Overview of the Nottingham Maternity Review
The largest maternity review in NHS history, examining significant failings at maternity units managed by Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, is scheduled for publication soon. The review is expected to reveal widespread issues that contributed to the deaths of babies and avoidable harm.
Since its inception in September 2022, approximately 2,500 families and over 800 staff members have contributed to this extensive investigation into NUH, which operates the Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital.
The trust has already disbursed millions in compensation and fines, including a record £1.6 million penalty—the largest ever imposed on an NHS trust for maternity failings—related to the deaths of three babies in 2021.
Led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, the review is set to be published on Wednesday, while a police investigation remains ongoing.
Background and Investigations
Nottinghamshire Police initiated a manslaughter investigation into the trust in June 2025 as part of a broader criminal inquiry into maternity failings, known as Operation Perth. This police probe has been conducted concurrently with the maternity review, focusing on failings at the trust's two maternity units.
On Monday, the police announced the first two arrests linked to Operation Perth. These arrests, unrelated to the corporate manslaughter investigation, involved two men aged 55 and 59, detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office concerning "operating practices in the mortuary service" at the trust. Both individuals have since been released on bail under strict conditions.
In addition to the police investigation, healthcare regulators including the General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) are examining allegations against individual NUH staff members.
Families Seek Justice and Accountability
Jack and Sarah Hawkins, among the first families to raise concerns about the trust's maternity care, have been vocal advocates for justice. Their daughter Harriet was stillborn at City Hospital in April 2016. An initial hospital review reported "no obvious fault" and attributed the death to infection, but the couple, both former trust employees, challenged this conclusion and requested an external review.
The external review, published in January 2019, identified numerous failings and concluded Harriet's death was "almost certainly preventable."
"How on earth have we allowed it that there are 1,000 avoidable baby deaths in this country every year and, in a particular place, there are this many schools' worth of children missing or damaged beyond belief, and dead mums and damaged mums?" said Jack, 57, a former hospital consultant.
"It's massive, because we worked there as well. We couldn't go back to our careers, our jobs, everything. Every single aspect of life was changed. I know a lot of Nottingham families just want some form of justice, to clear their children's name, to know that the harm that was caused wasn't their fault," Sarah, 43, a former senior physiotherapist, added.
The couple also revealed that Harriet's body had decomposed severely under NUH's care, necessitating triple-bagging for her funeral. Their legal case against the trust was settled out of court for £2.8 million, reportedly the largest payout for a stillbirth clinical negligence case.
Gary and Sarah Andrews experienced a similar tragedy when their daughter Wynter died 23 minutes after birth in 2019 while under NUH's care. The trust was fined £800,000 in January 2023 after admitting failures in the care provided to Wynter and Sarah.
"The report being published today needs to serve as a wake-up call to the NHS locally and nationally, that what's gone on before cannot be allowed to continue," said Gary, 38.
They have a son named Bowie, aged four.
"I think, personally, it's got harder because we watch Bowie grow up and realise all the milestones we're missing with Wynter and that's heart-breaking. We should have never had to fight in the first place and actually we should not be doing it now. We shouldn't have to be doing this. There should be accountability, and it shouldn't be on families to have to fight to be heard and believed," Sarah, 41, stated.
Official Responses and Regulatory Actions
Michelle Welsh, MP for Sherwood, who experienced birth trauma at the trust and now serves as a government maternity adviser, described the forthcoming report as a pivotal moment.
"I believe it is an absolute watershed moment. This is over 2,500 families [and] over 700 members of staff that have come forward and told accounts of horrific, horrific situations at that hospital. Of women not being listened to, being treated with disdain, being told to stay at home, and discrimination. This is a watershed moment and if this isn't a catalyst for change I don't know what will be," Welsh said.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council is currently reviewing 96 "fitness to practise" cases related to maternity care at NUH. Of these, 80 are at the initial assessment stage, 15 are undergoing full investigations, and one midwife has been subject to an interim order preventing practice pending a decision.
The General Medical Council is investigating 62 cases, with 53 at the initial stage and nine in early investigative phases. Additionally, GMC investigators are reviewing over 300 information reports submitted from the Ockenden review.
Scope and Timeline of the Review
The Ockenden review, which has prompted a national inquiry into maternity failings, covers incidents from April 2012 through May 2025.
Contact and Further Information
For those wishing to suggest stories related to Nottingham, BBC Radio Nottingham is available on Sounds, and BBC Nottingham can be followed on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Story ideas can be submitted via email to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or through WhatsApp at 0808 100 2210.
Related Developments
- Two men arrested over hospital mortuary practices
- Manslaughter case launched into Nottingham baby deaths
- NHS paid out £101 million over city's maternity failings
