'They are not alone': Bereaved families urged to attend first meeting of Leeds maternity review

Bereaved and harmed families are being encouraged to attend a meeting ahead of the launch of the Leeds maternity review.

A first meeting with senior midwife Donna Ockenden, who will lead the review into failings at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT), and members of her team will take place at the Park Plaza Hotel on Saturday, July 18.

The meeting will give families, affected by maternity and neonatal care failings in Leeds, the opportunity to meet Ockenden and her team, learn what the independent review will involve, understand how they can take part if they choose to, and ask questions about the process.

Ahead of the meeting, Fiona Winser-Ramm, and her husband Daniel, whose daughter, Aliona, died at Leeds General Infirmary are encouraging all affected families to attend the meeting and engage in the process.

“One of the most important things in this process is for families to realise that they are not alone,” Daniel told the YEP. “When we first started this we thought we were alone, we thought ‘babies don’t just die’ but it turns out they do, every day, and sometimes for totally avoidable reasons.

“It’s important for families to realise that there are others out there who have also had the truth withheld from them and this process is part of the start of finding out what went wrong, who was responsible, and how can it be put right.”

41 weeks into their first pregnancy when Fiona was booked in for an induced labour. Hours before the planned induction, her contractions began spontaneously.

Despite repeated calls to the hospital about changes in movement, she was told everything was fine and to stay home. Fiona, who lives with polycystic ovarian syndrome, was 11 days over her due date when she was admitted to Leeds General Infirmary on December 30, 2019.

Aliona, died just 27 minutes after she was born, in what an inquest in 2023 ruled was due to “midwife neglect” and “a number of gross failures of the most basic nature.” The couple said her death was preventable - and compounded by a culture of cover-ups and denial.

Medical records, the couple later discovered, had been forged to suggest they had been fully informed. Through Freedom of Information requests, they uncovered patterns of systematic failings stretching back decades.

After learning they were far from alone in their experiences at the trust, they connected with other bereaved families. And what began as informal support between bereaved parents has since grown into a national campaign for maternity safety.

“The way you stand up for your children in life is no different to how you stand up for them in death,” Fiona added. “It essentially becomes a compulsion because we deserved a life with Aliona and she deserved a life with us.

“This enquiry is only happening because of the families in Leeds. We turned what was initially a no from the Government into a yes.”

Two identical sessions will be held in the morning (10am to noon) and afternoon (1pm to 3pm) to provide flexibility. Families can choose to attend either session or stay for the whole day, those interested in taking part should email [email protected] to confirm their place.

The event is open to all families who have experienced harm as a result of maternity care failings in Leeds. Charities and support organisations will also be in attendance to provide information and support throughout the day. No one from Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust will be present.

Donna Ockenden, who led landmark maternity reviews in Nottinghamshire and Shrewsbury, was heavily pushed for to lead the Leeds enquiry by families, who have described her as a “force to be reckoned with.”