(Church Times) C of E must play its part in making maternity care safer, says midwife Donna Ockenden

Maternity care needs more attention from the leadership of the Church of England, the midwife leading numerous NHS inquiries has said.

Since Donna Ockenden was first appointed to chair an independent review of maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust in 2016, she has been called upon to lead inquiries at Nottingham, Leeds, and Sussex.

The inquiry at Nottingham University Hospital Trust — the largest of its kind in NHS history — found that more than 500 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm, or died, between 2012 and 2025.

The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee has described England’s maternity services as being “in a state of crisis”. A national review that ran from 2022 to 2024 found that poor care had become normalised.

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🤰Maternity care needs more attention from the leadership of the Church of England, the midwife leading numerous NHS inquiries has said. #ChurchTimes #Maternity #Healthcare https://t.co/5UCif4O4Js

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) November 6, 2026