‘From joy to emptiness’: Families affected by NHS’s biggest maternity scandal tell their stories

The inquiry into the biggest maternity scandal in NHS history has finally been released.

The numbers are shocking – about 2,500 families and 155 children could have survived with better care, and 105 children were seriously injured due to the problem.

A total of 520 maternal and child cases were graded 2 or 3 for harm, with grade 2 representing “significant concerns” and grade 3 “major concerns” for care.

Grade 2 represents sub-optimal care – in which different management may have made a difference to the outcome, and Grade 3 – where different management is reasonably expected to make a difference.

Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust apologized to all those affected and said it was committed to making improvements.

But behind the statistics are the faces and stories of families that have changed forever.