A recent BBC Panorama documentary, Maternity Failures: The Fight for Justice, highlighted the ongoing struggles families have faced trying to obtain answers into maternity failings they suffered at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).

Sadie Simpson, an inquest specialist and clinical negligence solicitor, has represented several families affected by the failings at NUH’s maternity services. In this blog, she provides an overview of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings of the Trust, and wider national maternity issues.

Continued Scrutiny of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

NUH is under intense scrutiny with a number of investigations into the Trusts maternity services. The Donna Ockenden Independent Review report is due to be published on 24 June 2026. It is the biggest independent review into maternity services with over 2500 families contributing to the review. The review was a result of continued campaigning and determination of a number of families fighting to find answers.

Operation Perth is a police investigation into the Trust, running alongside the Donna Ockenden Independent Review. It was announced in 2025 that corporate manslaughter is one of the charges being considered by the investigation team. Corporate manslaughter relates to the circumstances where an organisation has been grossly negligent in the management of services, which has led to someone’s death. Operation Perth is an ongoing investigation.

Despite ongoing investigations, a CQC report published on 4 March 2026, concluded that NUH’s maternity services still ‘Requires Improvement’ to ensure women and babies are safe.

Who are the Care Quality Commission?

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an independent regulator of health and social care services. The CQC undertake inspections to ensure that high quality care is being provided in accordance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and Regulations 2014. The CQC’s primary role is to ensure that services provide safe care. The CQC have powers to prosecute health and social care providers if they fail to give safe care which causes intentional or avoidable harm. To date, prosecution for health and safety breaches remains rare. Some families are concerned that the power to prosecute has not been utilised when there have been potential safety breaches at NUH.

Nottingham University Hospital’s CQC Rating

The CQC have published their latest report on NUH’s maternity services following an inspection in May 2025. NUH have again been rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ for their maternity services. The CQC found that the Trust had breached three health and safety regulations.

A number of concerning regulation breaches were also identified relating to leadership issues, staffing and safety breaches. Some of the key findings were as follows:

  • The Trust did not have the appropriate processes in place to check identification bands of babies and mothers.
  • The leaders did not ensure there were enough staff with the right qualifications, skill and experience to keep people safe.

NUH’s maternity services has been repeatedly rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ for several years, despite multiple inspections of the Trusts maternity services and recommendations for improvement.

As early as 2016 the CQC rated NUH maternity services as ‘Requires Improvement’ for safety. Following inspections in 2019 and 2020, conditions were imposed under the Health and Social Care Act Section 31, which is utilised when the CQC believe people are, or may be, at risk of harm.

In 2020, the maternity services at NUH were rated ‘Inadequate’. A Section 29A notice was imposed and the Trust had 3 months to rectify the significant improvements the CQC had identified were required for safety reasons. Whilst it was acknowledged that some improvements had been made following inspection in 2021, their maternity services still needed further improvement.

The need for change was magnified when NUH were later prosecuted by the CQC for health and safety regulation breaches that occurred in 2021, despite the changes that had been made. The latest rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ reinforces the urgent need for meaningful and lasting changes.

The Trust was prosecuted by the CQC for safety regulation breaches in 2023 following the avoidable death of a baby. It was prosecuted again in February 2025 for safety breaches affecting three separate families, which tragically resulted in the deaths of three babies.

These prosecutions were not simply regulatory actions; they were a stark acknowledgement of the serious and longstanding concerns surrounding the safety of maternity services at NUH. For many families, they also reinforced what they had been tirelessly raising concern about for years: that repeated warnings about patient safety had not been adequately addressed.

With yet another ‘Requires Improvement’ rating, this needs to serve as a turning point.  Accountability must be taken and must lead to meaningful action. Maternity services are fundamental to public health and should be safe, compassionate and of the highest standard both in Nottingham and across the country.

National Maternity Crisis

There are safety concerns across the country with the CQC reporting in 2023 that 67% of all maternity services are unsafe with a rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’. There is now a national maternity review underway by Baroness Amos. The Interim Review published in February 2026, highlighted many issues with maternity services nationally. One of the concerning findings, which many families have experienced, is lack of accountability when things go wrong.

It is my hope that real improvements are made to help keep mothers and babies safe, and transparency is provided to families when care goes wrong.

How Ison Harrison Can Help

Having represented several families who have suffered negligent treatment at NUH, and Trusts all over the country, it is concerning that NUH’s maternity services still ‘Requires Improvement’, 10 years later, and despite repeated recommendations and regulatory intervention aimed at improving patient safety. The safety of maternity services should be of the upmost importance. The devastating effect of unsafe maternity care has an everlasting impact on families.

If you have questions around the care, you or your baby has received at NUH or any other hospital, you are negativing a Trust investigation, an inquest has been opened, or you are simply trying to piece together what happened, please contact Ison Harrison for a no obligation chat. You can contact our specialist clinical negligence team in confidence by calling 0113 284 5000 or emailing clinneg@isonharrison.co.uk.