Doctor Called Bereaved Parents Liars, Gets New NHS Job

A doctor, previously at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH), who questioned the honesty of parents Sarah and Jack Hawkins after their daughter Harriet's stillbirth has since obtained a new position within the NHS. The Hawkinses, who were awarded £2.8 million in 2021, received this settlement following a legal action that identified multiple failures leading to Harriet's preventable death in 2016.

Internal emails from October 2017 reveal Dr. Lucy Kean, then Chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at NUH, emailing a colleague about "lies" concerning the case, after media interest in the parents' campaign for justice. Another email from Dr. Kean referred to a press release as containing "untruths" and expressed a desire to "protect staff."

Harriet's death was initially attributed to infection by the Trust but an external review in January 2018 concluded it was almost certainly preventable. The Hawkinses, both former clinicians at NUH, expressed deep anger and confusion over Dr. Kean's remarks, highlighting a "rotten culture" at the trust. Dr. Kean is now listed as a consultant medical staff member at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's maternity service, having reportedly worked at NUH until last year. This situation unfolds as a landmark inquiry into NUH found hundreds of mothers and babies suffered avoidable harm or death.

While NUH apologized for the failings and stated they have processes for managing professional concerns, Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust declined to comment on individual employment matters. The former CEO of NUH at the time of Harriet's death now co-owns a firm providing maternity training to the NHS.