Were you a family on the women's and children's unit at the Countess of Chester?

Who this is for

Some of us left that unit with questions that were never answered. About what happened, what we were told, and what our own notes and records actually say.

If that sounds familiar, this group is for you.

You don't need to have been part of any investigation. You don't need to have complained. You just need to be a family who was there and wants to understand your own experience properly.

What the group is

We are a private, peer-run group of families. We help each other make sense of our own memories, our own notes, and our own medical records.

Some of us have clinical experience and can help families understand what their records say. That is the limit of that role. It is not a second opinion, it is not a review of your care, and it is not a substitute for advice from your own doctor or from a solicitor.

We are not lawyers and we don't give legal advice. We don't discuss any criminal case, and nobody here will be asked their view on it.

Being straight with you about one thing

Families in this group want two things.

We want families who were on that unit to be able to get answers about their own care. And we want something to change in how failures are handled in hospitals now, while it is happening, rather than years later.

How that is best achieved, we are still working out. Some families want a full independent review of the last twenty five years. Others, including people who work in the NHS, think another review changes nothing on its own. That conversation is live and we are not pretending otherwise.

If you want to be part of working that out, you can. If you would rather have nothing to do with any of it, that is completely fine too.

Being part of the group asks nothing of you. No statement, no press, no name on anything, no view on anything. Some of us speak publicly under our own names. Those are our own views, they are not the group's, and you will never be asked to share them or to put your name to anything.

Find us on Facebook

We also run a private Facebook group for families. It is approval only, with a few short questions before you join.

One thing worth knowing first. In any private Facebook group, what you post stays inside the group, but your name is visible to the other members. That is how Facebook works, and we cannot change it. If you would rather not be seen joining anything, email us instead. Plenty of people prefer that, and it is no less welcome.

Your privacy

The group is private and stays private. Nobody's story is shared anywhere without their say-so. We will not share your details, your story, or your records with journalists, with lawyers, or with anyone else.

The only exception is if we were told someone is at risk of serious harm, or if the law required us to act. If that ever happened, we would tell you.

If the group isn't the right fit

You don't have to join anything to get help. The hospital's PALS team can take questions and concerns directly. Independent NHS complaints advocacy is free and can help you raise a formal complaint. If you are grieving, Sands and Child Bereavement UK both support families who have lost a baby or a child.