Nottingham Maternity Unit Inquiry Covers 2,500 Families Over 13 Years
A Panorama investigation airing tonight examines the maternity unit run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which is the subject of the largest maternity inquiry in National Health Service history. The inquiry spans 13 years from 2012 and covers 2,500 families. The program reports that “FOH” — standing for “fuck off home” — was written next to women’s names on a whiteboard, and that senior midwives advised colleagues not to be “too kind”. Individual cases include women being warned off coming to hospital for so long that one arrived with a dead baby and collapsed perineum and vaginal wall. Donna Ockenden, the senior midwife writing the Nottinghamshire report, described conscious and spoken bias at the unit, stating that South Asian women were perceived as complaining about pain more, which she called discrimination. One community midwife cited unsafe staffing levels as a root cause, saying that to remain resilient during disasters, compassion had to be lowered. This information comes from a single source — a Guardian opinion column by Zoe Williams — and has not been cross-referenced.
What’s reported
Panorama is broadcasting tonight about the maternity unit run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The maternity inquiry is the largest in NHS history, spanning 13 years from 2012 and covering 2,500 families.
The initials “FOH” (standing for “fuck off home”) were written next to women’s names on a whiteboard.
Senior midwives advised others not to be “too kind”.
One woman was warned off coming to hospital for so long that when she arrived her baby was dead and her perineum and vaginal wall had collapsed.
Donna Ockenden, senior midwife writing the Nottinghamshire report, stated there was conscious and spoken bias at the unit, including the view that South Asian women complained about pain more, which she called discrimination.
A community midwife said staffing levels were not safe, leading to disasters and a need to lower compassion to remain resilient.
Key figures
Donna Ockenden, senior midwife writing the Nottinghamshire report
An unnamed community midwife
Zoe Williams, author of the Guardian opinion column
Sources: The Guardian
