Shropshire baby deaths review draws to close

Bereaved mothers who spoke up about poor care at the centre of a major maternity scandal can be assured the hospitals are taking action, says the inquiry lead.

Senior midwife Donna Ockenden will this week formally close her investigation into failures at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH).

The probe ruled in March that catastrophic errors may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies.

SaTH was told to make 60 improvements.

The trust, which runs Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, said since March it had implemented 10% of them.

The investigation began in 2017 and covered care over a period of more than 20 years. It found that babies' deaths were often not investigated and grieving parents were not listened to which led to failures in care being repeated.

More than 700 cases are being examined by West Mercia Police.

Confirming her work in Shropshire would "be wrapped up within the next week", Ms Ockenden told BBC News that SaTH was working hard to achieve all necessary actions and that it was honest about the scale of the task ahead.

"I'm really clear that the trust are working very hard," she said.

A total of 201 babies could have survived had SaTH provided better care, reported Ms Ockenden in spring with regard to 70 instances of neonatal fatalities and 131 cases of stillbirth.

There were also 29 cases where babies suffered severe brain injuries.

In one case, important clinical information was kept on post-it notes which were then swept into the bin by cleaners.

An interim report published in December 2020 found some mothers were even blamed for their babies' deaths.

Ms Ockenden said of the trust: "They're being both supported and scrutinised by their partnership with Birmingham NHS Trust, the regional team and ultimately by NHS England.

"So, I think that mothers should be assured that having spoken out, action is being taken and that if women wish to continue to speak out then they must."

Ms Ockenden is set to begin a similar review of Nottingham's maternity services.

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