There are calls for an independent inquiry into maternity services at the hospital run by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust after 350 people raise concerns. 

The Families Failed by OUH Maternity Services group is calling for an independent inquiry to be conducted at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital after more than 350 people have come together to raise concerns over their treatment.

The group alleges that there were poor standards of maternity care at the hospital which is run by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 

The families allege that pregnant women have not been listened to and there has been a failure in appropriate care resulting in babies dying or being harmed at birth. The mothers themselves have suffered physical and psychological injuries.

“Given there have been substantial concerns raised around the quality of maternity care provided at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, not only by more than 350 families who have had children at the Trust but of course also by the Care Quality Commission, which found it to be requiring improvement, we would welcome an independent review into the standard of care provided,” said Elizabeth Maliakal, principal assessor of medical negligence at Hudgell Solicitors. 

Requiring improvement 

The group, which was co-founded by Kim Thomas, chief executive officer of the Birth Trauma Association, is making a number of allegations. 

First, there have been deaths of babies at the hospital caused by repeated mistakes, a failure to listen to women’s valid concerns and a lack of personalised care. Babies have also been harmed at birth and have suffered serious injuries including brain damage, hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Finally, that women have been refused caesarean sections as part of a long-standing policy at the hospital and have been harmed through delays to treatment as well as the use of forceps and other assisted deliveries. 

This has increased the psychological harm to women. The campaign group alleges that women have felt to blame when things go wrong – the result of a lack of compassion and empathy in their treatment which has caused them to require therapy.

The broader approach in the hospital has also come under fire. Women have described staff as being rude, cold and judgmental, and postnatal care has been poor.

The most recent report from the Care Quality Commission in April 2023 rated the hospital as “requiring improvement”.