Bereaved and harmed families affected by failures in maternity services at the University Hospitals Sussex (UHSussex) NHS Foundation Trust will meet with Donna Ockenden in Brighton on Saturday 5th September 2026 as an independent review into more than 1,000 cases formally begins.
The meeting will mark the formal beginning of a review expected to examine more than 1,000 cases spanning over a decade. This follows three years of campaigning by families whose babies or mothers have been harmed or died whilst under the Trust’s care.
UHSussex is the fourth Trust to be subjected to an independent review by Donna Ockenden and her team. Other Trusts include:
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Review (Ongoing) – the full scale is not yet known, but a BBC investigation found that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers over five years may have been preventable.
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Review (Published June 2026) - The largest maternity review in NHS history, investigating over 2,500 family cases spanning 2012 to 2025.
- Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust Review (Published March 2022) - Covered 1,486 families and nearly 1,600 clinical incidents over a 20-year period.
Terms of Reference for the Sussex Maternity Review
At the event, families will hear directly from Donna Ockenden and her review team about how the investigation will operate and have the opportunity to help form its Terms of Reference.
Terms of Reference for the review are an important first step as they will set out what it will examine, where its boundaries lie and which questions it must answer. A clearly defined remit gives affected families oversight of how it will proceed and provides the legal and moral footing needed to expose systemic failures and drive lasting improvements in safety.
Donna Ockenden will engage with families to ensure that their experiences are central to shaping the review from the outset, meaning the Terms of Reference are designed to identify problems unique to Sussex.
Affected Families
Families affected by stillbirth, neonatal death, maternal death, severe neonatal harm and severe maternal harm at any UHSussex maternity unit from 2018 onward will be automatically included in the review unless they choose otherwise. Families whose experiences occurred before 2018, or whose records are incomplete or missing, are encouraged to come forward so their experiences can be included too.
All families are invited to attend the launch meeting on 5th September to learn more about how the review will proceed. There will be two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and families can attend whichever suits them best.
Campaign Group – Truth for Our Babies
The review, commissioned by former Health Secretary Wes Streeting in 2025, was initially proposed as an examination of just nine cases. Its scope widened significantly after sustained campaigning by a growing group of bereaved and harmed families calling for a comprehensive investigation into maternity care across Sussex.
Truth for Our Babies group, formed in 2023 by families affected by maternity care failings in Sussex, has consistently called for a wide-ranging independent review and for Donna Ockenden to chair it. Families said Ockenden was their only trusted choice to lead the investigation, following her work chairing Shrewsbury & Telford and more recently the Nottingham University Hospitals independent maternity review, which published its findings in June 2026.
The campaign group continues to hear from more families affected by maternity failings at UHSussex and encourages others to join them. There is a private ‘Truth for our Babies’ Facebook group, and families can also reach out directly to the Review team.
The launch comes amid continuing scrutiny of maternity services at the Trust. Maternity services at Princess Royal Hospital and St Richard’s Hospital were both recently re-rated “Requires Improvement”, while the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) inspected all four Sussex maternity units in July 2026. In May, the Trust’s public board papers stated that “remedial works are needed to ensure Maternity and Neonatology areas meet [HTA] regulations”.
Truth for Our Babies group said:
“We encourage anyone who believes they may have suffered preventable harm or bereavement at UHSussex maternity services to attend the launch of the review on 5th September. The review is an opportunity for our experiences to be examined together for the first time and for the full extent of what has happened across Sussex to be understood. For far too many of us, questions have gone unanswered and we believe we are finally on the path to truth and accountability.”
“We trust Donna Ockenden and her independent team to listen carefully to families and work with us to shape a review that confronts deep-rooted cultural and systemic failures at the Trust and help drive the changes needed to ensure other families do not suffer the same harm that we have.”
Support for bereaved and harmed families attending the meeting
Representatives from the Birth Trauma Association and MASIC (Mothers with Anal Sphincter Injuries in Childbirth) will also attend to support affected families on the day.
Event details
Location: To be confirmed
Date and time: Saturday 5th September, 10:00-15:00
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