**A damning report into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has found ‘serious failures’ that contributed to the ‘avoidable’ deaths of babies.**
The independent inquiry, led by independent midwife Donna Ockenden, concluded that babies died and mothers were left with life-changing injuries because of failures in care between March 2010 and March 2020.
Ockenden’s report, which was commissioned by NHS England in December 2020, found that 201 babies – 46 more than previously thought – died during or shortly after birth during the 10-year period. Of these, 157 could have survived if they had received better care.
The inquiry also found that 96 mothers suffered severe perineal injuries during birth, with some left with life-changing disabilities.
The report concluded that ‘a lack of openness, transparency, and learning’ had contributed to the failures in care.
It found that staff were ‘overwhelmed’ by high workloads and a ‘culture of avoidance’ had developed, with staff afraid to speak out about concerns.
The inquiry also found that there was a ‘lack of effective clinical leadership’ and that staff were not always trained to a sufficient level.
Ockenden said the trust had ‘failed to learn from its mistakes’ and that there had been a ‘lack of urgency’ in addressing the concerns that had been raised.
She said the trust had ‘lost sight of its core purpose’ – to provide safe and compassionate care to mothers and babies.
The trust has apologized for the failings in care and said it is ‘fully committed’ to implementing the inquiry’s recommendations.
**The report makes a number of recommendations to improve maternity services at the trust, including:**
* Increasing staffing levels
* Improving training and education for staff
* Strengthening clinical leadership
* Creating a culture of openness and transparency
* Learning from mistakes
The trust has said it will work with NHS England to implement the recommendations as quickly as possible.
The scandal at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is the latest in a series of maternity scandals that have rocked the NHS in recent years.
In 2015, an independent inquiry into maternity services at Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust found that at least 11 babies had died and 88 mothers had been left with life-changing injuries due to failures in care.
In 2018, an independent inquiry into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust found that at least 200 babies had died and 900 mothers had been left with life-changing injuries due to failures in care.
The Nottingham scandal is a reminder that the NHS is still struggling to provide safe and compassionate maternity care to mothers and babies.
The inquiry’s recommendations must be implemented in full and lessons must be learned from the mistakes that have been made.
**Only then can we ensure that the tragedies that have occurred at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and other NHS trusts are never repeated.**.
