Nottingham City Hospital Maternity Services Knew Staffing, Culture Problems Before 2016 Stillbirth
A previously undisclosed report has brought to light significant issues concerning workload, staffing levels, and the prevailing culture within the maternity unit at Nottingham City Hospital. This internal review, dated days prior to the 2016 stillbirth of Harriet Hawkins, a case that eventually spurred the most extensive inquiry into NHS maternity failures, indicates that these problems were well-documented.
Donna Ockenden, leading the current review into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, confirmed, "There were many concerns that were known about when Harriet Hawkins lost her life." Her findings regarding baby deaths at NUH are due for publication on 24 June.
The external review, conducted by a workplace psychologist between December 2015 and March 2016, interviewed 49 staff members, including doctors and midwives. While acknowledging the "remarkable" commitment of staff, it highlighted persistent understaffing, inappropriate behaviour, and broader cultural deficiencies. One worker stated, "There is immense pressure on staff — we are mildly to moderately short-staffed all the time." Another suggested the need to "close the labour suite, rather than make it an unsafe place to work."
Concerns were also raised about the allocation of patients, with newly qualified midwives reportedly assigned "high-risk cases" while more experienced colleagues handled less complex tasks. Instances of senior staff demeaning junior colleagues were also documented.
Harriet Hawkins' parents, Dr Jack and Sarah Hawkins, criticised the trust's initial finding of "no obvious fault" in their daughter's death, which an external review later concluded was "almost certainly preventable." Sarah Hawkins described the culture she experienced as "toxic," recounting deeply distressing comments from staff during her labour. Dr Jack Hawkins questioned why "the most complex tasks" were assigned to "the most junior staff" in the labour suite.
Anthony May, NUH chief executive since September 2022, acknowledged the 2015-2016 report "reinforces the importance of culture in the workplace" and accepted that improvement remains a "work in progress." He stated the report, marked for internal use, did not receive the "level of scrutiny and prominence it deserved" from the trust's public board.
