The final Ockenden review into maternity and neonatal services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust was published on 24 June 2026. It is one of the largest reviews of maternity care undertaken in the NHS and examined the experiences of more than 2,500 families.
What the review examined
The review focused on the quality of maternity and neonatal care at Nottingham, including cases involving maternal and infant harm. More than 160 reviewers took part, alongside meetings with hundreds of families and engagement from current and former staff.
The findings identified recurring problems including families feeling ignored or dismissed, missed opportunities to recognise deterioration, failures in escalation and aspects of workplace culture that made it harder for concerns to be heard.
Keep the scope precise
The report concerns Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. It should not be described as a statistical audit of all NHS maternity services. Its wider importance comes from the similarity between some of its themes and problems identified in other maternity investigations.
What happened next
The report set out local actions and system-wide learning. On the same day, the government and NHS England announced that Martha’s Rule would be extended to all maternity settings in England, giving patients and families an additional route to seek an urgent review when they believe deterioration is not being recognised.
A separate national maternity investigation, chaired by Baroness Amos, is also examining maternity and neonatal care across England and inequalities in how those services are delivered.
The lasting question
Large inquiries matter only if recommendations change routine practice. The key issues raised by Ockenden—listening to families, recognising deterioration, escalation, staffing and organisational culture—are operational questions that have to be addressed on wards, not simply acknowledged in reports.
Source: Department of Health and Social Care, Ockenden review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust: final report, 24 June 2026.
