- Donna Ockenden will chair review into NUH’s maternity services
- NHSE finds current review “not fit for purpose”
- But current team’s interim report will still be published
Donna Ockenden will chair the independent review of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust’s maternity services, following sustained pressure from the families involved.
NHS England said the current review was “not fit for purpose” and the existing team had been asked to conclude their work by 10 June.
In a letter sent to families today, NHSE chief operating officer Sir David Sloman said Ms Ockenden has agreed to chair the review and would work with NHSE to develop new terms of reference.
The widely criticised review has been without a chair since former strategic health authority chief executive Julie Dent stepped down shortly after being appointed by NHSE in April. The appointment had been met with fierce criticism from families involved, who questioned the appointment process.
Sir David said NHSE had “reflected on the strength of feeling from families and stakeholders” and it was “imperative” to have the confidence of all families.
He added: “We will be asking the new national review team to begin afresh, drawing a line under the work undertaken to date by the current local review team, and we are using this opportunity to communicate that to you clearly.”
However, he added the current team’s interim report would still be published “later today” along with “accompanying briefing sessions” by the team planned for next week. Families have criticised the decision to press ahead with the publication of the interim report, citing concerns about its methodology and terms of reference.
Sir David also confirmed NHSE was developing a “new standardised formal approach to appointing review chairs”.
He said: “We are absolutely committed to learning from feedback from this and other reviews to get that right, and from the challenges and shortcomings in this case, especially through the transition from regional to national oversight.”
Ms Ockenden, who is due to complete her work on the Shrewsbury and Telford maternity review in July, said she was delighted to have been asked to chair the NUH review and said engaging with families would be her “first priority”.
She said: “I look forward to working with and listening to families and staff, and working with NHSE/I to deliver a review and recommendations that lead to real change and safer care for women, babies and families in Nottingham as soon as possible.”
Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said: “I was deeply moved by the stories of families who have suffered from these tragic failings – my sympathies remain with all of them.”
“I want to thank Donna Ockenden for stepping up to lead this crucial independent review – Donna will bring with her a wealth of experience, particularly following her work on the review of Shrewsbury and Telford maternity services – and I look forward to seeing her recommendations for urgent improvements.”
Interim report
The interim report, published 26 May, set out the progress made so far in the review of maternity services provided by Nottingham University Hospitals between April 2006 and October 2021.
It said work so far had “taken much longer than expected” due to problems with gaining secure access to data and documents from the trust, including legal access to patient records, and this had “limited the progress of the review”.
The report said 66 families initially contacted the team but this soon increased to 400 families following a social media campaign. At the end of April, more than 500 families were involved.
Initial findings included concerns about the “varying quality” of the trust’s clinical guidelines, including ones regarding diabetes during pregnancy.
The interim report highlighted emerging issues and themes, including evidence of “bullying behaviour” and a “small number of staff” showing a “lack of respect for colleagues and service users”.
The current review team’s work has now concluded.
Source
Source date
May 2022
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