Peter Homa, the former long-serving chief executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which was exposed over baby deaths, is a director and co-owner of a company that has received nearly £100,000 for maternity training provided to other NHS trusts.
Dr Homa, who joined the NHS in 1979, retired in 2017 with a pension pot worth more than £2 million, according to trust accounts. He has been director and co-owner of Acorn Leadership Development since 2024.
Payments to Acorn Leadership Development
Transparency data showed University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire Trust paid the firm £45,372 in September last year for nursing training. In March last year, Northampton General Hospital spending data showed Acorn was paid £98,250 for “training course fees/exps” relating to “maternity governance” and £28,600 for “training course fees/exps” relating to “clinical placement”.
Dr Homa is understood to have limited day-to-day involvement with Acorn, from which he has received £2,000 in dividends.
Families question leadership training
Sarah and Jack Hawkins, whose daughter Harriet died in the womb in 2016 following maternity staff mistakes at Nottingham City Hospital, said: “Peter Homa was CEO when so much death and harm occurred at NUH as shown by the Ockenden review and by so many brave families who have told what happened to them… We are very confused to hear he is selling leadership development. To us, it doesn’t seem right that someone with his track record should be running a company paid large sums of money to offer leadership training to the NHS or anybody, frankly.”
Sarah and Gary Andrews, whose daughter Wynter died 23 minutes after being born in 2019 at the Trust’s Queen’s Medical Centre following care failings, said: “It is… difficult for us to understand how his private firm can now provide leadership training to the NHS. We know from the Ockenden Review that there were serious concerns about leadership, culture and the failure to keep women and babies safe during his tenure.”
Trusts defend the training
The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) Group Managing Director and Chief Nurse Julie Hogg said: “We can confirm that multi-professional members of our team have undertaken leadership development training delivered by Acorn. We are satisfied that the programme was delivered to the required standards and has supported the ongoing professional development of our staff.” Dr Homa “delivered a virtual leadership talk of around one hour”, with different sessions “facilitated by others”, a spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust said: “Experienced trainers from Acorn Leadership Development were used to train our senior perinatal team. Independent evaluation of the programme has been positive, and this investment forms part of our wider focus on maintaining safe, high-quality services.” Dr Homa did not personally deliver leadership training at the Trust, a spokesperson said, but he attended “one session focused on the importance of speaking up and escalating concerns but was not paid for this”.
Ockenden review findings
Donna Ockenden’s landmark review, unveiled in June, found 520 mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or death due to poor care at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. She said: “This report is about what happens when leadership fails.” The inquiry, the largest maternity inquiry in NHS history, found leaders knew there were serious issues in the maternity department going back years – yet failed to take action. Over 2,000 families and more than 800 staff members contributed to the inquiry, with the Trust already paying out millions in compensation and fines after being prosecuted for poor care.
NUH’s chief nurse Tracy Pilcher said: “We recognise the importance of the Independent Maternity Review and fully accept the failings outlined by Donna Ockenden, for which we are truly sorry. We remain committed to implementing all immediate and essential actions to support the improvement of our services. We continue to work closing [sic] with the harmed and bereaved families and Donna Ockenden to ensure we have learned all lessons from the review.”
Dr Homa, who has faced a call to be stripped of his CBE, has admitted families were let down but said he did not recognise some of the Ockenden report findings on an executive level culture of fear. Last month, he told the Sunday Times of his “profound sadness on reading the findings of the review”, adding: “The families directly and indirectly affected by the service failings at NUH have my deepest, most sincere apologies.” Dr Homa and Acorn were contacted for comment.
