Nottingham maternity scandal: Families still tell of ‘poor care’ a year after review launched
Families are still coming forward with stories of poor care a year after an independent review was launched into maternity services at a scandal-hit NHS trust.
More than 1,700 cases of possible harm to newborn babies and mothers are being examined at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust over a 10-year period.
The investigation is led by midwife Donna Ockenden, who led a similar review into maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust. In 2022 she concluded that catastrophic failures there may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies.
Solicitor Natalie Cosgrove, who is representing a number of Nottingham families, told Sky News that she had been contacted by people concerned about their care “as recently as March this year”.
Natalie Cosgrove, a medical negligence partner at Ashtons Legal, is representing families
“Things may be improving as far as the trust would like to say reputationally but I’m not seeing it myself,” she said.
“Those at the top, many appear to be well-meaning, want to improve care, want to show change, but I’m yet to see that filter down.
“That’s not scaremongering, this is a cry to those senior members to listen to your staff, listen to families, recent families coming forward and take them seriously.”
Bereaved parents had campaigned for an investigation into maternity care at Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen’s Medical Centre for years, and have formed a support group to help others.
Teddy was a day old when he died after he and his mother, Kim Errington, were discharged from Nottingham City Hospital
In 2020, Kim Errington lost her son Teddy, aged just one day old after they were discharged from Nottingham City Hospital.
“Teddy was small for his gestational age when he was born at 41 weeks,” she said. “He should have automatically triggered the hypoglycemic monitoring pathway which meant he should have had his bloods checked, he should have had monitored feeds, he should have been kept in and closely monitored for 24 to 48 hours.”
The trust has admitted a “breach of duty” and that his death could have been avoided.
Kim has since given birth to a baby daughter, Elfi, at a different trust.
Kim Errington with her daughter Elfi
“He’ll never be gone,” Kim said. “If I didn’t have Elfi I’d be a very different person, in a very different place. I’m so grateful she’s here and healthy but it doesn’t eradicate what happened.”
In a statement given to Sky News, Anthony May, chief executive of Nottingham University Hospitals, said: “We know that the independent review is important for women and families, and for the future of the trust.
“Over the past year, we have prioritised our engagement with the review and will continue to do so.
“Above all, we are committed to making the necessary improvements to our maternity services, and supporting our teams to deliver safe and informed care, for all women and families.”
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He added: “We work closely with the review team led by Donna Ockenden and meet regularly with the team to listen to the feedback, respond accordingly and inform our improvement plan.
“We are determined to fulfil the commitment we made in July to an open and honest relationship with the families involved in the review and all women and families within our maternity services.
“We still have a long way to go but we are making sustainable progress in a number of areas to benefit the safety and wellbeing of women, families and staff as part of our Maternity Improvement Programme.
“We are focused on learning from incidents, improving our culture and communicating more effectively with women and families that use our services.”
Dr Jack and Sarah Hawkins, and their daughter Lottie
Dr Jack Hawkins was a consultant at the trust in 2016 when his daughter Harriet was stillborn. Initially the family was told that she had died of an infection but they successfully pushed for an independent investigation.
They received a £2.8m payout from the NHS after 13 failures in care were found. Harriet’s death was described as “almost certainly preventable”.
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Dr Hawkins told Sky News that Nottingham Hospitals Maternity Family Support Group was being contacted by patients who had “trouble in the last few weeks” at the trust and that due to the volume of work, the Ockenden report could take a further 12 months to publish findings.
“What I hope for is that people will be held to account, that people who haven’t been held to account will see there’s consequences in lying, of poor care, of not doing the right things, and that it will change,” he said.
It has become almost impossible to book a driving test on the government website due to bots on the booking system, driving instructors have told Sky News.
The only official way to book a practical car driving test is through the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) website.
New test slots are released by the DVSA at 6am every Monday, but “no matter how fast I am, there’s nothing available”, said Aman Sanghera, a driving instructor based in west London.
Driving instructor Aman Sanghera wants ‘stronger oversight and regulation’ from the DVSA
When asked about the cause, she said: “All of the tests are taken by bots, they are definitely taking over the booking system.”
In this context, bots are automated software designed to mimic human behaviour and programmed to carry out actions like searching for and reserving driving test appointments on the official government website much faster than humans can.
Individuals and companies use bots to block-book driving test slots and then resell them at a profit, which is not illegal, although it is a violation of the DVSA’s terms of use.
Recent data shows the DVSA has closed over 800 business accounts for misuse of its booking service in the past two years.
