By Lauren Monaghan, Junior Local Democracy Reporter
A new Nottinghamshire maternity advocate has stressed the importance of reducing further emotional harm to families in the middle of medical investigations.
Manisha Sheth was recently appointed as a maternity and neonatal independent senior advocate, working for NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire as part of an NHS England pilot scheme.
Her role was created off the back of senior midwife Donna Ockenden’s review of maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust.
Ms Ockenden is the chair of the current maternity inquiry in Nottingham, which is investigating serious maternity failings that have brought harm or death to babies and mothers.
Ms Sheth’s role is completely independent of the trust and the current ongoing maternity review, and aims to be a voice for families who have challenges to navigate when in an investigation.
Families are central to her work, where she will advocate for those who have lost babies, lost their family members or where harm has come to the mother or baby.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I will be with them throughout, making sure their questions are answered, their voices heard.”
Families who have been through tough or traumatic maternity experiences often have their cases investigated by the trust.
But Ms Sheth said this can sometimes happen without the knowledge of families – or they may not necessarily understand the process.
She added: “Sometimes reviews are happening without them knowing, sometimes they know about it but they’re not able to ask any questions when actually, in every investigation, their voices should be at the core.
“The whole point of the role is to prevent that compounded harm that Donna Ockenden found was occurring during her Shrewsbury and Telford review.”
Compounded harm, a term used in the medical field, is where harm can be exacerbated through the failure to listen, validate and respond to the rights and needs of people in a situation or case.
According to Ms Sheth, this can potentially happen to families who are involved in maternity investigations.
She said: “It’s a rollercoaster of emotions for [the family] at that point and for families having to deal with their own grief, they’re own loss and then having to figure out why this happened to them and what went wrong- we don’t want them having to constantly contact the clinical team.
“They don’t have to do the ringing, multiple emails and the feeling of being dismissed- I’m hoping they feel ‘Manisha can take care of it’ so they can focus on what’s in front of them.”
While separate from the Ockenden maternity inquiry in Nottingham, Ms Sheth’s role may be beneficial to some families that are involved in the review through referrals.
Psychological services in place for those involved in the inquiry can refer them to Ms Sheth if they require advocate support in an investigation.
In total, more than 2,000 families – as well as over 750 NUH staff – have engaged with the review since it was launched two years ago.
It is expected to report back next year with findings into hundreds of case studies put forward by families.
In a statement last month, Anthony May, the trust’s chief executive, said: “I know we have failed too many women and their families, and I acknowledge the pain and suffering they continue to experience as a result. For that, I am truly sorry.
“I recognise the strength it takes to share experiences in the way that families have, and I am grateful to all those who have engaged with me since I joined NUH in 2022.
“I am clear that we must listen to women and families and act on their feedback if we are to continue our improvement and rebuild the trust in our services.
“We made a public commitment last year to engage in an open and honest way with the families involved in the Independent Maternity Review being led by Donna Ockenden, as well as all women and families within our maternity services.
“We are determined to meet that commitment and we do not take the families’ engagement for granted.
“It is my hope that the review will give those involved the answers that they deserve.
“We support the review fully and continue to work closely with Donna and her team. We receive regular feedback from Donna, which we incorporate into our maternity improvement programme.”
