It has been announced that a Police investigation will be launched into the failings that led to dozens of baby deaths and injuries in the maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals.
This decision follows discussions between the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police and Senior Midwife, Donna Ockenden, whose large-scale independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals remains ongoing. It is intended that the Police investigation will take place alongside Donna Ockenden’s review.
This means that the Police will now investigate the actions and failures of individual clinicians at the Trust and this will likely involve speaking with many of the families affected by their maternity failings.
Donna Ockenden’s review of maternity failings at Nottingham University Hospitals, which will be the largest ever carried out in the UK, involves the cases of a record-breaking 1,800 families. Ms Ockenden said that she welcomes the Police’s decision to conduct a criminal investigation. Ms Ockenden also said:
“As the review chair, my team and I are absolutely committed to working with the police…
“I am grateful to the Chief Constable for her assurance that the police investigation will not delay the progress of our work.”
The independent review into the failings which led to babies dying or being injured whilst under the care of NUH continues and a statement was issued on behalf of campaigning parents:
“We welcome the long-awaited news of this police investigation and we are very grateful to the Chief Constable Kate Meynell for her decision…There will be a wealth of information from victim families for her team to use…
“A large number of us have alleged crimes and we will be sharing our evidence with the police to assist them with their investigations.”
Nottinghamshire Police will be looking at the work currently being done by West Mercia Police in respect of its investigations into the maternity failures at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust to inform the conduct of its investigation.
It is envisaged that once the Police investigation (which is likely to be both lengthy and complex) gets underway, we will gain a better understanding of its scope and the potential implications for the families affected.
Comment
Affected families have pushed for a truly independent and thorough review of the failures at the Trust and so it is unsurprising that the parents and families campaigning for change have very much welcomed the news of a criminal investigation into maternity failings at Nottingham University Hospitals.
Whilst highly concerning to learn that a criminal investigation has become appropriate and necessary in the circumstances, it is positive to see that the incidents of poor maternity care are being looked at very carefully. It is hoped that the added involvement of the Police will help immensely in providing accountability for the acts and omissions of those involved at Nottingham University Hospitals.
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Shrdha Kapoor is an Associate in our expert Medical Negligence team, specialising in delayed diagnosis claims, surgical error claims, fatal medical negligence claims – including claims against mental health hospitals, drug and medication error claims and inquests (providing representation for families).
If you have any questions about the topics in this article, please contact Shrdha or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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