Leeds maternity inquiry: bereaved families say they have 'lost faith' in Wes Streeting

Last October, Mr Streeting announced a specific inquiry into maternity failings in Leeds, after a campaign from the grieving parents.

A BBC investigation revealed the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers over the past five years may have been prevented, while legal firm Irwin Mitchell is representing more than 30 families in action against the trust.

The bereaved families have called for Ms Ockenden to take charge of the West Yorkshire inquiry, however, so far, this has been rebuffed by Mr Streeting, who previously said the senior midwife is otherwise engaged.

However, yesterday, Ms Ockenden released a statement saying: “I have made it clear on multiple occasions to the Secretary of State for Health, his officials and team, that I stand ready to chair the review into Leeds maternity services and can begin work immediately if asked.

“The independent inquiry into Nottingham maternity services that I am chairing is now in its final stages, with the report due to be delivered in June.

“Over many years, my team and I have developed both the robust methodology and the deep expertise required to undertake reviews of this scale and complexity.

“The issues we encounter are consistent and systemic: workforce pressures, insufficient funding, gaps in training and education, and poor cultures within perinatal, maternity and neonatal services that must change to ensure safe, compassionate care.”

This comes as several of the bereaved families and their local MPs delivered a letter to Downing Street, urging the Prime Minister to take control of the inquiry and appoint Ms Ockenden chair.

They say they have lost faith in Mr Streeting and the Department of Health and Social Care to oversee the inquiry.

Fiona Winser-Ramm’s daughter Aliona died less than half an hour after she was born in 2020.

The inquest found “a number of gross failures … directly contributed” to Aliona’s death, after it was revealed concerns around her heart rate had not been acted on.

She told The Yorkshire Post: “We aren’t prepared to take a second-rate, superficial inquiry into Leeds, and that’s why we felt we had to escalate it to the Prime Minister.

“Families are starting to see it as a sham and a cover up.”

Amarjit Kaur and Mandip Singh Matharoo’s baby Asees was stillborn in January 2024, after Amarjit, 37, said she had raised pain in her abdomen that was not scanned on three occasions.

She said: “The candidates put forward by the Secretary of State are not midwifery experts. We need someone that understands the clinical setting.”

Lauren Caulfield’s daughter Grace was stillborn in 2022. Medical staff then lost Ms Caulfield’s placenta, meaning vital tests to ascertain Grace’s cause of death could not be done.

A Health Safety Investigation Branch report found several care issues including Grace’s growth not being consistently monitored because of the use of different systems between Leeds and Bradford, where Ms Caulfield was also being treated.

The 28-year-old said: “We’ve offered the exact person [Donna Ockenden] who needs to chair this, who has said herself she wants to and is able to chair this.

“She has a proven track record, and yet is still being denied the opportunity to come to Leeds.

“It begs the question, are our children less valuable, less important than theirs [in Nottingham]?”

A government spokesperson said: “Every family who has lost a baby deserves answers, and we are determined to ensure they get them.

“We are actively working with families in Leeds to appoint a chair and agree terms of reference for this vital review.

“No one should experience substandard maternity care, and this government will not rest until women, babies and families get the care they need, in Leeds and beyond.”

Mr Streeting is set to meet the bereaved families later this month. Brendan Brown, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive, commented: “I do appreciate the need for families to have answers and certainty on the independent inquiry.

“We are committed to working openly and constructively with the independent inquiry into maternity care in Leeds and we await further details about this from the Government.

“Improving our maternity and neonatal services is our absolute priority, and we are moving forward with our improvement plan, to ensure every family receives safe, compassionate, inclusive, and high-quality care here in Leeds.

“We want to work with the families who have used our services to understand their experiences so we can make real and lasting improvements.”