Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Calls for independent oversight of services

An MP has called for an independent organisation to be brought in to oversee improvements at Shropshire's under-fire maternity services.

A report found catastrophic failings at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Hospitals Trust (SaTH) contributed to hundreds of babies' deaths over 20 years.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said an independent body would help "restore trust".

SaTH said improvements had already been made to its services.

Ms Morgan said the report, published on Wednesday by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, "was devastating reading".

The review was first launched in 2017 to examine a cluster of 23 cases, but was expanded to look at almost 1,600 and became the largest of its kind in NHS history.

Among its key findings were that there was an undue focus on so-called "natural births"; a culture where mistakes were not investigated; parents were not listened to and that the trust failed to learn from its mistakes.

"A lot of women have experience of being made to feel inadequate for having a C-section, I know I was," Ms Morgan said, detailing how a midwife - not at SaTH - had asked her if she "felt like a failure".

While she said that had been a national issue, she said the report showed "that culture went further at SaTH than anywhere else".

Speaking to the BBC's Politics Midlands programme, Conservative MP for Ludlow, Philip Dunne, agreed. He said the trust was "praised for having the lowest rate of C-sections in the country... it wasn't just them, everyone was saying this was a good thing."

This culture meant the trust "was not focussed on mother and baby outcomes," he added.

Although Ms Morgan said she had faith that management at SaTH would implement Ms Ockenden's recommendations, she still backed calls for an independent body.

"I think it would help to restore trust and confidence that there was somebody else looking over their shoulder saying, 'yes we're happy'," she said.

"I think the maternity services stand a fighting chance," she added. "The comments about the [SaTH] culture are very concerning but I think [chief executive] Louise Barnett also acknowledges the scale of the task."

Shaun Davies, the Labour leader of Telford and Wrekin Borough Council, said: "I am being reassured by the current leadership, but it's clearly showing that things still aren't right.

"People in Shropshire deserve better than what we've got at the moment."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]