- Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid met today with families involved in the Independent Thematic Review into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) maternity services
- He listened to and expressed understanding about their concerns about the review, and remains committed to driving improvements in care for women and babies
- NHS England confirms Julie Dent CBE has stepped down as Chair and is carefully considering next steps following engagement with families
The Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid today met with some of the families involved in the review of maternity care at Nottingham University Hospitals to listen to and understand their concerns.
All affected families have now been informed that Julie Dent has, for personal reasons, stepped down as Chair of the review.
The Department of Health and Social Care is working with NHS England to put in place the right leadership to deliver an independent review to urgently bring about real change so that no families have to go through the same pain in the future.
Building on the discussions the Secretary of State had with some families today and on the feedback received so far, all affected families will be contacted by the NHS setting out next steps.
The NHS recognises there is more to do to improve the engagement and communication with families, and this is a priority as a new review process is established.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:
Today, I met with families to listen and understand their concerns about the review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals. My sympathies remain with all those tragically affected by these harrowing failures and I acknowledge the courage and strength shown by all.
It is crucial that the best possible leadership is in place to deliver an independent review that leads to real change, and I am working with the NHS to deliver on this and ensure no families have to go through the same pain again.
The NHS remains committed to ensuring that the experiences of families, any themes identified across maternity safety incidents, and concerns raised, all drive rapid improvements in care for women and babies in Nottingham.
Maternal patient safety failings are taken extremely seriously, and this is why the NHS is investing £127 million in maternity services to help increase the workforce and improve neonatal care, on top of £95 million to recruit 1,200 midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians.
Funding of £500,000 is also being invested in innovative NHS maternity leadership training. This will run alongside a new core curriculum for professionals working in maternity and neonatal services is being developed by the Maternity Transformation Programme in partnership with professional organisations, clinicians and service users to address variations in skills and safety training across England. This will help the workforce to bring a consistent set of updated safety skills as they move between services and Trusts.
In addition, the Health and Social Care Secretary and NHS have accepted Donna Ockenden's recommendations from the independent review of maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and the NHS is now considering how to implement them at both a national and local level.
