Nhs Staff Called 'heartless' Over Maternity Comments

Staff moving for a scandal-hit NHS spot allegedly made "heartless" criticisms astir families progressive successful nan largest-ever maternity reappraisal and claimed relatives are taking portion truthful they tin activity compensation.

Families besides said they person been accused of grooming different affected families to subordinate elder nurse Donna Ockenden's independent reappraisal of maternity services astatine Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).

The reappraisal began 3 years agone aft allegations of harm to babies and mothers, and now involves astir 2,500 families.

Trust main executive Anthony May described nan alleged comments made by unit arsenic "shocking".

Speaking astatine nan trust's yearly gathering connected Wednesday, Mr May said: "Some families very precocious person fed backmost to maine shocking examples of being stigmatised aliases gaslit - criticised for either being portion of nan independent reappraisal aliases for campaigning for amended services.

"Families person heard that they are criticised for being successful nan review, and that they are successful nan reappraisal connected nan ground that they are seeking compensation.

"The families show maine that location are instances wherever they consciousness they person logic to judge they tin trace that backmost to colleagues that activity successful NUH."

Dr Jack and Sarah Hawkins, who some utilized to activity for nan spot until their girl Harriet was stillborn successful 2016, person been campaigning to item failures astatine NUH ever since.

They described nan comments arsenic "horrific" and "unfathomably heartless".

Dr Hawkins said: "We person been called 'compo seekers'.

"There has been a remark made that group are successful this group because they person been groomed by Sarah and I and different group who person been astir for a agelong time, and that has travel retired of NUH.

"We want change. We don't person immoderate different logic to beryllium successful this fight.

"The first point to let you to alteration is to recognise that you request to change. And if your cognition is that you don't and that we are, successful fact, scamming nan strategy successful immoderate way, past it's truthful disheartening.

"We're not doing this for immoderate logic different than babies are dying and being harmed and mums are dying and being harmed and families are being ripped apart."

"To trim that down to 'they're seeking compensation' is unfathomably heartless."

Ms Hawkins said: "Life couldn't get immoderate worse... and past they said this astir us, and we conscionable consciousness for illustration these complete, utter monsters."

Dr and Ms Hawkins said they "absolutely" deliberation location should beryllium disciplinary action against unit who made nan comments.

Mr May said he wrote an email to each unit personnel astatine nan spot to explicate that nan comments are "not acceptable".

He said: "I can't property it to an individual, and neither did nan families, to beryllium adjacent to them, and it could beryllium connected societal media, it could beryllium they perceive it erstwhile they're retired and about.

"No matter wherever they perceive it aliases wherever it comes from, it's sewage to stop. It's perfectly shocking.

"The families I've met are immoderate of nan astir courageous group I've ever travel across, who person not only suffered lifelong trauma, but they're happy to show their experiences complete and complete again to effort and amended (services).

"The immense mostly of group who activity successful nan spot would never, ever, dream of doing that but if they do, past location are processes that we tin usage to woody pinch that."

More than 850 members of unit astatine nan spot person travel guardant to Ms Ockenden's independent reappraisal of maternity care.

NUH is besides being investigated for imaginable offences of firm manslaughter complete deaths related to maternity services astatine its hospitals.