Families calling for an inquiry into maternity care in East Sussex say they feel “ignored, exhausted and dismissed” after meeting the chair of a national review. The group met with Baroness Amos on Wednesday, claiming she was poorly briefed and that no progress was made. The families, who all lost babies under the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust, have been campaigning for 18 months for an inquiry and insist that senior midwife Donna Ockenden is appointed to lead it.
The Department of Health and Social Care said Baroness Amos would work closely with families to “uncover the truth”. In June, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a rapid review into maternity services in England and last week appointed Baroness Amos to lead it. Streeting said he wanted the work to be completed by December and that up to 10 local areas would have their maternity services examined as part of the investigation.
Nine families in Sussex, who say medical errors led to their babies’ deaths, were promised a review by Streeting and the group thought the meeting with Baroness Amos would progress the case. But they said the chair told them that she was not aware of the history or expectations of the families, and that she did not have the power to decide who would lead it.
The families said the meeting was “deeply dispiriting” and that they felt they had not made progress on their review, despite many months of presenting a clear case for one. They also expressed anger at the appointment of Kathryn Whitehill, a former inspector with the Care Quality Commission, as an investigator on the review, saying it raised “serious doubts” about the independence of the inquiry.
The Department of Health and Social Care said Whitehill had been seconded due to her professional skills, expertise and experience, and that she had not been permanently appointed to the review. The concerns of the group come in the wake of criticism of the rapid review from a wider group of families, who said it was “doomed to fail” due to the behavior of the Department of Health and NHS England.
A DHSC spokesperson said the Secretary of State had been working closely with harmed and bereaved families throughout the process to ensure they were at the heart of decision-making. Baroness Amos had been appointed because of her outstanding record of leadership and driving change, and she would work closely with families to appoint her expert panel and finalize terms of reference to uncover the truth and drive improvements.
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