After years of arduous campaigning, 2025 is the year families affected by the Nottingham maternity scandal are expecting to get some sort of closure. An independent review, launched after hundreds of baby deaths and injuries, is examining the cases of almost 2,000 families, making it the largest in NHS history.
Its findings, due to be published in September, will be momentous – not just for all the parents forced to relive their trauma, but for all future mums in the city and maternity safety across the UK. Expert midwife Donna Ockenden and dozens of healthcare professionals have spent thousands of hours speaking to families and reviewing records.
Cases fall into five categories – stillbirth, neonatal death, brain damage, severe maternal harm or maternal death – and go back to 2012, except maternal deaths which span back to 2006.
Families wishing to contact the independent review can do so by emailing nottsreview@donnaockenden.com or by filling out an online form here
A timeline of events
May 2022 – Donna Ockenden appointed to lead maternity review
Donna Ockenden, chair of the independent review
(Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)
Leading midwife Donna Ockenden was appointed to lead the independent review into Nottingham’s maternity services on May 26. Families, who had campaigned relentlessly for the appointment, said it gave them an “immense sense of relief”.
At the time Ms Ockenden was still wrapping up a review into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals, which uncovered 210 avoidable baby and mother deaths.
Families met with Ms Ockenden before the review’s terms of reference were established.
September 2022 – Review starts
The independent review is officially launched as Ms Ockenden urges families to get in touch.
July 2023 – Review becomes biggest in NHS history
By the summer of 2023, around 600 families had consented to be included in the review, well below the total number who had been contacted. The low uptake and pressure from families prompted a change in approach by NHS England on July 9, switching from opt-in to opt-out.
This resulted in letters being sent to more than 1,000 families in September, informing them they would be a part of the review unless they had an objection. The change meant the review officially became the largest in NHS history.
September 2023 – Nottinghamshire Police announce criminal investigation
On September 7, Nottinghamshire Police announced they would be launching a criminal investigation into the trust’s maternity services. The force said it would look at cases that are “of potentially significant concern”.
The investigation, named Operation Perth, is now understood to be well underway after a wave of recruitment early last year. It is separate to the independent review but information is being shared between the two.
May 2024 – Scope of review expanded
The scope of the review was expanded to include the care of women during their pregnancy, Ms Ockenden announced on May 15. She urged more families to get in touch after concerning reports about antenatal care.