NUHT Family group statement following the Annual Public Meeting on 10th July 2023

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NHS) held its Annual Public Meeting on Monday 10^th July. At this meeting, the Trust admitted that they had “failed to listen to women and families who have been affected by failings in our maternity services.” And that this had  “caused additional pain”. They made a pledge to change, and promised to regain their trust by “listening and engaging with them” going forward.  

There was also an update on the ongoing independent review by Senior Midwife, Donna Ockenden. During the meeting, it was revealed that there will be a significant change to the way the review is being run. Affected families will now have to ‘opt-out’ of the being part of the review instead of ‘opting-in’. This change means that the review team will examine more than 1,700 cases of possible harm to newborn babies and mothers, making this the UK’s biggest maternity scandal. 

Scala have been providing PR support to the families affected by the failures in maternity care at Nottingham since 2017. We arranged for several families to conduct interviews with media including Channel 4 news, BBC (national and local), Sky, ITV, and local Nottingham press. The total media coverage following the meeting received an estimated 1.5 million views.

Nottingham Family Maternity Group Statement

“We welcome today’s pledge from the Trust for a ‘new honest and transparent relationship’ with a sense of relief and optimism. For too long we have been fighting to be not just heard, but for action to be taken, and for there to be accountability. We deserve to learn who knew what and when; why it was allowed to continue; and how the Trust avoided scrutiny for so long.  

We are so relieved our concerns were right and have been publicly acknowledged, yet we are heartbroken with this reality. What’s clear, is that the Trust now fully accepts that their failures have resulted in devastating damage to families across Nottinghamshire. For that we are grateful, but we need to see continuing action for there to be long lasting improvements.” 

If you are a family that has been affected and would like some help, please contact us.
e. natalierodgers@scala.uk.com
t: 0114 4070159

We can put you in touch with the review team.
All enquiries will be handled with the utmost sensitivity and confidentiality.