Families who lost babies at two Leeds hospitals have said they are slowly rebuilding trust in the health secretary after midwife Donna Ockenden was appointed to lead a review of the poor service, where 56 babies and two mothers died in five years.
Ockenden, who carried out a similar review of maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust in 2020, was chosen to lead the inquiry into Leeds University Hospitals NHS Trust after a campaign by families.
The group, which also includes women whose children survived but who suffered serious harm from failings in maternity care at the trust, met Wes Streeting last month to urge the health secretary to appoint Ockenden, five months after the independent review was announced.
The maternity units at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) and St James’s Hospital, both run by the same trust, were downgraded to “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission in June 2025.
Amarjit Kaur Matharoo, whose daughter Asees was stillborn at the LGI in 2024, said confidence in Streeting was beginning to be restored, after initially feeling they were being sidelined due to delays in appointing a president.
“I think little by little we are recovering it,” he said. “You have to get it back, it’s not something you can just give because we’ve finally been burned. But it’s a step towards rebuilding that relationship and ensuring that patients and families are heard, and ensuring that there really is a safer space for motherhood in Leeds.”
Fiona Wisner-Ramm’s daughter Aliona also died at the LGI in 2020, after what a coroner described as “a series of serious failings of the most basic nature” by hospital staff.
She said: “We reminded Mr Streeting that victims are the people who should be paramount in all of this and that should always come before the protection of organisations, the protection of other individuals in power and I think he has given a lot of thought to that and that has helped him in his decision-making.”
Ockenden said: “I am honored to have been asked to chair this review, and I feel a deep sense of responsibility to the parents, babies and healthcare professionals involved to ensure we get it right. “This review must continue to have a strong focus on families who, in many cases, have waited too long for answers to their questions about their care.
“My priority will be to listen carefully to families and staff, understand what went wrong and ensure that lessons are learned and necessary changes are made in a timely manner, ensuring that all mothers, their babies and their families receive safe, high-quality perinatal care.”
Streeting, who previously said Ockenden would not lead the Leeds review due to her existing commitments, said: “Donna Ockenden is a leading advocate for families whose voices have not always been heard, and I am delighted to appoint someone who is so trusted by those who have been repeatedly let down by the NHS.
“To the families of Leeds, I want to say: thank you for your candor during our detailed discussions over recent weeks and the courage you continue to show in sharing your experiences and advocating for lasting change, so that other families do not experience the unimaginable tragedies that you have gone through.
“This review should be beneficial to you and all families who rightly expect to receive safe, high-quality maternity care in the NHS. Donna Ockenden’s leadership will bring us closer to the lasting change that is so needed in Leeds.”
