A leaked report has revealed what is likely to be the NHS's worst ever maternity scandal, with dozens of mothers and babies dying due to major failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. The interim update from a government-ordered inquiry details a 'toxic' culture spanning 40 years, where staff routinely dismissed parents' concerns, were unkind, and made errors such as getting dead babies' names wrong.
The inquiry, led by maternity expert Donna Ockenden, initially examined 23 cases but has now expanded to over 270, covering the period from 1979 to the present day. Among the cases are 22 stillbirths, three deaths during pregnancy, 17 deaths of babies after birth, three deaths of mothers, 47 cases of substandard care, and 51 cases of cerebral palsy or brain damage. The early findings single out at least 24 baby deaths and three mother deaths, with nearly 600 cases still under examination.
One tragic case is that of baby Kate Stanton-Davies, who died six hours after birth in 2009. Her parents, Richard Stanton and Rhiannon Davies, had spearheaded calls for an inquiry. Ms Davies said the leaked report showed the trust's chronic inability to learn from past mistakes had 'condemned my daughter to death'. Another case involved baby Jenson Barnett, who died two days after a botched delivery at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital; a senior gynaecologist flippantly told the mother to start smoking to have smaller babies.
The trust has issued an apology to affected families, with its interim chief insisting improvements are underway. However, the report warns that lessons are still not being learned and staff remain uncommunicative with families. The inquiry also criticises an inadequate review by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 2017 and the 'misplaced' optimism of the regulator in 2007.
Ms Ockenden wrote in the report: 'No apology will be sufficient or adequate for families who lost loved ones to avoidable deaths, or whose experience of becoming a parent was blighted by poor care and avoidable harm.' The inquiry was launched by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt in July 2017.
