ITV's 'Maternity: Broken Trust' follows the parents of babies who died under NUH care

Babies who died under the care of the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust will be explored in a new ITV documentary on Sunday.

The documentary follows the parents journey's as they struggle to get accountability - and to cope with the resulting trauma.

Between 2012 and 2023, 467 mothers and babies died while under the care of NUH, a figure which doesn't include stillbirths.

The film is told through the experiences of a group of families who have campaigned to get answers.

It investigates failures in maternity care at the trust, which is currently the subject of the largest review of its kind ever held in the UK.

Among the stories told in the documentary is that of Jack and Sarah Hawkins, who first exposed a failure to provide appropriate maternity care after their daughter Harriet was born dead in 2016.

They were told her death was caused by an undiagnosed infection. But they knew instinctively this wasn’t the truth.

Grieving parent Jack Hawkins said: "I want to see people in court for the death of my daughter and so many other babies and mothers."

He added: "After Harriet died, for days, for weeks, we expected them to come forward to us and say, right, this is the death of a completely normal baby, what has happened here?

"But they didn't do that. It was like nothing had happened. Nothing to see here. And hushed, and these things happen.

"They just refused to even have a conversation about what else might have happened."

The couple - who formerly worked at NUH - subsequently tracked down dozens of other families who’d had similar experiences and made it their mission to fight for justice.

Their campaigning helped pressure the NHS into setting up an independent review, which has now been extended to include over 1,800 families - with a Nottinghamshire Police investigation also announced.

The programme also explores the toll of Harriet's death and their subsequent campaign on Jack and Sarah. And, as their fight to improve maternity care across the country ticks over into years, ever more families are joining their group.

Among those joining the campaign are Carly, the mother of Ladybird, who says: "We were told that she probably wouldn’t survive the birth.

"We decided to end the pregnancy because we didn’t want our daughter to suffer. We found out the test results came back completely clear.

"You can’t imagine that feeling. The consultant said you could have miscarried anyway."

In a statement, Anthony May, Chief Executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) said: “I know we have failed too many women and their families, and I acknowledge the pain and suffering they continue to experience as a result. For that, I am truly sorry.

“I recognise the strength it takes to share experiences in the way that families have, and I am grateful to all those who have engaged with me since I joined NUH in 2022. I am clear that we must listen to women and families and act on their feedback if we are to continue our improvement and rebuild the trust in our services.

“We made a public commitment last year to engage in an open and honest way with the families involved in the Independent Maternity Review being led by Donna Ockenden, as well as all women and families within our maternity services. We are determined to meet that commitment and we do not take the families’ engagement for granted.

“It is my hope that the review will give those involved the answers that they deserve. We support the review fully and continue to work closely with Donna and her team. We receive regular feedback from Donna, which we incorporate into our maternity improvement programme.

“We have further to go, but the most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report published in September 2023 reflects the progress we are making, with an improved rating for our maternity services. The report underlines the improvements we are making to how we listen to women and families, and highlights key improvements in areas such as triage, staffing levels and training, which are due to the hard work and determination of our colleagues.

“We will continue to strive to give the women and families of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire the maternity service they deserve, and to ensure we have the right environment, culture and support for them and our staff.”

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...