Pregnant women face racist abuse at NHS trust, inquiry reveals

Nottingham maternity review discovered that women were denied interpreters, ridiculed, and treated harshly.

• Pramod Thomas
• 25 July, 2024

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By: Pramod Thomas

EXPECTANT mothers at a troubled NHS trust faced racist and discriminatory treatment, including staff mocking their accents and refusing to provide interpreters, the inquiry leader told the Guardian.

Donna Ockenden’s team is reviewing over 1,900 families’ cases involving stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths, or babies with brain damage at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) as part of the largest inquiry in NHS history.

Ockenden, a senior midwife, reported hearing numerous accounts of racism and mistreatment from both families and staff. Women of Asian origin recounted being mocked for their accents and facial expressions, and a Roma woman described having a sheet thrown at her when she asked for her bed to be changed.

Many women were denied interpreters, impacting their ability to give informed consent for medical procedures. Reports also indicated that women from deprived backgrounds, regardless of race, often had negative experiences with maternity services.

The review, launched in September 2022, follows Ockenden’s previous investigation into Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trusts, which revealed 300 babies died or were left brain-damaged due to inadequate care.

The Nottingham review has already referred over 250 individuals for psychological support and referred 70 cases for immediate action.

Families have shared harrowing stories of life-changing injuries, mental health issues, and caring for brain-injured children with little support. Some women have suffered severe physical damage, leaving them in pain and unable to work.

Ockenden reported hearing daily accounts of severe physical harm, mental health issues, broken relationships, and families struggling to care for brain-injured children with minimal support. She noted that many poor outcomes were due to substandard care.

The review covers cases from 2012 and will continue accepting new ones until May 2025, with a final report due in September 2025. Nottinghamshire police have also started a criminal investigation into the trust’s maternity care.

Last year, the trust was fined £800,000 for failings in the care of Sarah Andrews and her baby, Wynter, who died shortly after birth in 2019. Another case involved Sarah and Jack Hawkins, who received a £2.8m settlement after their baby, Harriet, was stillborn following a six-day labour in 2016.

Ockenden highlighted recurring issues such as families feeling dismissed, not believed about their labour or pain, and denied admission to the trust. She stressed that these problems could affect maternity services nationwide.

A Department of Health spokesperson acknowledged the issues and committed to improving maternity care, addressing racial disparities, and increasing midwife training.

Anthony May, chief executive of NUH, apologised for the failings and outlined plans to enhance translation services and cultural awareness. He noted that recent inspections and patient feedback indicated improvements, with 98 per cent of patients reporting positive experiences in a recent survey.