The Review will close to new cases on Saturday 31st May 2025

Mon 19th May, 2025

Dear Families,

As you will already know, the Review is closing to new cases on 31^st May. The Review will publish in June 2026.

What does ‘closing to new cases’ mean?

The last date that families can come forward to the Review to share their experience with the Review team is by 11:59pm on the 31st May. This means that if a family contacts the Review team from 1st June onwards, unfortunately we will not be able to consider this case for inclusion within the Review. Families that establish contact before the closing date will still be invited to have a family meeting, but this will most likely take place after 31st May to allow time for our team to organise this for you. Any meetings already scheduled or currently in the process of being scheduled with a member of the Review team will still take place after 31^st May. 

What the closing date means for families already in the Review?

The closing date will not impact any of the families already included in the Review. The closing date refers to new cases joining the Review.

I am waiting to have a family meeting

All families were offered a meeting in their initial correspondence with the Review. Private family meetings with a senior member of our clinical team, will still be taking place after 31^st May.

If you are in the process of booking a family meeting, please be assured that the Review team are working towards finalising a time and date.

Will the Family Psychological Support Service still be in place after this date?

Yes. The Family Psychological Support Service (FPSS) will still be available to support families after 31^st May. FPSS will support families until after family feedback has been concluded. There is currently no end date for the FPSS service.

What will the Review team do after 31^st May?

The Review team will still meet with individual families that have requested a meeting, holding large family meetings, reviewing cases, writing personalised feedback and grading, analysing their findings, and writing the final report (including Immediate and Essential actions for national implementation, and Local Actions for Learning for NUH focussed improvements).

What does this mean for other families across Nottinghamshire that want to come forward before 31^st May?

There is still time for families across Nottinghamshire to share their experience of maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The closing date (31^st May) is the last day that families that are not already in the Review to establish contact with the Review team. 

There are two ways that a family can be included in the Review. One, is through the family contacting the Review team. The second is through the ‘open book’ process. The ‘open book’ process refers to how the Trust looks through their records and shares all cases that meet the Terms of Reference with the Review team. 

Cases that are identified through the ‘open book’ process span the time period of 1^st January 2012 to 31^st May 2025 (except for maternal deaths, the time period spans from the formation of the Trust in 2006 to 31^st May 2025) Families that are identified by the Trust through this process, may not be shared with the Review team until after 31^st May, meaning that these families will receive initial contact after this date.

Why is the Review closing to new cases on the 31^st May?

The Review is closing to new cases on the 31^st May as this allows time for the Review team to finish reviewing each case, write personalised family feedback, analyse our findings, and write the final report.

What does this mean for families that come forward after the 31^st May?

Any families that come forward to the Review team after the 31^st May will be signposted to the appropriate support. We are currently in the process of confirming this pathway with NHS England (NHSE), Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), and NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) to ensure that any families that would like to raise concerns after the 31^st May, feel supported in knowing how to navigate this process. This information will be made available on our website.

Any families that share information of significant concern will be escalated (with their permission) to the Trust’s Chief Executive, Anthony May.  Donna Ockenden as Review Chair will also be writing to a range of other organisations to ensure that any families unable to join the Review after 31^st May will be appropriately assisted and supported. 

If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact the Review team – we are here to help and support you.

Thank you.

Very best wishes,

Donna Ockenden