Donna Ockenden Report - Maternity failings review delayed as new families are added
The findings of the maternity review at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust have been delayed as more cases are added to the review, which was already the largest of its kind in NHS history.
The independent review, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, was due to be published in September, but is now delayed until June 2026 to incorporate an additional 300 affected families, increasing the total number of cases to 2,500.
The cases include stillbirths, neonatal deaths, injured babies and mothers and maternal deaths that happened at the Trust dating back to 2012.
The BBC is reporting that the reason for the increase in cases has arisen from discrepancies between the Trust and the review team as to what cases should be considered. Donna Ockenden described it as a “genuine misunderstanding.”
This news will be difficult to hear for many of the families who have been working with the review team since the inquiry started in September 2022 and were hoping for the findings to be released this year. However, it is encouraging that all affected families are being given the chance to be included and that a full picture of the scale of the failings can be presented.