'Don't be too kind': Stories from the maternity unit where mums were failed

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. 'Don't be too kind': Stories from the maternity unit where mums were failed15 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleMichael BuchananSocial affairs correspondentGetty ImagesThe midwife's notes were short and to the point. The three letters - "FOH" - that she had written on a whiteboard next to names of heavily pregnant women were not there to alert colleagues to women having a specific medical condition or requiring a certain type of care. Instead, they were an acronym for a three-word offensive statement signalling they wanted the women to leave the maternity unit run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).

The "F", a swear word. The "O", standing for "OFF". The "H", short for "HOME".

The Details

The acronym was described in a 2018 resignation letter from another member of staff, now seen by Panorama, raising concerns about attitudes within the unit. In the same letter, another midwife was reported to have advised colleagues to get pregnant women, who had arrived worried they were going into labour, to go home with the advice: "Don't be too kind, she'll keep coming back. "The Nottingham trust is currently at the centre of the largest maternity inquiry in the history of the NHS - looking at care provided to about 2,500 families between 2012 and 2025.

The inquiry has been investigating stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths, and injured babies and mothers at NUH, which runs City Hospital and Queen's Medical Centre. Panorama has seen previously unreported documents and has also spoken to 10 midwives who worked there, about their experiences over the past decade providing a unique insight into what working conditions were like. Led by senior midwife, Donna Ockenden, the inquiry is due to publish its findings on 24 June.

"Nottingham thought that there was a Nottingham way, that they were some kind of superior NHS trust compared to others," Ockenden tells Panorama. The current chief executive of the trust, Anthony May, who was not in position when the allegations were made, has vowed to fix the problems and has told the : "We need to take accountability as an organisation. "The NUH operates the Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City HospitalA determination to keep women at home for as long as possible before giving birth is a constant theme in many of the poor outcomes experienced in Nottingham.

What Experts Say

One midwife we spoke to recalled a woman calling the hospital to say she was in labour and being told there was no need for her to be admitted at that time. "When she came in, her baby was dead. The mother's perineum and vaginal wall collapsed because she'd been left to labour for so long.

She now has a stoma bag. "The 2018 resignation letter seen by Panorama, detailing the offensive remarks from colleagues, was written by a senior midwife. In it, she also noted she had once overheard a colleague say: "I've never had to tell a woman so loudly, and so often, that she would kill her baby if she didn't push.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.