Photo via Getty The government has confirmed that the independent inquiry into Sussex maternity services will examine the care provided to all women and their babies from 2018 onwards. It’s thought that more than 1,000 cases of stillbirth, neonatal death, maternal death and severe harm will fall under its remit. In April, the Health Secretary agreed that Donna Ockenden, the former midwife, would chair the review . The decision followed sustained lobbying by bereaved families and a joint investigation by the  New Statesman  and BBC News. The inquiry into the care provided by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has evolved from the promise, by Wes Streeting in 2025, of a review of nine babies’ deaths to a full-blown investigation. It will operate on an “opt-out basis”: any case that meets the terms of reference will automatically be included, unless families choose otherwise. The same approach underpinned Ockenden’s inquiry into maternity failings in Nottingham.…