London: According to the chair of a significant investigation into a UK maternity scandal that resulted in the deaths or serious injuries of dozens of infants, minorities of Asian descent are underrepresented.
After The Independent exposed persistently subpar care over a 10-year period, the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust underwent a review.
Senior midwife and activist Donna Ockenden, who is in charge of the investigation, has argued that the NHS should encourage more families from ethnic minorities, including Asians, to come forward with personal accounts of the scandal.
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Less than 20 black or Asian families have so far offered evidence, compared to more than 250 white British families, according to The Independent.
The risk of maternal death was discovered to be four times higher for black women than for white women last week, and two times higher for Asian women, according to a national report on maternal and neonatal deaths.
"As the review chair, (I believe) the current situation is wholly inadequate," Ockenden said.
These figures are insufficient for the trust to learn what they need to know about their own population, as well as for us to say that we have paid attention to women's voices.
Asian ethnicity was reported by 14% of Nottingham residents in 2021.
Ockenden expressed concern about a "deterioration in communications" between the hospital and the Urdu-speaking community and noted that Asian women, including those who speak Urdu, were among those most impacted by the trust's shortcomings.
According to some women who participated in the investigation, the authorities "don't hear me, or see me, or my family."
Concerns were also voiced by hospital staff following the reduction of Urdu language maternity appointments from 30 to 20 minutes in order to "free up more midwives."
In a letter to the trust, Ockenden stated: "You will understand our work is taking place against a very difficult background. We will continue in our efforts to ensure all women and family voices are heard.
I eagerly anticipate learning what actions the Trust will take going forward to make sure that the information in my letter helps to improve the availability of maternity services in Nottingham.
'We know more needs to be done to ensure the voices of women from all the communities we serve are heard, and we welcome feedback from Donna Ockenden and her team,' said Michelle Rhodes, chief nurse at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
To address the issues raised by Ockenden, a group of senior midwives, physicians, researchers, and advocates, as well as staff members and families from ethnic minorities, Added Rhodes.
The Independent first reported on the scandal, which was made public thanks to evidence showing that over the course of a decade at the hospital, 15 babies had died and 46 had suffered permanent brain damage.
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The death of a baby 23 minutes after birth resulted in a $1 million fine for Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in January.
Following an investigation, it was discovered that the September 2019 incident caused the baby to lose oxygen to the brain, which caused death.
