Nottingham Ockenden Report (2026): What it means for families and what to do next

The Ockenden Report published on 24 June 2026 is an independent review of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. For many families, this report confirms long‑held concerns about what happened during pregnancy, labour, or shortly after birth. The review examined the care provided to over 2,500 families and included meetings with over 500 families, alongside input from more than 800 current and former staff. It also sets out what must change across maternity care.

What did the report find?

The report highlights serious concerns about the safety and quality of care over a number of years. Key quotes that we have identified from the report are:

• “Leadership, governance and culture are not robust”
• “Poor practice is not investigated; learning is not integrated”
• “Mothers and babies are failed by an organisation they should be able to rely upon absolutely”

The review also identifies:

• A failure to investigate and learn from mistakes
• A failure to listen to and believe parents
• Ongoing concerns about staffing, training, and resources in maternity care

What is happening now?

The report sets out clear actions to improve maternity care, both at Nottingham and across the NHS. These are designed to make care safer and to ensure that families are listened to and supported and include:

• Improving communication with families. The report emphasises the importance of clear and honest communication. It states that:
  • Families should receive “clear, consistent and accessible information throughout pregnancy”
  • This supports “informed decision‑making” about care, labour and treatment options
  • This is intended to help parents feel fully informed, involved, and supported when making decisions.
• Listening to and involving parents. A key issue identified is the need to properly listen to families and going forward, services are expected to:
  • Take parent’s concerns seriously
  • Act on concerns at an earlier stage
  • Involve families in decisions about care and outcomes
• Improving patient safety. The report calls for stronger systems to ensure that:
  • Mistakes are properly investigated and learned from
  • Leadership and oversight are improved
  • Staff can speak openly about concerns
• Staffing, training and resources. The report also identifies the need for improvements to staffing and training, including:
  • Better workforce planning across maternity and neonatal services
  • Ensuring staff can complete mandatory training
  • Providing enough experienced staff to deliver safe, consistent care

How Dean Wilson LLP can help

We understand how sensitive these issues are. Many of the families we support come to us after reading reports like this and recognising aspects of their own experience. Our team specialises in clinical negligence claims, in particular birth injury claims involving issues around pregnancy, labour, and neonatal care.

We are experienced in helping families:

• understand what happened;
• access independent expert evidence; and
• where appropriate, pursue a claim with care and sensitivity

If you have concerns about your experience of maternity care, or the impact it has had on you or your family, our clinical negligence team would be happy to offer initial guidance. If you would like a confidential, no obligation discussion please contact Rachel Makore in our Medical Negligence Team on 01273 249200 or visit our Medical Negligence page for further information.