This hour-long documentary follows the parents of babies who died in the care of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY with those featured in the documentary.
All requests for interviews and further information should be directed to Scala
4th June 2024
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On Sunday 9th June at 10.15pm, ITV will broadcast a new hour-long documentary about the Nottingham Maternity Scandal by acclaimed documentary makers, Pulse Films. MATERNITY: BROKEN TRUST is a powerful documentary filmed over one year that shares the accounts of several families harmed by failures in maternity care at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
This powerful documentary follows the parents of babies who died in the care of Nottingham University Hospitals Trust as they struggle to get accountability - and to cope with the resulting trauma.
Told through the experiences of a group of families who have campaigned tirelessly to get answers, this film investigates failures in maternity care at the trust, which is currently the subject of the largest review of its kind ever held in the UK, and features access to an anonymous whistleblower and the leader of the review, senior midwife Donna Ockenden.
Between 2012 and 2023, 467 mothers and babies died while under the care of NUH, a figure which doesn't include stillbirths.
Among the stories told in the documentary is that of Jack and Sarah Hawkins, who first exposed a failure to provide appropriate maternity care after their daughter Harriet was born dead in 2016. They were told her death was caused by an undiagnosed infection. But they knew instinctively this wasn’t the truth.
Jack says: "After Harriet died, for days, for weeks, we expected them to come forward to us and say, right, this is the death of a completely normal baby, what has happened here? But they didn't do that. It was like nothing’s happened. Nothing to see here. And hushed, and these things happen. They just refused to even have a conversation about what else might have happened."
The couple - who formerly worked at NUH - subsequently tracked down dozens of other families who’d had similar experiences and made it their mission to fight for justice.
Their campaigning helped pressure the NHS into setting up an independent review, which has now been extended to include over 1,900 families - with a Nottinghamshire Police investigation, Operation Perth, also announced.
The programme also explores the toll of Harriet's death and their subsequent campaign on Jack and Sarah. And, as their fight to improve maternity care across the country ticks over into years, ever more families are joining their group.
Other key voices in the film, include:
- Sarah and Gary Andrews - numerous mistakes made during labour, including a failure to monitor the baby's heart rate, led to the death of Sarah Andrew's daughter, Wynter. As a result of those failures, the Trust were Prosecuted by the CQC and fined a record £800,000
- Natalie Needham – baby Koupar died of respiratory complications after being discharged home when he had been feeding at the hospital.
- Carly Wesson and Carl Everson – terminated a pregnancy after being advised that their daughter would not have survived much beyond birth due to a life-limiting condition. They were told not to wait for the results of further tests before making their decision.
- Felicity Benyon – her bladder was removed whilst undergoing a caesarean section.
- Ama and Sharma Thomas – their daughter, Adaora, died 5 months after being born and her death is one of a number that is part of Donna Ockenden’s independent review.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Scala have been supporting Dr Jack and Sarah Hawkins with their PR and campaign work since 2017, when they first spoke out about their experience at NUHT. Since then, we have worked with dozens of other affected families helping them to shine a spotlight on the maternity scandal at Nottingham and other Trusts. We are proud to have supported the families during the filming of this documentary.
The following are available for interview:
Dr Jack and Sarah Hawkins
Gary and Sarah Andrews
Natalie Needham
Felicity Benyon
All interview requests should be made to Scala:
t.0114 4070157
