Bereaved Leeds families 'cautiously optimistic' and ready to 'step back and grieve' after inquiry chair appointed

Donna Ockenden has today (Tuesday) been confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care as the chair of an inquiry into “gross failures of the most basic nature” at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust that led to the deaths of dozens of babies in the city.

After years of campaigning for the inquiry and for Ms Ockenden to be at the heart of it, the families who had been impacted by the unimaginable impact of losing a child said that they could now “take a step back and grieve”.

The announcement comes after the families met with Health Secretary Wes Streeting on February 23 to urge him to appoint Ms Ockenden, after he had previously announced that an independent review would be carried out last October.

The affected families in Leeds who have worked together to put pressure on the government and support one another met this morning at the Leeds offices of Irwin Mitchell ahead of the announcement.

Fiona Windsor-Ramm, a bereaved mother who has been central for organising families in Leeds, said: “Although this is the finish line of our initial campaigning stage this is just the start of the journey in terms of getting truth, accountability and justice for harmed women, bereaved families and the children that should be here.”

Ms Ockenden has a track record of chairing similar inquiries into NHS trusts in Shrewsbury, Telford and Nottingham and so families in Leeds were “adamant” that she would be picked for the role.

Daniel Ramm added: “Having someone trusted by families and staff is going to create a safe space for people to be able to share their experiences when their cases are reviewed.”

He said that a key part of the inquiry is to make members of staff feel comfortable to come forward so they can “share the reality of what’s going on in the workplace”.

The families said that they also expect to see Ms Ockenden implement changes within the trust “in real time” as the inquiry is carried out, as has been the case during her other inquiries, and that she will “leave no stone unturned”.

Amarjit Matharoo said: “It’s holding the trust’s feet to the fire so they say ‘yes we’re not in a good place but we want to get to a good place’.”

Asked if their feelings towards the government had improved after previously saying that trust had been “totally eroded”, Mrs Matharoo said: “We’re slowly gaining it back. It’s not something we’re just going to give back because we have been burnt. But it’s a step toward rebuilding that relationship.”

Mrs Windsor-Ramm said: “We’ve reminded Mr Streeting that victims are the ones that should be paramount in this and that that should always come before protecting organisations and other individuals in power. I think he’s very much reflected on that.”

The families said that they hope to put their experiences on record and see real, tangible changes implemented after accusing the trust of downplaying the scale of issues to affected families.

Mrs Matharoo said: “There’s a culture of normalising harm and bereavement in maternity in Leeds and we’ve found through connecting with each other that actually where we’ve been told we’re one-offs, there’s actually a large group of us. So to get those people justice and get them a bit of closure in the long run is something we’ve found imperative.”

Kelly Redhead said: “When I lost Harper I was told things would be implemented to ensure it didn’t happen. I then met Amarjit six months later and something had happened in similar circumstances so those changes hadn’t been implemented.

“Going back 10 of 15 years the sheer amount of failings is unimaginable.”

Mr Ramm said that failings within the trust have been “regular and systematic” and that issues include “mothers not being listened to, problems in escalation when issues occur (and) failings in monitoring of babies and mothers”.

He also said that the trust “has been able to isolate families whether intentionally or not”, adding: “That sadly is what’s allowed these failings to go on so long.

“It’s only through families coming together and being able to powerfully expose the reality that we’ve managed to get to this point.”

They said that meeting with and connecting with others who had had a similar experience in Leeds had been critical to helping them move forward.

Mrs Matharoo said that the trust made her feel “alone in what we’d experienced”, adding that when she found the group and went for a walk with Mrs Mrs Windsor-Ramm it was “the first time in a long time I didn’t feel alone”.

She said: “That was a huge thing for me; to know that it’s not just me and not because of me.

“There’s a lot of self-blame that mothers hold. You prepare yourself to bring a child into the world, not to bury a child, and finding a group of families and people who could relate to how I was feeling made me feel less alone.

“It has helped me get used to what is the new normal in my life.

“We would urge families out there who feel they’re alone to join us.”

Ms Redhead added: “It’s a different level of grief and very isolating. People try their best to understand what you’re going through but it’s impossible unless you’ve lived it.

“The first time I met the group it felt like a weight had been lifted because everything I had felt was completely understood by everyone in the room.”

The Leeds Hospitals (LTHT) Maternity Family Support Group, founded by affected families, supports anyone who has suffered and had experiences with maternity services in Leeds, including those with maternal injuries, babies with injuries and anyone with harm. The group also supports grandparents and people who feel strongly and have had injustice done to them.

Asked what their hopes are going forward, Mrs Matharoo said: “It’s been a long, exhausting road but there’s a sense of relief as families.

“Hopefully our campaign has come to a point where we’ll be able to just take a step back and grieve and be. Because our purpose has been to get this over the line and get Donna in and make sure it’s a robust independent review.”

Mrs Redhead added that she was “cautiously optimistic”, adding: “We are doing this for ourselves who have been injured and our children who aren’t here. But for me personally I have two other daughters so it’s about making sure when they come to an age where they may want to have a family that it’s safe in Leeds for them to go ahead and do so.

“At the moment I wouldn’t feel safe sending them to a Leeds hospital should they choose to grow a family.”