Hundreds of mothers and babies were harmed or died after Nottingham maternity failings

Hundreds of mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or died due to “longstanding and deeply embedded systemic failures,” an independent review into maternity care at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has found.  

The publication of a long-awaited report into maternity services at the trust has revealed a devastating catalogue of failures in maternity care and an organisational culture that prioritised “institutional reputation over patient safety”. 

The review, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, is the largest maternity inquiry in NHS history, examining over 2,500 cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths, brain injuries and birth injuries, and speaking to over 800 staff members at the trust. 

The review concluded that there were potentially avoidable outcomes relating to 444 of the maternity cases examined up until May 2025, alongside 76 neonatal cases. 

The report identifies recurring themes, including failures to recognise and appropriately escalate clinical concerns, communication breakdowns, shortcomings in incident investigations, inequalities in care for ethnic minority women, missed opportunities to learn from adverse outcomes and a failure to respond adequately to concerns raised by parents. 

The inquiry also found that leaders at the trust knew there were serious issues in its maternity department going back to “at least 2010”, but failed to take action to prevent more deaths. At the report’s launch, Donna Ockenden said.

“We owe it to every mother, every baby whose terrible experiences are recorded in these pages to ensure that the failures described here are never repeated.” 

“The time for reflection and talking has passed. This must be a moment of collective action, sustained improvement and renewed confidence in the perinatal care that women and babies in England will receive.” 

 If you have any concerns regarding the maternity care you or someone you know has recieved, please get in touch with our Maternity Negligence Team below.