Ockenden: another shocking review of maternity services (6 April 2022)

Summary

The newly released Ockenden report into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS trust is at least the fourth similar report in recent years, with two more in progress. Many messages are not new, and these are not isolated findings. Women and families accessing care throughout the UK continue to feel ignored.

Many families remain concerned that they are not receiving full and frank investigations and explanations after the death or injury of a mother or baby. Repeated headlines understandably undermine women’s confidence in services when they should be able to trust that they will receive safe, high quality care writes Marian Knight and Susanna Stanford in this BMJ Editorial.