It has been six years since The Independent first exposed the Nottingham maternity scandal in 2020 and, since then, allegations of harm have grown from dozens to some 2,500.
On Wednesday, a bombshell report from an independent inquiry into poor care by Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trust is expected expose failings at every level of maternity care.
The government-ordered inquiry, the largest maternity review in NHS history, was launched following the expose by The Independent that found evidence of repeated poor care, spanning a decade, at NUH.
The investigation, with Channel 4, found 46 cases of babies who had been left with permanent brain damage, as well as 19 stillbirths and 15 deaths.
Several families and staff came forward to The Independent with stories of failings by the trust, including Sarah and Jack Hawkins, whose daughter Harriet died in 2016 following a catalogue of failures by NUH staff.
In December 2021, the couple won a clinical negligence claim against the trust over the death of their daughter. The trust was forced to pay £2.8 million to the couple.
Families, including the Hawkins, have faced a lack of transparency and trust after mistakes in care, with key medical notes missing or inaccurate, as well as failures to investigate serious incidents and reports being watered down.
Whistleblowers also raised fears over a lack of staff, with the trust telling The Independent it was fighting to fill 70 full-time vacancies for midwives.
The scale of failings prompted Jeremy Hunt, when he was chair of the health select committee, to call for an inquiry into the scandal.
Following The Independent’s expose, a major review was commissioned in July 2020. However, this review was superseded by a new independent review in 2023 led by Donna Ockenden, who chaired the Shrewsbury maternity scandal inquiry. This review was granted following months of campaigning by families.
In 2022, a police investigation, called Operation Perth, was launched into the scandal. Nottinghamshire Police launched a corporate manslaughter case last year as part of a wider criminal investigation into maternity failings at NUH, which runs Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre.
On Monday, Nottinghamshire Police said two men had been arrested “in connection with operating practices in the mortuary service” provided by the trust.
Police will now assess the findings of the Ockenden review as part of their investigation.
The publication of the Nottingham review comes a week before the government’s national rapid review into maternity services at 14 other NHS trusts.
Ms Ockenden is set to lead further inquiries into Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust which, like NUH, is one of the largest in England, and University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.
