Leeds families praise ‘decade of heroic campaigning’ after damning Nottingham maternity review
A Leeds campaign group has praised bereaved families in Nottingham following the publication of today’s damning review into maternity services in the city
A Leeds campaign group has hailed “a decade of tireless, heroic campaigning” by bereaved families after today's publication of a damning review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust.
The review, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, found that more than 500 mothers and babies died or were harmed at the trust between 2006 and 2024, and revealed the scale of the NHS’s biggest-ever maternity scandal.
The Leeds Maternity Families Group, which has spent years campaigning for a similar review into failings at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT), welcomed the publication, calling it the culmination of a decade of campaigning by bereaved families “determined to uncover the truth about what happened to them and their babies”.
“We are in awe of the strength, resilience and determination shown by Nottingham families. Their efforts have not only secured long-overdue scrutiny and accountability into widescale maternity failings in Nottingham, but have also helped to pave the way for families in Leeds to seek the same,” the group said in a statement.
“We are deeply grateful for their unwavering tenacity and desire to improve maternity safety, not just for their own city but for families across the country.
“The legacy of the Nottingham families’ campaign includes the Hillsborough law being applied to all future reviews, compelling staff, both past and present, to engage with inquiries.
“The friendship, guidance and support that families in Nottingham have offered us has been invaluable - from the very beginning of our journey through to today. They have helped us to find a supportive community beyond Leeds. What has grown from this is something more than just campaigning; it is a deep mutual understanding.
“Today has only further solidified our certainty that we were right to push so hard for Donna Ockenden to be the chair of Leeds, as the work she has done here, as well as in Shrewsbury and Telford, is absolutely outstanding. We know that we will be in very safe hands in Leeds.”
An independent review of maternity and neonatal services at LTHT, chaired by Ms Ockenden, is expected to begin later this year following years of concerns raised by families about maternity care in Leeds.