How messages between two dads helped expose the largest NHS maternity scandal

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: How messages between two dads helped expose the largest NHS maternity scandalImage caption, Left to right: Gary and Sarah Andrews contacted Sarah and Jack Hawkins after reading about their campaignByGreig Watson and Laura Hammond, East MidlandsPublished11 minutes agoA WhatsApp message from one grieving father to another, and one question: "Do you want to speak? "Little did he know, but Gary Andrews's decision to contact Dr Jack Hawkins would prove pivotal, playing a crucial part in prompting the largest maternity scandal of its kind in NHS history. Donna Ockenden's major review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, published on Wednesday, revealed 260 babies died or were seriously injured as a result of "deep-rooted, systemic and sustained" failings.

Before she presented her long-awaited report, the senior midwife paid tribute to a group of families who "came together in harm and in grief" and determined that "what had happened to them should not happen to anyone else". Ockenden said her review "owes its very existence" to them - with the list of names she read out including Gary, Jack, Sarah Andrews and Sarah Hawkins. Figure caption, Watch: During her review presentation, Ockenden paid tribute to the families involvedJack and Sarah Hawkins's daughter Harriet was stillborn at Nottingham City Hospital in April 2016 after intervention was repeatedly delayed.

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An initial hospital review found "no obvious fault" and stated Harriet had died of an infection. But Sarah and Jack - who both worked for the trust as a senior physiotherapist and consultant doctor respectively - did not accept that, and pushed for answers. An external review into the circumstances surrounding Harriet's care, published in January 2018, identified 13 failings and concluded her death was "almost certainly preventable".

NUH apologised and said major changes would be made. Ockenden added Harriet's death "was compounded by a systemic cover-up and investigations designed to mislead, which took a profound toll on the couple's wellbeing". She called Jack and Sarah's campaign "a watershed moment" - and "the patient safety catalyst for the Nottingham maternity review".

More on the Nottingham maternity scandalBodies found in 'advanced deterioration' at under-fire trust Published1 day ago'From excitement to emptiness': Families affected by largest NHS maternity scandal tell their stories Published2 days agoBaby deaths and toxic culture - the Nottingham maternity report at a glance Published2 days agoThe story behind the largest maternity review in the NHS Published3 days agoGary and Sarah Andrews's daughter Wynter died 23 minutes after she was delivered by Caesarean section at the Queen's Medical Centre on 15 September 2019 after repeated warning signs of her being in distress had been missed. Wynter died from a loss of oxygen flow to the brain - which an inquest found could have been prevented had staff delivered her earlier.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.