Sir Gavin Williamson

“I was not that familiar with the issue of neonatal and maternity services until my constituent, Mr Thomas Hender, contacted me about the tragic loss of his son, Aubrey. He highlighted the battle that he and his family had gone through, and that so many others had been going through. Sadly, these issues have happened not just at the NHS trust in Nottingham, but at those in Morecambe Bay, East Kent, Shrewsbury and Telford, Leeds and Sussex. Some six further reviews and investigations have been carried out. I value the fact that the Secretary of State said that he had an open mind about a public inquiry; I think we need to move in that direction. It was not until the review of care at the Mid Staffordshire NHS trust became a public inquiry that we were able to address some of the issues. The issues facing neonatal and maternity services are present not only in the areas that I mentioned, but they touch on many other corners of the country, and only a public inquiry can address that.”