Serious Failings Found in Nottingham Maternity Care

A major new report has uncovered a massive scandal involving maternity care at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH). According to The Guardian, a three-year investigation led by maternity expert Donna Ockenden found that 520 mothers and babies suffered harm or died due to poor medical treatment between 2012 and 2025. This report is being called the biggest childbirth scandal in the history of the National Health Service (NHS), the publicly funded healthcare system in the United Kingdom.

The 401-page document describes a system where care was often dangerous and, in some cases, cruel. The investigation looked at cases at the Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital. It found that 444 women and 76 newborn babies experienced outcomes that could have been avoided if they had received better care. The report highlights that staff often failed to listen to women, delayed important medical scans, and did not manage labour properly. In some tragic cases, babies died because they did not receive enough oxygen or because of infections they picked up in the hospital.

Beyond the clinical mistakes, the report paints a picture of a toxic working environment. The Guardian reports that both hospitals suffered from constant understaffing, meaning doctors and midwives were often too tired to provide safe care. Furthermore, a culture of bullying and intimidation made it difficult for staff to speak up about problems. Managers were warned repeatedly about these issues over many years but failed to take effective action. In one shocking example, the report noted that a baby who died was accidentally treated as clinical waste by laboratory staff, which caused immense pain to the parents.

Families who were affected by these events have been fighting for answers for a long time. The Nottingham Maternity Families group, which represents about 600 families, is now asking the government to start a statutory public inquiry. A statutory public inquiry is a formal, government-backed investigation that has the power to force witnesses to give evidence. The families believe this is necessary to investigate maternity care across the entire NHS, not just in Nottingham, to ensure that the full truth is known.

James Murray, the health secretary, spoke about the report, calling the findings “horrific” and “chilling.” He stated that the government is currently considering the request for a wider public inquiry. “I don’t think we should take anything off the table at this stage,” Murray said. However, he also noted that not all families agree on the best way forward. While some want a full public inquiry, others are more focused on immediate changes to how maternity services are delivered to ensure that women are listened to by their doctors.

The report also highlights how families were often ignored when they raised concerns. Many women reported that their worries about pain or their baby’s movement were dismissed as simple anxiety. In one well-known case, Sarah Hawkins and her partner received a £2.8 million settlement—the largest of its kind for stillbirth negligence—after their daughter, Harriet, was stillborn. Despite repeated calls to the hospital about her pain, staff told her she was not in labour, and her concerns were ignored until it was too late.

This investigation was originally ordered in 2022 by the then health secretary, Sajid Javid, after many families came forward with warnings that the care they received was unsafe. The review team spoke to about 2,500 families and 850 staff members to understand what went wrong. The findings show that failures were not just one-time mistakes but were systemic, meaning they were part of the way the hospital functioned on a daily basis. The report found that serious incidents were often downgraded or dismissed by the hospital to protect its reputation and avoid outside investigation.

As the government considers its next steps, the focus remains on accountability and safety. The report makes it clear that the current situation is unacceptable. For the hundreds of families who have suffered, the findings are a painful confirmation of what they have argued for years: that their voices were ignored and that their loved ones deserved much better care. Whether the government decides to launch a wider national inquiry or focus on fixing the specific problems at NUH, the pressure to reform maternity services across the country is now stronger than ever.