Families feel 'heard' over maternity failings

Families affected by failings in maternity and neonatal services at a hospital trust in Leeds say their voices were "heard" during a meeting with the health secretary.

The Leeds Maternity Families Group met Yvette Cooper to talk about their experiences ahead of an independent review being carried out into maternity and neonatal services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT).

Cooper said: "I've got to pay tribute to families who have kept campaigning on this having been through the most awful experiences themselves."

Lauren Caulfield, whose daughter Grace was stillborn in 2022, said the minister was "receptive to what families were saying and I think she truly heard every person".

The review, chaired by senior midwife Deborah Ockenden, is due to begin in November.

It was ordered by former health secretary Wes Streeting last year, who said he was "shocked" by "repeated maternity failures" which were "made worse by the unacceptable response of the trust".

Cooper, who is MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, said maternity services have "not been taken seriously enough for far too long".

"I think we have got a real focus on improving maternity services and improving the care, but also making sure that families can get the answers that they deserve from the Ockenden review that is starting this autumn," she said.

Amarjit Kaur Matharoo, whose daughter Asees was stillborn in 2024, said: "I think it was really constructive.

"Yvette heard from all the families that were in the room and their experiences. She understood why we have got to the place we have got to in Leeds and why the inquiry was needed.

"She told us the NHS needs to do better for babies and their mothers.

"She also acknowledged that this is why the health service is not fit for purpose at the moment and it is her job to fix it."

Caulfield added: "It was a positive meeting, Yvette allowed time for each and every family to share their experiences, she was receptive to what families were saying and I think she truly heard every person.

"I think she has gone away now understanding why this inquiry is happening and she also understands that further work needs to be done in Leeds to make sure that no stone goes unturned."

The meeting was also attended by Ockenden and government maternity adviser Michelle Welsh.

Rebecca Tinker, a parent also in attendance, said: "It went very well. We got all our points across. We felt very heard, very listened to.

"I feel now like something will be done, and I feel like it's all going in the right direction."

She described how she was in labour for 84 hours in 2024 before an emergency C-section and explained how her son, Frankie, was starved of oxygen for 25 minutes.

She said she was not listened to in the hospital and eventually developed sepsis.

Tinker said: "There is a massive problem in maternity and it's a crisis.

"[Cooper] is quite new to the job, but everything that we've got across today,she's listened to and she understands it.

"I do feel like her and Donna working together will be a really good outcome and people will be held responsible."

Tinker said Frankie was now two-and-a-half years old and "doing fantastic", but she had been told he was "lucky to be alive".

The inquiry was triggered by a BBC investigation which revealed that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers at LTHT over the past five years may have been prevented.

According to The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the review is expected to conclude by 2029 and will cover the delivery of maternity and neonatal care from 1 January 2011 until 31 March 2028 where mothers and babies have suffered "severe harm or death while under the care of LTHT".

The review will consider eight categories of "severe harm or death", the DHSC said, including stillbirths, maternal deaths – including by suicide – and some babies admitted to the neonatal unit.

The review will identify concerns over maternity and neonatal care at the trust and make recommendations to improve safety, quality and equity, the government said.

Brendan Brown, chief executive of LTHT, said: "We are committed to providing all the information and support the independent review team need to carry out a thorough review of maternity and neonatal services in Leeds.

"We hope this review helps provide answers for families whose babies have been harmed or have died while receiving care in our hospitals, and I am deeply sorry for the pain and trauma they have experienced.

"We are committed to listening, learning and making the improvements needed to provide safer care for every family."

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