MORE than 500 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or died due to “deeply embedded systemic failures” as the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) slammed years of failing to listen to women.

A review published yesterday led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden found bosses at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) knew of serious issues in its maternity department going back years.

The inquiry found NHS trust leaders failed to take action to prevent more deaths, concluding that some 520 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or death.

Of these, at least 156 cases involved the death of babies and in six the mother died. Of the baby deaths linked to potential or actual harm, 94 were stillbirths.

Neonatal deaths shortly after birth accounted for 62 cases.

Royal College of Midwives (RCM) chief executive Gill Walton said the report “exposes more than a decade of leadership and institutional failure.

“At the heart of that failure was a healthcare system that refused to listen to women, to families and to the midwives who were raising the alarm for years.

“Every woman and family deserves to be heard and treated with dignity and compassion. What happened in Nottingham fell devastatingly short of that.

“This report reflects the staffing emergency that our members have been warning about for years — not just in Nottingham, but in trusts across the country.

“Midwives raised the alarm and were not listened to. The consequences for families have been devastating. Women and babies cannot receive consistently safe, personalised and equitable care without safe staffing.”

Mr Walton slammed the government, regulators and the health service for “repeatedly missing opportunities” to take action since issues were first reported.

He said: “The public and NHS staff deserve better and the RCM will not stop until all trust boards take maternity care seriously and the government commits to dedicated ring-fenced funding to put safe staffing and improvements in maternity care in place.

“This is for the Nottingham families and for every woman using maternity services today and in the future.”

The review marked the largest ever maternity inquiry in NHS history, with more than 2,500 families and 800 members of staff surveyed.

The NUH has already paid out millions of pounds in compensation and fines after being prosecuted for poor care.

Health Secretary James Murray pledged to “deliver lasting change” and apologised to families on behalf of the NHS.