Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services

Debate between Baroness Hodgson of Abinger and Baroness Merron

Monday 29th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The key is to bring together the recommendations from Donna Ockenden’s report with the independent report that we established, chaired by my noble friend Lady Amos, which will report on Wednesday, as well as the reviews from before. I do not think we necessarily need a description of the problem but, to the noble Baroness’s point, we do need action to challenge and monitor this. Transparency and accountability will also be our friends, which in Nottingham they were not.

[Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Con)]

My Lords, as we know, this horrific failure is not confined to Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. A number of other NHS trusts are being investigated, and I suspect it goes much further. Neither is this a problem of just the last 13 years; it goes back decades.

Forty years ago, one of my twin sons died at birth, a combination of bad decisions, inadequate systems and negligence. It was similarly impossible to get answers, with the name of the midwife withheld and the notes disappearing, including the only photo, and no one held accountable. The damage to families from this type of behaviour is unquantifiable. How is the Minister going to change this endemic culture of cover-up in the NHS and ensure that systems are put in place so that when even one baby is put at risk, is damaged or dies, the situation is properly examined so that it cannot happen again?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am so very sorry to hear of the noble Baroness’s experience; I am grateful to her for sharing it with your Lordships’ House. I am sure we all offer our condolences and understanding as far as we can to support her and her family, and I say how sorry I am for her loss.

The noble Baroness is right to talk about cover-up. That did happen in this case and has also been identified through other reviews. Certainly, as Donna Ockenden conducts reviews into Leeds and Sussex, we will be able to find out what happened there. But we are not waiting, and I assure the noble Baroness of that.

It is worth speaking about the role of the regulators, because it has come up not by using the word itself but by how account is kept. The Secretary of State is meeting with the GMC—which we currently have a three-month consultation on reforming—because he wants to hear its personal account for failings in care. The Nursing and Midwifery Council has been undergoing a widespread programme of reorganisation and change under new leadership, which, again, is much needed. I assure the noble Baroness that, as part of the taskforce, we are looking at all parts of the health system where things go wrong, including how accountability is established, because we should be avoiding that harm where it is avoidable.

Women’s Health Strategy

Debate between Baroness Hodgson of Abinger and Baroness Merron

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Let me assure my noble friend and other noble Lords that there are no plans to cancel the women’s health strategy. I know my noble friend did not say that, but it is very important to put that on record. We continue to implement it; for example, since I have been in post, through measures such as supporting pregnancy loss through a full rollout of baby loss certificates, introducing menopause support in the workplace, and boosting women’s participation in research and clinical trials. As I said, our priorities for delivering the strategy will be through the 10-year plan. Funding decisions will be announced in due course.

[Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Con)]

My Lords, given that one-third of all new breast cancer cases occur in women over the age of 70, will the Minister consider extending automatic screening for those women? At the moment, it stops at that age.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Women over 70 can request an assessment if they feel it is appropriate for them. We act on and apply the scientific advice and evidence that we are given. On World Cancer Day, perhaps it would be appropriate to say to the noble Baroness that some 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading trial to test our cutting-edge AI tools, which will be used to catch breast cancer cases earlier. This morning, I was at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton with Minister Vallance to see the incredible contribution that AI is making to improved cancer services, including for women.