Latest news with #NUHNHS
BBC News
24-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Nottingham maternity crisis: Families call to meet PM over failings
Parents involved in an independent review into Nottingham's maternity services say they want to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to talk about the failings in care across the Monday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a "rapid" investigation into maternity care in and Jack Hawkins, whose daughter Harriet was stillborn in 2016 following maternity failings at Nottingham City Hospital, are calling for more action in the form of a statutory public this year Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust - which is at the centre of the largest ever review into NHS failings - was given a record £1.6m fine over failings around the deaths of three babies. Dr Hawkins said similar reviews into NHS failings had taken place and not achieved the results families had wanted, which is why he has backed calls for a national judge-led public inquiry."I think we're very clear that it's been tried before in various subtly different ways, and it will not work," he said."What we absolutely have to have is a statutory public inquiry, where people give evidence under oath, and are at risk of perjury in a court, just like the Post Office inquiry."There are thousands and thousands of avoidably dead babies and children in this country, in a system run by the state."Ms Hawkins and other affected families met with Streeting last she said he "has done more for us as families than any other health secretary", the desire for a judge-led inquiry remains."Families still don't feel like this is far enough," she said."I think it is happening right across England, and there may be hotspots where people are voicing their concerns and their thoughts, but there are also lots of families out there who are on their own and don't have support, and they really need a widespread public inquiry to look at all of this."Nottingham families are very keen that the prime minister now comes up and sees us and sees the damage and the harm that we will suffer for the rest of our lives."It's important that he knows not only what's going on in Nottingham but what's going on across the country." Felicity Benyon was fitted with a stoma in 2015 after her bladder was removed in error during an emergency hysterectomy after a Caesarean said her experience "has got more scary as the years have gone on" as she has heard about failings "not only in NHS maternity but the NHS as a whole"."The more and more I have an involvement with the NHS, each time they mess something up, and it just makes it harder and harder for me to see a doctor or go to hospital," she told BBC Radio Nottingham."I have an absolute fear now of doctors or anything [in a] hospital or medical setting - there is no trust."Ms Benyon, of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, said she supported the ongoing Ockenden review, which was "really getting to the root causes of what's gone wrong at NUH".She described the new national investigation as "a positive step forward", but more needed to be done."It doesn't hold anyone to account, and accountability is a huge part of what we feel is needed, because too many people have got away with too much for too long," she said."I think the plan is a great first start for short-term goals, for making quick changes for making mums and babies safer, but we need a public inquiry to hold people to account." Analysis By Rob Sissons, health correspondent, BBC East MidlandsNothing has ever come easy for Nottingham's campaigning families harmed by catastrophic maternity failings - they had to fight for a meaningful review into Nottingham's maternity services after the first one was Streeting apologised that they had to fight so hard for justice after they described to him being "gaslit, ignored and lied to".The rapid investigation ordered by the current health secretary will look at wider major concerns across the country, and is not expected to get going much before August and deliver findings by is going to be a focus on 10 of what are described as the "worst performing" maternity services, but it is not clear how exactly these will be selected apart from it being data-driven, and some communities may feel left behind in this families who campaign in Nottingham are convinced nothing short of a major national judge-led statutory public inquiry will deliver meaningful change and expose the truth of what has gone wrong and health secretary has left the door open to a national inquiry and is expected to decide whether to recommend one after the rapid investigation reports.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Families hold 'positive' meeting over maternity failings
A group of families harmed by poor maternity care in Nottingham said their meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting was "incredibly positive".The parents of babies who died and were injured due to failings at maternity units in the city said the health secretary had moved away from an initial plan he was setting out on how to improve care across the the meeting in Nottingham on Thursday, the families said they felt they were listened to but stressed they "would not be going anywhere" without the confirmation of a full statutory public told the BBC he left the meeting with some "clear advice from families" about what he needs to do. Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust is at the centre of the largest maternity review in the history of the NHS, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, which is looking into about 2,500 individual who has already held two meetings in London this week with affected families from across the country, said he intended to announce his maternity safety plan in a speech next Monday. The BBC understands the plan included an improvement taskforce led by non-NHS officials, a buddying system between poorly performing and better trusts, and a restorative justice approach where hospitals and families would meet and vow to be open and was widely criticised by families but Streeting is said to have rowed back on the proposals in a two-and-a-half-hour meeting in a city centre hotel on Hawkins, whose daughter Harriet died in 2016 at Nottingham City Hospital, told the BBC: "The whole plan frankly was wrong. "But Wes has listened to that and has come up here to listen to us again which is fantastic."Ms Hawkins added the health secretary is "holding the door open" for a full statutory public inquiry but had not confirmed one."If Harriet stayed [with us], she would be nine now but the way I am her mother, is by doing this and I'm not going to give up until we get it," she Sissons, whose son Ryan was born with brain damage 17 years ago because of poor maternity care, added: "[The meeting] was incredibly positive today, Wes is a human and treats us like humans and treats us like parents. "As people who have been through this situation, that's quite rare." The health secretary said: "I met again with families who have endured the most devastating experiences imaginable - heartbreak caused by failures in NHS maternity care that should never have happened."They shared deeply painful stories of being ignored, mistreated, and left to cope with trauma and loss, all within a system that was meant to protect and care for them. "I heard about cover-ups, life-changing injuries, and a lack of basic compassion at the very moment when kindness and support were most needed."I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, how sorry I am for what they've been through - and how grateful I am for their courage in speaking out. "I gave them my word that I will do everything in my power to ensure no woman, no family, ever has to suffer like this again."I've left Nottingham with some clear advice from families about what they need me to do and how I can work together with them to improve maternity safety and also deliver honesty and accountability for victims."