It takes five months on average for a test in England – unless you pay a middleman
Ms Sanghera, who has been in the trade for over a decade, said the usage of bots started a few months ago “but is now getting out of hand”.
She said: “I’ve actually heard about driving instructors being approached by certain individuals to then take on their IDs to log in and to run this scam.
“I struggle to actually book a test for my students, which means that by the time my students are logging in, they’ve got no chance.”
Driving instructors can book driving tests on behalf of their pupils using a dedicated service, allowing them to bypass the general queue and potentially secure test slots more efficiently.
As a result, Ms Sanghera said students are “forced to go to third-party sites” to secure “the same test dates which are then available later on during the day at a premium rate of like £200-£300”.
She added: “Given that the DVSA is a government-regulated body, one would expect a more robust and fair system to ensure affordability and accessibility for all candidates.”
The long waiting lists and high demand for tests has led some to take advantage
The standard test fee is £62, offered by the DVSA, which is responsible for carrying out driving tests in Great Britain.
The biggest concern for the driving instructors Sky News has spoken to, including Ms Sanghera, is “the fact that students are being exploited”.
When Ahmed Ali struggled to find a practical test on the DVSA website, he turned to third-party sites – a decision he now regrets.
Ahmed Ali started looking for a test two years ago
He said: “I’ve spent about £650 on driving tests, and I’ve sat zero tests. I’ve given all this money to third-parties that look for cancellations so they could try to get you a faster test.”
But the 20-year-old said that despite making the payments, he “didn’t hear back from them again”, which is illegal.
“When you lose all that money, you get to a point where you can’t really afford to find another driving test,” he said.
“I just feel very frustrated because I’ve spent all this money, all this time into driving, and I haven’t sat a single driving test.”
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The DVSA urged applicants to only book tests via the official Gov.uk website and told Sky News it “deploys enhanced bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly”.
“These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing, and DVSA’s work on this is ongoing,” it said.
From Tuesday, the DVSA will require learner drivers to provide 10 full working days’ notice to change or cancel their car driving test without losing the test fee, up from the current three days.
Also part of the DVSA’s crackdown to reduce waiting times is a consultation expected to launch in spring 2025 “to streamline the driving test booking process” and “tighten terms and conditions”.
The last blast furnaces left operating in Britain could see their fate sealed within days, after their Chinese owners took the decision to cut off the crucial supply of ingredients keeping them running.
Jingye, the owner of British Steel in Scunthorpe, has, according to union representatives, cancelled future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
The upshot is that they may have to close next month – even sooner than the earliest date suggested for its closure.
Read more: Thousands of jobs at risk as British Steel consults unions over closure
The fate of the blast furnaces – the last two domestic sources of virgin steel, made from iron ore rather than recycled – is likely to be determined in a matter of days, with the Department for Business and Trade now actively pondering nationalisation.
The upshot is that even as Britain contends with a trade war across the Atlantic, it is now working against the clock to secure the future of steelmaking at Scunthorpe.
The talks between the government and Jingye broke down last week after the Chinese company, which bought British Steel out of receivership in 2020, rejected a £500m offer of public money to replace the existing furnaces with electric arc furnaces.
The sum is the same one it offered to Tata Steel, which has shut down the other remaining UK blast furnaces in Port Talbot and is planning to build electric furnaces – which have far lower carbon emissions.
These steel workers could soon be out of work
However, the owners argue that the amount is too little to justify extra investment at Scunthorpe, and said last week they were now consulting on the date of shutting both the blast furnaces and the attached steelworks.
Since British Steel is the main provider of steel rails to Network Rail – as well as other construction steels available from only a few sites in the world – the closure would leave the UK more reliant on imports for critical infrastructure sites.
However, since the site belongs to its Chinese owners, a decision to nationalise the site would involve radical steps government officials are wary of taking.
They also fear leaving taxpayers exposed to a potentially loss-making business for the long run.
The dilemma has been heightened by the sharp turn in geopolitical sentiment following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The incipient trade war and threatened cut in American support to Europe have sparked fresh calls for countries to act urgently to secure their own supplies of critical materials, especially those used for defence and infrastructure.
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Gareth Stace, head of UK Steel, the industry lobby group, said: “Talks seem to have broken down between government and British Steel.
“My advice to government is: please, Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary, get back round that negotiating table, thrash out a deal, and if a deal can’t be found in the next few days, then I fear for the very future of the sector, but also here for Scunthorpe steelworks.”
British Steel declined to comment.
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