NHS report warned of maternity care concerns at trust days before landmark baby death case

NHS report told of maternity problems before inquiry 5 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Rob Sissons East Midlands health correspondent PA Media Nottingham City Hospital, where workplace culture was scrutinised in the months before Harriet Hawkins's death A previously unpublished report has detailed serious concerns about workload, staffing and culture within Nottingham's troubled maternity services. The review of the maternity unit at Nottingham City Hospital - seen by the BBC - was dated days before baby Harriet Hawkins was stillborn in 2016 - a landmark case that eventually led to the largest review of maternity failings in the NHS. Donna Ockenden, who is leading the review of Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust - which runs City Hospital - said: "There were many concerns that were known about when Harriet Hawkins lost her life." She will publish her findings on 24 June after overseeing the review into baby deaths at NUH. The previously unpublished workplace report is historic, but raises questions about whether warning signs around staffing pressures and culture were acted on sufficiently. The external review - carried out by a workplace psychologist between December 2015 and March 2016, and dated 30 March 2016 - praised the "remarkable" commitment of staff, but also highlighted concerns around workload, inappropriate behaviour and wider issues with workplace culture. A total of 49 members of staff, including doctors and midwives, were interviewed and quoted in the report anonymously. The review was instigated after letters to staff at the maternity unit, as well as "unusual actions" on the unit during a visit by healthcare inspectors. This included an empty can of energy drink left in the middle of the floor of a clean delivery room - as well as butter "smeared around the top of a birthing pool". The report also cited feedback from Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors, highlighting "some concerns with the culture" within the City Hospital maternity unit. The review was carried out to understand the culture, identify issues, and provide recommendations of potential solutions. The story behind the largest maternity review in the NHS 'Don't be too kind': Maternity staff used offensive terms to refer to pregnant women One worker said: "There is immense pressure on staff - we are mildly to moderately short-staffed all the time." Another added: "Sometimes we go home in tears. We have our private groups in Facebook. We share on here and provide help: 'Sorry you are not supported, how are you?'" Another suggested: "We need to close the labour suite, rather than make it an unsafe place to work." The report also raised concerns about how patients were allocated to midwives. One account described newly qualified midwives being assigned "high-risk cases", while more experienced staff carry out less complex tasks, adding: "This happens all the time." Issues with team culture were also identified, with "numerous reports" of s