From National Treasure To National Scandal

The report of the inquiry into the biggest maternity scandal in NHS history will outline “horrendous” failings in the care provided to women in Nottingham, the Guardian can reveal. A catalogue of appalling behaviour over many years by staff at the city’s two hospitals – Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City hospital – included racism towards mothers, it will say.

And it was indeed as bad as predicted. 

The NHS is bracing itself for the publication on Wednesday of a report by Donna Ockenden on 2,500 cases involving babies and mothers dying or being injured, and babies being stillborn, while under the care of Nottingham university hospitals NHS trust between 1 April 2012 and 31 May 2025. A senior source with knowledge of Ockenden’s conclusions said: “The findings in the Nottingham report will be very bad. It’s going to be horrendous. There will be some pretty challenging stuff in the report.”

It's certainly been challenging (that insidious modern term) to hear, of course that only applies to the public, for those who let it happen it won't be quite so challenging, because they will, as usual, escape any consequences, retiring on wholly underserved fat pensions.

Nottinghamshire police are still considering whether to charge the trust with corporate manslaughter. The force’s Operation Perth has been examining the care that at least 200 families received.

What could be taking them so long? 

James Murray, the health secretary, has vowed to push through major changes to maternity care and not let Ockenden’s recommendations – or those from Valerie Amos’s government-commissioned inquiry into maternity care across England, which is due to report next week – “sit on a shelf”, as many of those produced by previous childbirth care investigations have done.

Yes, yes, we’ve heard it all before so many times… but you can’t even keep your staff from accessing records they have no right to!