By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
A Nottingham MP says she is “not confident” in the pace of improvement to maternity services in local hospitals.
MP for Nottingham South Lilian Greenwood said there are “too many tragic cases” at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH), where maternity services are rated ‘inadequate’.
There have been dozens of baby deaths and injuries at the trust, which runs Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital in Nottingham.
The local Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is currently carrying out its own review into “maternity incidents, complaints and concerns” at NUH.
But some bereaved parents fear the review is not enough and have called for a public inquiry, backed by Ms Greenwood.
Public inquiries are major investigations – convened by a government minister – which investigate matters of “public concern”.
A spokesperson for the trust said it is fully co-operating with the review and doing everything possible to ensure families get the “best possible care”.
Ms Greenwood told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We all want to see improvements in maternity services at NUH but at the moment I’m afraid I’m not confident that’s happening fast enough.
“The vast majority of babies are delivered safely, but there are too many tragic cases and things have got to change.
“I desperately want the independent review to succeed because it offers the hope of delivering better care as quickly as possible. But the review team has got to demonstrate they are getting to the bottom of what’s gone wrong at NUH and they need to command the trust of those parents affected and that isn’t easy.”
Calls for a public inquiry have been gathering pace with support from a number of MPs, councillors and other parents including Jack and Sarah Hawkins, whose baby Harriet was born dead at the trust in 2016.
The Labour MP added: “I’ve supported calls for a public inquiry for some time. It’s what Jack and Sarah, my constituents, and other bereaved families, want.
“It has taken too long for the problems at NUH to be recognised. A public inquiry can examine not just how things went wrong, but also why the CCG and CQC didn’t identify the problems and act sooner.
“However it’s a time-consuming process and my constituents who rely on these services need and deserve safe care right now.”
In a letter to the Health Secretary Sajid Javid in November 2021, Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Health Scrutiny councillor Sue Saddington (Con) also backed a public inquiry and wrote that it is time for “the old guard to stand aside” to make way for new leadership at the trust.
Cllr Saddington told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I have already called for a public inquiry into the overall management and operating procedures at the maternity unit at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust following issues and concerns being brought to the attention of my committee, and will continue to call for appropriate change and improvements to the service.
“The state of maternity services at NUH is clearly an issue, as I have also received a number of letters from distressed parents who have sadly lost babies. Although our committee doesn’t have the power to take up individual cases, the experiences of these families will help us to build up a clearer picture, so that we can better hold the trust to account on behalf of our residents.”
Cllr Saddington is still awaiting a reply from the Secretary of State for Health.
A spokesperson for Nottingham University Hospitals said: “We are doing everything in our power to ensure the families using our maternity services get the best possible care and we are fully co-operating with the ongoing independent review, commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group.”
