Leeds Maternity Inquiry: Prime Minister told to make Donna Ockenden chair
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to announce senior midwife Donna Ockenden as the chair of the Leeds maternity inquiry by a Labour MP.
Fabian Hamilton, the MP for Leeds North East, questioned Sir Keir about the upcoming inquiry at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday.
He said: “I recently met bereaved constituents who lost their babies at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
“Understandably, their confidence in the system is at an all-time low.
“They want answers about the circumstances in which at least 56 babies and two mothers have died in recent years.
“Will the Prime Minister update the House on what steps he is taking to ensure that an inquiry uncovers the factors that led to these deaths, confirm Donna Ockenden as chair of that inquiry, and join me in paying tribute to the courageous families campaigning to ensure that nobody has to suffer the same tragedy again?”
Bereaved families in Leeds have called for Ms Ockenden - who has been leading maternity reviews in Nottingham and Shrewsbury and Telford - to lead the West Yorkshire inquiry.
The group said: “Leeds families will not gamble on the appointment of someone with no experience chairing a maternity inquiry, particularly when Leeds is one of the largest trusts in Europe and a teaching hospital that should be setting a standard for exemplary care.
“We stand firm in our position that Donna Ockenden should be appointed as chair of the Leeds Maternity Inquiry so that real truth, accountability, and change can be delivered.”
However, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the senior midwife will not be appointed as she has prior commitments.
Ms Ockenden herself has said she would be happy to expand her work to cover other parts of England.
Sir Keir told the Commons yesterday: “Every mother and baby deserve safe, high-quality, compassionate care.
“I want to see the inquiry at Leeds start as soon as possible. We are working with bereaved families to shape our approach and to appoint a chair whom they can trust.
“I have a huge amount of respect for Donna Ockenden, who is an outstanding advocate for families.
“We will ensure that we select a chair of the highest standard who has the independence and expertise needed to deliver the real change that is needed.”
Following the Prime Minister’s comments, the bereaved families confirmed they would be writing to him to request a meeting.
Mr Streeting previously U-turned on launching an inquiry into maternity failings in Leeds, following a protracted campaign from grieving families who lost babies in the city’s two maternity units.
A BBC investigation revealed the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers over the past five years may have been prevented.
Following the announcement, the parents said they felt gaslit, dismissed and even blamed for what went wrong.
It was only last year that the Care Quality Commission downgraded maternity services in Leeds from “good” to inadequate”.
A launch date for the Leeds inquiry has yet to be set, but a separate review into maternity and neonatal care in England led by Baroness Valerie Amos is due to report in the spring and Mr Streeting acknowledged the problems were “widespread and endemic”.
Lady Amos has warned NHS maternity units are delivering “unacceptable care”, with some women left to “bleed out” in bathrooms and babies suffering avoidable deaths.