospitals.
An investigation by The Impartial and Channel 4 Information discovered final yr that at the very least 46 infants suffered mind injury and 19 have been stillborn at Nottingham College Hospitals NHS Belief within the decade to 2020.
The probe uncovered repeated examples of poor care and failures to correctly examine issues, with dad and mom compelled to struggle to seek out out the reality about what occurred to their little one.
Whereas an NHS-led evaluation is at the moment underway in Nottingham, dozens of households wrote to well being secretary Sajid Javid this week warning that it had to date “been lower than impactful, understaffed and shifting with the viscosity of treacle”.
The letter from greater than 100 households and people referred to as for the evaluation to get replaced by a public inquiry and an pressing investigation led by Donna Ockenden, whose damning report into the maternity scandal at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Belief was revealed final week.
Now, in a letter to folks, Ms Ockenden has mentioned she is “honoured and touched” to have been requested by the households to guide an inquiry.
Any potential investigation led by Ms Ockenden could be topic to approval from Mr Javid.
“Clearly there would must be an appointment course of – it’s less than me to nominate myself in fact,” Ms Ockenden instructed BBC Radio Shropshire. “I’ve responded [to the families] and mentioned I’m deeply honoured.
“I’d in fact tackle [and] chair that evaluation, however there’s a crew in place in the mean time, it’s not my choice as as to whether I take it on. I do know that the households in Nottingham have mentioned that they’ve written to the secretary of state, so we will await the following steps.”
The Division of Well being and Social Care (DHSC) instructed Channel 4 Information, which first reported Ms Ockenden’s response, that it’s reviewing the households’ request. The Impartial has approached the DHSC for additional remark.
The present evaluation in Nottingham, which is being led by native NHS commissioners and NHS England, has been operating for six months and is because of publish its findings later this yr.
Of their letter to Mr Javid, the affected households and people mentioned that the evaluation at the moment has solely three medical leads, in comparison with the 76 clinicians employed within the evaluation led by Ms Ockenden into the scandal Shrewsbury and Telford, which discovered that a whole lot of infants had died or suffered a mind harm on account of poor care.
“The present crew are unprepared and lack skilled management to deal with a evaluation of this magnitude,” they alleged, including: “If we take into account that in six months solely 26 households have been spoken to, how can the general public have religion that the opposite 361 households won’t solely be listened to, however purposeful conclusions made?
“It’ll both be rushed or drag on, whereas Donna Ockenden has the crew, and a public inquiry has definitive timelines. The affected households and common public deserve that certainty.”
UK information in footage
Present all 50
A press release from the households alleged that, since 2018, there have been 34 maternity investigations following adversarial occasions on the belief, together with three maternal deaths, 22 infants who confronted potential extreme mind harm, 4 neonatal deaths and 5 stillbirths.
Maternity items overseen by the belief, which runs Nottingham Metropolis Hospital and the Queen’s Medical Centre, have been rated “insufficient” by the Care High quality Fee (CQC) watchdog in 2020, with inspectors warning of unsafe staffing ranges and that affected person security incidents have been doubtlessly being wrongly downgraded.
“This meant that incidents might not be investigated totally, nor obligation of candour utilized appropriately. Folks could be prone to hurt as classes couldn’t be learnt,” the inspectors mentioned.
Following a reinspection final month, the Care High quality Fee reportedly issued a warning discover which raised issues about a rise in stillbirths and mentioned that the belief’s maternity providers fell beneath authorized necessities.
