Largest maternity review in NHS history to be published

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Largest maternity review in NHS history to be publishedImage caption, The review has looked into failings at maternity units run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Queen's Medical Centre (pictured)ByAsha PatelEast Midlands Published41 minutes agoThe largest maternity review in the history of the NHS - which is expected to detail widespread failings that led to the deaths of babies and avoidable harm - will be published later. About 2,500 families and more than 800 staff members have contributed to the review into Nottingham University Hospital (NUH) NHS Trust, which began in September 2022. The trust has already paid out millions of pounds in compensation and fines, including the largest fine ever given to an NHS trust for maternity failings of £1.

6m over the deaths of three babies in 2021. The review - led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden - is due to be published on Wednesday, while a police investigation continues. The story behind the largest maternity review in the NHS Published10 hours agoNHS report told of maternity problems before inquiry Published16 June'Don't be too kind': Maternity staff used offensive terms to refer to pregnant women Published1 JuneNottinghamshire Police launched a manslaughter case into the trust in June 2025, as part of its wider criminal investigation into maternity failings at the trust, named Operation Perth.

The Details

The investigation has run alongside the review, which has looked into failings at two maternity units run by the trust - at Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen's Medical Centre. On Monday, the force confirmed the first two arrests made as part of Operation Perth, which police said were separate to the corporate manslaughter investigation. Two men, 55 and 59, were detained on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, in connection with "operating practices in the mortuary service" provided by the trust.

Both have since been released on bail with "strict conditions". Other healthcare regulators, the General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), are investigating allegations against individual NUH staff. Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Jack and Sarah Hawkins, as well as other families affected by maternity failings, are calling for a statutory public inquiry into poor maternity careSarah and Jack Hawkins were one of the first families to raise the alarm about serious failings at the trust, after their daughter Harriet was stillborn at City Hospital in April 2016.

An initial hospital review found "no obvious fault", and stated their child died of an infection but Sarah and Jack - who both worked for the trust - did not accept that and pushed for an external review. The external review, which was published in January 2019, found a host of failings and concluded Harriet's death was "almost certainly preventable".

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