Senior midwife Donna Ockenden to lead Sussex maternity review

A senior midwife will lead an independent review into maternity services in Sussex, it has been confirmed. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who announced an independent investigation into maternity care at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Trust last year, said Donna Ockenden would head the inquiry. Streeting met families who had experienced bereavement and harm, and agreed the inquiry would begin as soon as possible. NHS trust chief executive Dr Andy Heeps said it would work "openly and transparently" with the review team and families. Ockenden previously led a review into failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and is leading reviews of maternity services in Nottingham and Leeds. Streeting said: "It was really important that we get this review up and running, that it has the confidence of families who've campaigned really hard to get to today, and have suffered, as I've heard on so many occasions now first hand, the most unimaginable, painful trauma." He said he had heard experiences of bereavement, avoidable loss, harm and disability suffered by women, as well as the experiences of fathers and partners. Bereaved mother Liz Charlton spoke publicly this week about "mate