A group of bereaved families called for changes to the Nottingham hospitals maternity review so it can automatically access families’ medical records back in July this year.
NHS England wrote to affected families, confirming cases will be dealt with on an opt-out basis, with families having to opt out of giving consent.
Since the move to an opt-out system in the Ockenden maternity review, which means that families have to specifically request not to have their case included, many more could be part of the UK’s largest ever maternity inquiry.
Board papers released ahead of the meeting this Thursday 9 November 2023 state in an update to progress of the Independent Maternity Review ( IMR ) – ‘The opt out process officially came to an end at midnight on the 25th October 2023. To date, 41 families have opted out from the total of 1101 letters issued.’
The Trust contacted 1,377 families at the end of November 2022 and the end of January 2023
The letters were sent to families who had experienced stillbirth, neonatal deaths, brain damage to the baby, harm to mothers or relatives of mothers who died.
Before the opt-out approach, only 360 families responded to the letters that were sent out. 28% of white women contacted responded, while for black and Asian women, the figures were 10% and 5% respectively. In Nottingham, only about 25% of families known to be affected were included in the review.
