Bereaved families impacted by the Nottingham maternity scandal have called on Wes Streeting to remove a senior medic from a national taskforce whose appointment they said was “deeply distressing”.
They have alleged Dr Stephen Wardle has a “clear and unavoidable conflict of interest” and his appointment to the national maternity taskforce was a “significant failure of judgment” by ministers.
Dr Wardle is providing his expertise to the taskforce, established as part of Baroness Valerie Amos’ national review, in his capacity as president of the British Association of Perinatal Medicine.
However, he has also been a consultant neonatologist at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust since 2001, the provider where senior midwife Donna Ockenden is investigating more than 2,500 cases of harm since April 2012.
Now, in a letter to the Department of Health and Social Care, shared with HSJ, the Nottingham Affected Families group is calling for his removal because of his longstanding senior position at NUH. They have also flagged their concerns with BAPM.
The family letter states: “This appointment feels profoundly inappropriate and deeply distressing to the families who have suffered harm, loss, and trauma as part of what has been widely described as the largest maternity scandal in NHS history.
“It is our belief that this demonstrates a significant failure of judgment, sensitivity, and respect for those most affected.
“Dr Wardle held and still holds a senior leadership position within neonatal services at NUH during the period in which serious and systemic failings in maternity and neonatal care were occurring.
It adds: “As such, we believe this represents a clear and unavoidable conflict of interest. We believe Dr Wardle cannot be relied upon to identify harm, toxic culture, deception, and unsafe care within his own organisation, [therefore] it is difficult to understand how he can be entrusted with identifying and addressing these same issues at a national level.”
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Source: HSJ, 24 April 2026
