Sussex baby deaths inquiry will fail to learn lessons after excluding families, Streeting warned

An inquiry into the preventable deaths of babies in Sussex will fail to learn the lessons as it “systematically” excluded dozens of families, Wes Streeting has been warned before a meeting with bereaved parents.

The health secretary has ordered a review of nine infant deaths at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS foundation trust amid maternity scandals across England. However, families are calling on Streeting to expand the investigation to all those who died and might have survived with better care.

To date, the families of more than 60 babies who died between 2019 and 2023 have expressed concerns about their care, although the true figure is expected to be higher.

Dr Marija Pantelic, a public health expert whose baby Sasha died in the care of UH Sussex in January 2022, said the narrow scope and opt-in nature of the review was dangerous and potentially harmful as it would be based on the experiences of an “overwhelmingly white and British” group of parents.

Parents want an expanded investigation to be led by Donna Ockenden, the senior midwife who is leading maternity inquiries into preventable deaths at NHS trusts in Nottingham and Leeds. They also want the Sussex investigation to actively seek out families who are affected so it is not based only on the nine cases whose parents have raised the alarm.

Pantelic, an associate professor in public health who specialises in health inequalities, said it should alarm Streeting that the review would be based on the experiences of the “overwhelmingly white and British” families who had come forward.

“If you only hear from certain groups, you will only see certain problems,” she said. “For instance, you can be sure not to identify racism if you only hear from white families. If you fail to identify the real drivers of harm, the solutions you propose will be partial at best, and harmful at worst.”

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Source: The Guardian, 13 April 2026