A 2016 workplace review of Nottingham City Hospital’s maternity unit, unpublished until now, documented serious concerns over staffing, workload, culture and equipment days before Harriet Hawkins was stillborn.
The report, based on interviews with 49 staff, was commissioned after letters from workers and unusual incidents seen during an inspection visit, and said junior midwives were repeatedly given high-risk cases while some senior staff belittled colleagues.
Donna Ockenden, who will publish her wider findings on 24 June, said many concerns were already known when Harriet died and that several problems were not addressed quickly, though culture has improved since.
Harriet’s case later exposed 13 failings and was deemed almost certainly preventable, helping trigger the NHS’s largest review of a single maternity service and renewed scrutiny of whether early warnings at Nottingham were acted on.
A damning 2016 report was ignored. What will it take to finally dismantle Nottingham's decade-old toxic maternity culture?
Staff were told 'don't be too kind.' How does such a toxic culture take root in a caring profession?
Nottingham Maternity Scandal: Systemic Failures, Suppressed Warnings, and the Anticipated Ockenden Report Impacting Thousands of Families
Overview
The Ockenden Report, an independent review into Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust's maternity services, is set for release on June 24, 2026. This critical assessment, led by Donna Ockenden, follows extensive input from women who received antenatal care at the trust’s Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital. The review aims to thoroughly investigate concerns about maternity care and is expected to drive significant changes within these units. NUH has publicly committed to supporting the review, highlighting a focus on accountability and improvement as the trust faces intense scrutiny and prepares for major reforms.