Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services

Baroness Nargund Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[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.

[Baroness Nargund (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome the report and thank my noble friend the Minister for all the work she is doing with the Secretary of State to support and to implement recommendations. Our thoughts are with the families affected. The report has yet again shown the racial bias in care, which is harming mothers and babies. I request that my noble friend the Minister ensures that cultural competency training is integrated in medical school and in midwives’ training, so that they are qualified after receiving that training and it is not left for later.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

It is absolutely crucial, as my noble friend says, that the training should reflect the needs of the care that will be given. That is something that I know the taskforce will look at very closely. Donna Ockenden’s report offers insight and recommendations on workforce and training. The noble Baroness, Lady Amos, may also do so. I mentioned the anti-discrimination programme, but I should also say, on inequalities, that we have launched a maternal care bundle on what the best practice is for clinical conditions that are the leading causes of death for women from Black and Asian backgrounds. As I say, the numbers reflect a great inequality which cannot be allowed to continue.