Families impacted by maternity failings at Leeds Hospitals Trust to meet Health Secretary Yvette Cooper
‘We’ve fought for years to be heard and to ensure lessons are learned’
Grieving families affected by maternity and neonatal care failings in Leeds are set to meet Health Secretary Yvette Cooper to share their experiences and concerns first-hand.
The meeting, which will take place in Leeds tomorrow, will bring together families who have spent years campaigning for answers, accountability and improvements following concerns about services provided by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
It will give the recently appointed Health Secretary Yvette Cooper an opportunity to hear directly about the impact on families and the changes they believe are needed to improve safety for mums and babies.
Among those due to meet the Health Secretary - who is also the MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley - is campaigner Fiona Winser-Ramm, whose daughter Aliona died 27 minutes after she was born at Leeds General Infirmary on New Year’s Day 2020.
“We’ve fought for years to be heard and to ensure lessons are learned, and we will continue campaigning for change in Leeds,” Fiona said. “A change of Health Secretary cannot be allowed to take the focus away from families or slow the momentum we have worked so hard to build.
“We need the Government to remain fully committed to uncovering the truth, and helping to ensure meaningful change is delivered. It’s vital the new Health Secretary hears directly from families so she can fully get to grips with the reality of what has happened in Leeds and why so many people have had to fight for so long.
“Nothing can bring Aliona back, but we will continue to be her voice. We owe it to her, and to every family affected, to keep pushing until we see the changes needed to make maternity care safer for mums and babies.”
An inquest concluded that Aliona died following neglect and what the coroner described as “a number of gross failures of the most basic nature”.
In a legal claim brought by Irwin Mitchell, the Hospital Trust admitted that the care provided was negligent and that this resulted in Aliona’s death.
Medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell represent more than 50 families in claims arising from maternity and neonatal care provided in Leeds, including members of the Leeds Hospitals Maternity Family Support Group.
Those Irwin Mitchell represents include parents who have lost a baby, children who suffered serious injuries during birth resulting in lifelong disabilities, mums seriously injured during childbirth and families affected by a maternal death.
The meeting comes shortly after the terms of reference were published for the independent review into maternity and neonatal services at the Trust.
Katie Warner, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing affected families, said: “The concerns surrounding maternity and neonatal care in Leeds are well documented. However, behind every report, review and statistic is a family living with the consequences of what happened.
“It is welcome that the Government appears to be continuing to take this matter seriously, but maintaining that commitment will be essential. This meeting is an important opportunity for the Health Secretary to hear first-hand accounts, understand the scale and human impact of the concerns raised and understand what needs to change in Leeds.
“The publication of the terms of reference in the Ockenden review is also an important milestone. It provides families with greater clarity about the scope and purpose of the review, while their close involvement in developing the terms underlines why they must continue to be listened to throughout the process.
“The review must ultimately be judged by whether it provides families with the answers they have waited so long for and delivers meaningful, lasting improvements. Families have worked incredibly hard to get to this point and we'll continue supporting them and helping to ensure their voices remain at the heart of the process.”
The Government announced the independent review into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in October 2025.
Chaired by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, the review could involve up to 3,000 cases and will consider maternity and neonatal care provided to women, babies and families, including cases involving severe harm or death.
It will cover care provided between 2011 and 31 March, 2028, and examine stillbirths, maternal deaths, including deaths by suicide, and some babies admitted to neonatal care in Leeds.