Maternity scandal to be dramatised in new series

The largest maternity scandal in NHS history is set to become the focus of a new television drama starring Harry Potter actor Jason Isaacs.

Last month, a review found more than 500 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or died due to failings at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust.

Jack and Sarah Hawkins - whose story will be told in the new TV series - campaigned for years for answers, after their daughter Harriet died before she was delivered at Nottingham City Hospital, which is run by the trust, in 2016.

NUH said the review was a "watershed moment" and it was "committed to creating a better maternity service" for women, babies and families in its care.

The programme will be based on the ITV documentary Maternity: Broken Trust, which followed families affected by the trust's failings.

Speaking to the BBC about learning the scandal would become a television drama, Sarah said: "I thought, that's crazy, it's so exciting.

"And I think the reason it's so exciting, is because for so long Nottingham families just felt so alone and that we were the issue.

"And I feel like now, we've come to the point where people are believing us."

The Hawkins were one of the first families to raise the alarm about maternity services at the trust.

When a hospital review found "no obvious fault", and stated Harriet had died of an infection, Jack and Sarah - who had both worked for the trust - pushed for an external review.

That external review, published in 2018, found 13 failings and concluded Harriet's death was "almost certainly preventable".

The wider review into maternity failings in Nottingham began in September 2022, and was led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden.

Sarah said: "The Ockenden review has demonstrated there there has been preventable harm and preventable death.

"And we did the amazing documentary before but I do feel like there is an element where people disconnect if it's a documentary because its just so horrific, people don't want to feel like there is preventable harm or death.

"With the drama, people will be able to get into it and there is another opportunity for people to see what Nottingham families have been through for so long."

Jack said he and Sarah knew there was a problem at the trust after Harriet died.

"We knew from the behaviour of the hospital in 2016 - and it's not the hospital, not the bricks and mortar - but the people," he said.

"And this is one of the interesting things about drama, you will get to see the behaviours of people that we were up against, who wanted us to pretend that it was one of those things, that it was normal, that it was reasonable that Harriet died, and that we were not surrounded by so many others.

"How can the avoidable death or harm to one child or mother be OK, and how can it be 500?

"We've normalised it, but this drama will show you the bones of what, actually, a fight against the NHS looks like, and the reality of what that fight was."

Jack will be played by Jason Isaacs in the drama, which is being produced by Cuba Pictures and directed by Jim Loach.

Laura Warner, who directed Maternity: Broken Trust - which won a Royal Television Society journalist award - is also an executive producer of the new series.

She said despite following the Hawkins for a year for the documentary, there was "only so much" they could fit into it.

"What you can't fit into a documentary is just the sheer depth of trauma and pain and frustration and struggle, that not just Jack and Sarah, but all the families in Nottingham have been through," she told the BBC.

"We barely scratched the surface with the documentary, as much as we tried hard, but I feel that this way, dramatising it, we can really try and put ourselves more into Jack and Sarah and the other families' shoes."

A transmission date for the series has not yet been announced.

Tracy Pilcher, chief nurse at NUH said: "Jack and Sarah Hawkins have been through unimaginable pain since the tragic loss of their daughter, Harriet, while in our care.

"Not only did we fail to care for them in our hospitals, but we also repeatedly failed them when they tried to get answers, and for that I am truly sorry.

"Through the pain and grief, they have campaigned relentlessly for answers and for change.

"The Independent Maternity Review into our services was a watershed moment for them and all other families involved in the review, getting the answers that they have fought so hard for.

"But the work doesn't stop there, there is still much to do to improve maternity care, and we are absolutely committed to listening, learning and creating a better maternity service for the women, babies and families in our care."

Listen to BBC Radio Nottingham on Sounds and follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.