Force bosses to face MPs over maternity scandal, says Streeting

Senior staff who refused to engage with the largest maternity scandal in NHS history should be hauled before Parliament, former health secretary Wes Streeting has said.

The review of Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust found hundreds of babies and mothers suffered avoidable harm.

As part of her review, Donna Ockenden said 66 former and current senior NUH colleagues were approached, with only 35 interviewed. Streeting said the "cowardice" of those who had declined to take part was "an insult".

Whistleblower Jack Hawkins - whose daughter Harriet was stillborn - said he understood the sentiment, but questioned whether Parliament was the right forum for further inquiries.

Streeting, who resigned as health secretary in May, wants anyone who refused to give evidence to Ockenden's inquiry to appear before MPs on the health and social care select committee.

In a letter addressed to committee chair MP Layla Moran, which has been seen by the BBC, Streeting said: "Their cowardice is an insult to the Nottingham families.

"Having sat and listened to those parents recount their harrowing experiences, of harm and bereavement, I find it simply unconscionable that people who worked for the NHS would deny them an honest account of what went wrong and why.

"This is indicative of a cover-up culture in the NHS that must be brought to an end. I am writing to ask you to use your powers as chair of the health and social care select committee to summon those who refused to give evidence to Donna Ockenden to explain their actions before Parliament.

"If the threat of being held in contempt of Parliament is necessary to force those in positions of power to be accountable, then so be it."

Select committees can compel witnesses within the UK to attend and answer questions, according to the Institute for Government think tank.

About 2,500 families and more than 800 members of NUH staff - past and present - contributed to the review, which began in 2022.

But when presenting the findings of her review at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Nottingham, Ockenden admitted there were "gaps" in knowledge because some senior managers had declined to take part.

Trust chief executive Anthony May told the BBC that the senior executives currently working for NUH had engaged with the review.

The Ockenden report also found different care may have altered the outcome for 260 babies who were died or were harmed.

Harriet Hawkins was stillborn at Nottingham City Hospital in April 2016, after intervention was repeatedly delayed. An external review found multiple failings, with Ockenden saying the case was "compounded by a systemic cover-up and investigations designed to mislead".

Harriet's father Jack Hawkins - who worked for the trust as a consultant doctor - expressed concern that leaders appearing before a select committee could impact an ongoing police investigation into maternity failings at the trust.

Jack said: "Wes, I really hope you have spoken to Nottinghamshire Police, because if you do something that messes up the police investigation, you will have the fury of Nottingham families descend on you.

"I think your heart is in the right place, but because you haven't involved us in your discussion, it does make us unsettled by why you're doing this."

Jack repeated his calls for a statutory public inquiry into maternity services, in which witnesses would be compelled to give evidence.

"These senior NHS leaders - both at NUH and in the regional team - need to be questioned in court by a barrister with witnesses, with evidence," he said.

"Otherwise, they are going to come up and say things that don't really advance the argument and the discussion.

"We don't know what these people know, why they didn't want to take part in the Ockenden review, and why there are so many dead and harmed families in Nottingham."

Gary and Sarah Andrews's daughter Wynter died 23 minutes after she was delivered by Caesarean section on 15 September 2019, after repeated warning signs of her being in distress had been missed.

An inquest in October 2020 found Wynter may have survived if "multiple missed opportunities" had been spotted by staff.

Reacting to Streeting's letter, Gary said: "The word cowardice actually sums it up pretty well - 800 staff came forward, but the leaders didn't.

"To say cowardice really sums up the sense of feeling from Nottingham families."

Sarah added: "I think it's good that it's recognised what an insult it is to families who have given our experiences and people couldn't come and answer to their part in that.

"Accountability is all that we've been asking for and it is what we need."

They echoed the call from the Hawkins that a statutory public inquiry was needed - and that nothing should jeopardise the police investigation into NUH maternity services.

In response to Ockenden's review, the government announced it would be bringing in new measures to boost accountability, including ensuring that NHS staff - past and present - who refuse to engage with upcoming maternity reviews are compelled to give evidence, or face up to two years in prison.

At the time, the Department of Health and Social Care said: "These measures are designed to tackle a culture of silence exposed by the Nottingham review, where over 800 staff gave evidence - but many described a culture of being silenced by senior clinicians and hospital bosses when raising concerns around patient safety."

Listen to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sounds and follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.