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Leadership Roles

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

In May 2022 Donna was appointed as the new chair of the Independent Review into Maternity Services at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which will be looking into significant concerns raised regarding the quality and safety of maternity services as well as the concerns of families involved regarding the quality of the previous review.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust

Chair of the recently published Independent Review into Maternity Services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, leading a large team of medical professionals reviewing nearly 1600 maternity cases of concern at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust. The review has been commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health. Following a much larger number of cases of potential concern coming forward from both historical and contemporary maternity care aside from the original 23 families affected, Donna increased the numbers within the expert team. By the time of publication, the team included around 90 doctors and midwives, most of them working part time with the review alongside their NHS roles. Team members included obstetric anaesthetists, adult neurologists, adult cardiologists, an intensivist, an ambulance expert, paediatricians and a physician, as well as an increased the number of midwives, neonatologists and obstetricians and gynaecologists.

Donna Ockenden elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts

In February 2021 Donna Ockenden has been named as a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce.

The fellowship is awarded by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), and is limited to individuals determined to have made outstanding achievements to social progress and development.

The accolade has been awarded to Donna Ockenden for her work which has touched the lives of many throughout her career. Her work has been a catalyst for change to improve the quality of care for a broad section of people who use healthcare services across the UK.

The RSA was founded in 1754 by William Shipley in London. During the next 100 years, “the Society encouraged innovation and excellence through this scheme in six areas” including agriculture, manufacture, chemistry, mechanics, arts and trade, according to the society’s website.

Donna Ockenden said: “I am grateful to the RSA for electing me a Fellow. The previous Fellows have made very significant contributions to human knowledge and bettering our society and I am humbled to join their company. I look forward to working with current Fellows to advance our common goals of creating a more just and equitable world.”

Previous Fellows have included Marie Curie, Charles Dickens, John Diefenbaker, Alfred Dunhill, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Hawking, Nelson Mandela, Karl Marx and Adam Smith.

Senior Midwifery Adviser August 2015 to March 2020 providing a wide range of advice on Midwifery to the chief executive of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

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Co Clinical Director (Midwifery) of the London Maternity Strategic Clinical Network

July 2013 to June 2017

The London Maternity Strategic Clinical Network (SCN) has been established to address deficiencies in maternity care. The London Maternity Strategic Clinical Leadership Group (SCLG) is a forum of multi-professional clinicians, managers and service users from across all care settings linked to maternity care. It has been established in order to makes strategic recommendations for the delivery of maternity care under the auspices of the London Maternity SCN in conjunction with commissioners and service users.

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London Clinical Network Lead for MBEM (Maternity Bereavement Experience Measure).

Launched in June 2017, this project was supported and funded by NHS England and worked in partnership with SANDS, the NHS England Patient Experience and Insight team and the London Maternity Bereavement Midwives Forum. A toolkit has been developed and shared with maternity, gynaecology and neonatal teams across England. The toolkit outlines the findings of in depth feedback from women and their families about what helped them and what was important to them at the time of pregnancy loss and stillbirth. The work includes tried and tested feedback and methods from Maternity services leading on this care.

Investigation into the Tawel Fan Ward at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd

Chair of the Governance review into events leading to the closure of Tawel Fan ward in December 2013 and current governance arrangements in Older Peoples Mental Health at BCUHB, the largest Health Board in Wales.

This extensive review involved consideration of over 4000 individual documents and reports and interviews, correspondence and meetings with more than 200 current and former NHS staff and service user representatives/ carers.

This report published in July 2018. To read the report click here