Shrewsbury maternity scandal: ‘Unimaginable trauma’ caused, says Javid as report details avoidable baby deaths

Beth Heath from Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors, who is assisting dozens of families with legal cases against the trust, says:

“We wholeheartedly support the recommendations of the report and, on behalf of the many families we have assisted with claims of clinical negligence, can only hope this represents a turning point for maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals.

“Unfortunately, there are still unanswered questions for a lot of families. The Ockenden Review looked at cases involving 1,486 families and 1,592 cases where there were alleged failings in maternity care, limited to the period between 1999 and 2019 - and there are numerous cases outside the review.”

Sajid Javid has issued an apology for the maternity service failings reported at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

You can read his statement made in the House of Commons here:

Sands, which supports those who have suffered pregnancy or baby loss, has called for the report to be a “watershed moment” for maternity care.

See the group’s full response here:

The chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said she was confident that the organisation, which was under a lot of scrutiny, was getting the support it needed to improve.

Asked about staff comments to the inquiry made in recent weeks, claiming workers had been told not to participate in the Ockenden investigation, Louise Barnett said: “We are very committed to our culture change programme within the organisation. That is at the heart of our plans.”

She said: “We have made progress. We have more colleagues contributing their ideas and also raising concerns, which we are acting on within the organisation.”

Ruth May, the chief nursing officer for England, has apologised for the “loss and pain” felt by affected families.

“We will continue to work closely with local system leaders to drive improvements in maternity services to ensure that services are as safe as possible for mothers, babies and their families,” she tweeted.

One issue Donna Ockenden, who led the inquiry, raised as she presented the report’s findings was how comfortable staff felt discussing matters.

She said her review team were told by staff at the trust they were “fearful” to speak out.

One staff member reportedly told the inquiry: “We were told not to speak out, but I will do it and take the consequences because it is the right thing to do.”

In her report, Donna Ockenden paid tribute to campaigners who raised awareness of poor maternity care at the trust.

“This review owes its origins to Kate Stanton Davies, and her parents Rhiannon Davies and Richard Stanton; and to Pippa Griffiths, and her parents Kayleigh and Colin Griffiths,” she wrote.

“Kate’s and Pippa’s parents have shown an unrelenting commitment to ensuring their daughters’ short lives make a difference to the safety of maternity care.”

“It was through their efforts that your predecessor, the former secretary of state for health, Jeremy Hunt, requested this independent review.”

Here are both families today:

In fact, the report discusses the case of Kate Stanton-Davies in detail and says there had been “missed opportunities for learning” previously.

“For example, in the nine months preceding the avoidable death of Kate Stanton-Davies in March 2009, the review team has identified two further incidents of baby deaths which occurred under similar circumstances.

This includes a pregnant woman whose baby’s heart rate was “not monitored appropriately” on admission despite reporting reduced baby movements the day before going into labour.

“The review team found evidence of poor investigation into all three of these cases which took place within less than a year of each other, as well as a lack of transparency and dialogue with families,” the report concluded. “This resulted in missed opportunities for learning, and a lost opportunity to prevent further baby deaths from occurring at the Trust.”

The Royal College of Midwives has vowed to “be part of the solution” to improving safety across all maternity services.

“This review must be a turning point for all those working in maternity services. The actions recommended are measured and sensible and reflect much of what the RCM has been calling for,” Gill Walton, its chief executive, said.

She tweeted earlier calling the report “sobering reading”.

Police offciers working in tandem with the Ockenden Report team are looking into approximately 600 cases, the health secretary told the Commons.

Following the release of the final version of the Ockenden report into maternity care and treatment at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, West Mercia Police said its own investigation was ongoing.

Detective chief superintendent Damian Barratt, who is leading the investigation, said: “We have been liaising closely with the Ockenden Review and are, of course, aware of the release of the report today.

“Our investigation, named Operation Lincoln, was launched in 2017 to explore whether there is evidence to support a criminal case against the Trust or any individuals involved. This investigation remains ongoing and very much active.”

Adding to his statement, Sajid Javid offered assurances to MPs that the people responsible for “serious and repeated failures” will be held to account.

The health secretary said: “I’d like to reassure MPs that a number of people who were working at the trust at the time of the incidents have been suspended or struck off from the professional register, and members of senior management have also been removed from their posts.

“There is also an active police investigation, Operation Lincoln, which is looking at around 600 cases.”