Campaigners ramp up calls for inquiry into maternity care at local hospitals
The group are pushing for an investigation into alleged failings of OUH maternity services
Last updated 6th Jan 2026
A campaign group representing families who feel they have been let down by maternity care at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) say they are ramping up efforts to secure a full independent inquiry this year.
The Families Failed by OUH Maternity Services campaign was founded in June 2024 by Rebecca Matthews, who experienced a traumatic birth at the John Radcliffe Hospital, and Kim Thomas, CEO of the Birth Trauma Association.
They now have over 730 members in their Facebook group where, according to Kim, they are "hearing a lot of really shocking stories and collecting a lot of evidence about failings at OUH maternity services.”
Kim explained that the stories shared within the group have highlighted a range of issues that families believe require urgent attention and investigation.
“There are massive causes for concern in the way maternity services are being run at OUH,” she said. “Women are going home without a baby or with a brain-damaged baby in cases where that was avoidable.”
These experiences, she said, are part of a broader pattern of inadequate care that has emerged from the accounts by affected women and families.
“For example, women being left to change their own catheter bags,” Kim said. “Women having stillbirths are being put on wards near women who have got living babies. Lots of misdiagnosis of things like sepsis,” she added.
She also said she has heard storied of women experiencing racism while under the care of OUH.
The campaign alleges that OUH maternity services have frequently ignored National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
One concern centres around a scanning policy introduced to reduce stillbirths, which Kim believes has led to further scans being restricted, possibly due to financial reasons.
“They’ve implemented a pathway to scan every woman at 36 weeks, which sounds great, but what it means is they then cut back on offering scans after 36 weeks, even when there’s an indication the baby isn’t growing,” she said.
Kim said that many women who speak out feel are not heard due to what she described as OUH’s “incredible defensiveness.”
"When women complain they often get a response that minimises the problem and implies they were just unlucky.
"They OUH will prolong legal action as as long as possible, and they refuse to admit to their mistakes."
OUH issued a detailed response to each claim, expressing regret for those left disappointed by their services.
A spokesperson said: "Things do not always go as expected and we know we don’t always get things right. We are very sorry to any woman or family we have let down.
"We aim to provide the highest standard of care to all of our patients and we are listening carefully to what they tell us so we can continue to make improvements where they are needed."
The trust firmly denied claims regarding its scanning policy, describing them as “untrue.”
“Funding is available to support all scans needed, and there are no related financial challenges which prevent us from carrying out any scans.
"Our 36-week scan is an enhancement to the standard scanning approach, with all women using our maternity services receiving this scan in addition to the standard 12- and 20-week scans.
"Where a risk is detected at any point during pregnancy, we will provide additional scans and checks as appropriate throughout pregnancy, including any required after 36 weeks."
They also suggested that criticisms of legal action are dated.
OUH said: "The only legal process examples shared with us by the campaign group have been historical, e.g. one is from 15 years ago, and pre-date all members of the existing leadership team.
"We cannot comment on what happened then for these reasons, but we can say that we are a very different Trust today."
With regard to bereavement care, OUH acknowledged that there are families who have not been able to use designated suites.
“Regrettably, there have been around five instances each year where we have been unable to care for families in a separate location for safety reasons. We recognise the distress and trauma this causes and are deeply sorry to anyone who has had to face this experience,” they said.
They added that in response to these challenges and patient feedback, they have been investing in the estate to improve bereavement facilities and now have a dedicated bereavement suite on the delivery ward.
OUH also addressed allegations of racism, calling behaviour of this kind “unacceptable” and urging affected individuals to report such cases for investigation.
The campaign has already seen developments in raising awareness of potential issues at OUH, as John Radcliffe Hospital is now one of 12 hospitals being reviewed by Baroness Amos in a national investigation into maternity services.
Representatives from the campaign also met with the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary group on Baby Loss, Andy MacNae, who they said "listened sympathetically" and told them he would speak to the Health Secretary.
Kim said the plan moving forward is to continue the conversation throughout 2026 and amplify efforts to secure an independent inquiry into maternity care at OUH.