Hundreds of family’s cases have been passed on to police so far
Queen’s Medical Centre, part of the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust(Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)
Detectives are “gathering evidence” in a corporate manslaughter investigation into Nottingham hospitals, which was launched after hundreds of deaths and injuries across its maternity wards.
Last summer, Nottinghamshire Police started the probe into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH), which runs the Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital, focusing on whether the organisation had caused deaths through “grossly negligent” management.
It is one of the two strands of Operation Perth, which began in 2024 and is also investigating whether any staff were responsible for gross negligence manslaughter.
Providing an update on Saturday, January 17, Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin said detectives are now gathering evidence in relation to the corporate manslaughter probe.
“Previously we have been gathering information in order to help us make an assessment of cases, but we have now started to gather actual evidence,” he said.
Operation Perth is running in tandem with the independent review of maternity services, which is examining about 2,500 cases, making it the largest NHS review in history.
Nottinghamshire Police said detectives have reviewed 232 of the 360 family folders which have been passed on by review chair Donna Ockenden and her team so far.
The care provided to families is assessed by the review before family folders are shared with police, who consider whether a crime has been committed.
The force said it is working “ever more closely” with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which has approached an experienced specialist barrister for advice.
Last September, police said they were receiving early investigative advice from the CPS’s Special Crime Unit, which, further along the line, helps officers build a strong case for prosecution by advising on aspects such as evidence, lines of inquiry and potential charges.
However, the force said it was still unable to provide the number of cases due to the “risk of jigsaw identification”.
DCC Griffin said: “The threshold to determine criminal activity for both offences is very high; however, we are focusing on those under the Offences Against the Person Act, where we assess if harm was caused unlawfully.
“This is very different to harm caused by medical negligence. Operation Perth continues to absorb best practice, and some of the most experienced investigators in the country visit to review our approach.
“We are making good progress; however, we will continue to work tirelessly in the interest of affected families who remain at the heart of this investigation.”
Families in the maternity review met on Saturday, January 17(Image: Nottingham Post/ Joel Moore)
Many families heard updates on the investigation directly from leading detectives during an Ockenden Review family meeting on Saturday, January 17.
Earlier this week, Nottinghamshire Police said a member of its staff working on Operation Perth had resigned after deleting data in relation to the investigation.
DCC Griffin said a “complex and thorough” investigation had found no evidence of misconduct, determining it was “unsatisfactory performance” rather than dishonest or malicious.
He said all the affected information had been “fully restored” and was not shared with any third parties.