Image – Unsplash: Christian Bowen
Nottinghamshire Police had said it is investigating Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust for potential corporate manslaughter offences after alleged maternity care failings.
The investigation was opened by police after hundreds of baby deaths and injuries at two NUH maternity units.
Detective Superintendent Matthew Croome said: “The offence relates to circumstances where an organisation has been grossly negligent in the management of its activities, which has then led to a person’s death.
“In such an investigation we are looking to see if the overall responsibility lies with the organisation rather than specific individuals and my investigation will look to ascertain if there is evidence that the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has committed this offence.”
A separation investigation of NUH maternity care failings – over 2,000 incidents of neonatal deaths, stillbirths and harm done to mothers and babies – is ongoing.
The review, the largest involving NHS maternity care, is being led by former senior midwife Donna Ockenden. She is expected to publish her report in June 2026.
NUH was fined £1.6m earlier this year for “avoidable failings” related to the deaths of three babies in 2021.
It also emerged recently that couples had aborted their babies after being informed by the same NHS trust that they had life-limiting genetic disorders, diagnoses that later turned out to be incorrect.
An investigation into the wrong diagnoses found “a series of deficiencies in care, knowledge and process”.
One of the parents said: “We thought the best option was to end the pregnancy because the baby was suffering”. Their unborn baby had been diagnosed with Patau’s Syndrome. Six weeks after the abortion, they were told that the diagnosis was incorrect.
Another family was pressured to have an abortion after a test indicated a life-limiting condition. They refused to have an abortion, and their baby was born with no health issues.
Last month, a damning report by baby charities Tommy’s and Sand concluded that at least 2,500 fewer babies would have died in England since 2018 if the NHS had adequately addressed maternity care failings.
In response to the Nottinghamshire Police investigation, a NUH statement said: “We are fully committed to the ongoing police investigation and the Independent Review of Maternity Services…
“We would like to reassure the public that we are determined to improve our maternity services.
“We know how important the police investigation and independent review are for the affected families, the trust and our local communities. We hope that affected families receive the answers that they deserve.”
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