Scotland's maternity review chief vows to hear bereaved parents after 4,300 sign petition demanding change

From the Newshound archive · first published 9 October 2026.

Professor Christine McCourt has pledged that bereaved families' experiences will inform Scotland's independent maternity services review, following a petition signed by more than 4,300 people who condemned its original remit as too narrow. McCourt said engaging with a wide range of people would help "draw the right lessons for improvement" and that families' accounts were "really valuable." The review launched this week and is expected to deliver its findings next summer.

Lori Quate, who lost his wife Jacqui Hunter and stillborn daughter Olivia at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in 2020 after a drug overdose error, warned the review risks ignoring "systemic rot."

Julie Keegan, whose son Mason was three days old when he died under NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde care in 2023, called a purely forward-looking review "an absolute insult."

The Scottish government ordered the review a year ago after a BBC investigation exposed maternity care failings across Scotland.