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'Door definitely unlocked' into national maternity inquiry
A group of families harmed by poor maternity care say Health Secretary West Streeting is considering holding a national inquiry into maternity parents of babies who were injured or died due to failings at maternity units say they "pulled apart" a plan he had outlined on how to improve a meeting with Streeting on Tuesday, Dr Jack Hawkins, whose daughter Harriet died in 2016 in Nottingham, said the "door is definitely unlocked" and more discussions would take Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the secretary of state would continue to meet bereaved families across the country. Talking about the meeting with Streeting, Dr Hawkins told the BBC: "He has been quite reluctant to order a national maternity safety. "We got a very clear message that he is now considering that. "The door is definitely unlocked. It's the only way we can improve what's going on." Dr Hawkins's daughter Harriet was stillborn at Nottingham City Hospital after almost 41 weeks of bosses initially found "no obvious fault" and the couple were told their child had died of an external review of the case later found 13 failings and concluded the death was "almost certainly preventable."In 2021, Dr and Ms Hawkins received a £2.8m settlement, believed to be the largest payout for a stillbirth clinical negligence University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust is now at the centre of the largest maternity review in the history of the NHS, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, which is looking into about 2,500 individual cases. 'Horrified' by plan On Monday, Mr Streeting told a separate group of families that he intended to announce his maternity safety plan in a speech next Monday. The BBC understands such a plan would include an improvement taskforce led by non-NHS officials, a buddying system between poorly performing and better trusts, and a restorative justice approach where hospitals and families would meet and vow to be open and honest."We were horrified by the plan, we took it apart," said Dr Hawkins."Everything in that plan has been tried before and we have all suffered at the hands of that."The people we say have caused a lot of the harm seem to be the main authors of it."We were heard [by Mr Streeting]. He will not be going ahead with the plan as it stands."A DHSC spokesperson said: "The secretary of state continues to meet with bereaved families from across the country to listen to their shocking experiences of poor care and to best understand how we can improve maternity services as swiftly as possible."
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Parents welcome police probe into Nottingham baby deaths
Parents whose babies died under the care of maternity units in Nottingham have welcomed a corporate manslaughter investigation into an NHS trust but say it is just a "piece of the jigsaw".Nottinghamshire Police confirmed the inquiry on Monday into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust - at the centre of the largest maternity inquiry in NHS history - after failings led to hundreds of babies dying or being injured. The mum and dad of Wynter Andrews, who died 23 minutes after being born in 2019 and of Harriet Hawkins, who was stillborn in 2016, welcomed the development, adding it look a "long time" to reach. NUH said it hoped "affected families receive the answers that they deserve". Wynter's father, Gary Andrews, told the BBC: "We've known for some time that what happened to us and our daughter Wynter shouldn't have happened, but to be explored at a criminal level - that is pretty worrying. "But we're glad the police are taking action." NUH was fined £800,000 in 2023 after admitting failings in Wynter's care in a criminal prosecution brought by healthcare regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC).The court heard how a "catalogue of failings" exposed Wynter and her mum Sarah Andrews to a "significant risk of harm". Wynter died from a loss of oxygen flow to her brain which could have been prevented had staff delivered her earlier. Mr and Mrs Andrews - who have previously been critical of regulators like the CQC - added that they hoped the watchdog would acknowledge the seriousness of the police inquiry and "act earlier" within their own capacity in future. A spokesperson for the CQC said it had "repeatedly held the trust to account" and continued to monitor the service said: "We have been clear with the trust where standards of care have fallen short and clear where action must be taken to ensure a safer service.""The findings from CQC's latest inspection of the trust's maternity services was published in March. "We continue to monitor the service closely and can inspect at any time should we have concerns that people may be at risk." 'Element of justice' Mrs Wynter added: "There have been so many families harmed and so many babies have died - and for us it's nice to know the police are now going to be investigating."But the Andrews and others, including Sarah and Jack Hawkins - the parents of Harriet Hawkins - believe there should be even further have long maintained "individuals need to be held to account". Harriet was delivered nine hours after dying at Nottingham City Hospital in April 2016 and an external review of the case concluded the death was "almost certainly preventable". "We think the investigation is great and it's really positive but it's just one piece of the jigsaw," Ms Hawkins said. However she added there was an "element of justice just getting this investigation". Mr Hawkins called the police inquiry a "huge development", adding: "Can you imagine another industry or business or school or road where there was so much death and harm from proven negligence and neglect in coroners court where it was just allowed to continue?" In a statement released by police on Monday, Det Supt Matthew Croome, from the investigation team, said: "The offence relates to circumstances where an organisation has been grossly negligent in the management of its activities, which has then led to a person's death."In such an investigation we are looking to see if the overall responsibility lies with the organisation rather than specific individuals and my investigation will look to ascertain if there is evidence that the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has committed this offence."It comes months after the trust was fined £1.6m in a second CQC prosecution for maternity failings in connection with the deaths of three babies in 2021. A joint statement from the hospital trust's chair Nick Carver and its chief executive Anthony May said: "We are fully committed to the ongoing police investigation and the Independent Review of Maternity Services, led by Donna Ockenden."We would like to reassure the public that we are determined to improve our maternity services."We know how important the police investigation and independent review are for the affected families, the trust and our local communities. We hope that affected families receive the answers that they deserve."
