Key Summary
- The hospital was previously made part of a national rapid review of maternity services
- But families wanted an independent inquiry similar to those launched for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust and Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trust
- Bereaved families want Donna Ockenden, a senior midwife who had probed the maternity failings at Shrewsbury and Telford and is currently involved in Nottingham, to head the inquiry
The government has ordered an independent inquiry into the failures at the NHS trust's maternity units at Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
The health secretary, Wes Streeting, who met some of the families recently, said he was “shocked” by their experiences and the "unacceptable response" of the trust.
The hospital was previously made part of a national rapid review of maternity services, led by Baroness Amos, at 14 NHS trust hospitals.
However, families have campaigned for an independent inquiry similar to those launched for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust (SATH) and Nottingham University Hospitals Foundation Trust (NUH).
Streeting felt that Leeds was an "exceptional case" and needs a "Nottingham-style independent inquiry" and felt this would help the families to learn the truth about what went wrong in their care.
The Department of Health has not yet announced the inquiry's terms of reference or details of who will lead it.
The ongoing inquiry at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust would examine 2,500 cases of maternity failings.
Bereaved families want Donna Ockenden, a senior midwife who had probed the maternity failings at Shrewsbury and Telford and is currently involved in Nottingham, to also chair the Leeds inquiry.
In June, the Care Quality Commission downgraded the trust to “inadequate”, citing serious risks to women and babies and a deep-rooted “blame culture” that left staff afraid to speak up.
