On 13 May, 2026 the Secretary of State confirmed that the external review of our maternity services chaired by Donna Ockenden would be a wide ranging process which is expected to assess the cases of more than 1,000 families, from 2018 onwards.
The response of our Chief Executive Officer Dr Andy Heeps to this news is below.
“Our thoughts remain first and foremost with the families whose babies have died or who have suffered harm when receiving care in our hospitals.
“We welcome Donna Ockenden’s review and remain committed to fully supporting the process so families can get the answers they need, and we take any possible opportunity to learn and improve.
“Our overriding priority is always to provide the safest possible care for mothers and babies – that is why our maternity teams have implemented many positive changes in recent years, and why we will work with the review team to find new ways of making our services better, and safer, still.”
What comes next
We will provide future updates using our regular communications channels, when we know more. We will be cooperating fully with the Ockenden team.
In the meantime, if anyone has any questions about any aspect of their care, please discuss with your midwifery team in the first instance, and they will help as best they can. For more information about the Ockenden Maternity Review, please visit their website below.
Ockenden Maternity Review website