By Mothers and babies died as a result of maternity failings
Maternity failings at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS trust resulted in “at least” 201 baby deaths with nine mothers also dying, it has been reported.
Sky News stated that “at least” 201 babies could have survived if the provided care had been better.
131 babies were stillborn, 70 died soon after birth.
The death of nine mothers could have also been avoided, a review suggests.
According to an independent review chaired by midwife Donna Ockenden, 94 babies suffered avoidable long-term injuries, such as brain damage as a result of minimal oxygen during their birth.
The report, which analysed over two decades of avoidable harm to mothers and their babies discovered the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust blamed mothers for the death of their babies.
It is understood that “some” families were told mothers had been responsible for their own deaths.
During the report, 1,592 clinical incidents involving 1,486 families were examined. A substantial percentage of the cases occurred between 2000 and 2019.
The review found a culture favouring natural births led to a “reluctance” in performing caesarean sections, which resulted in many babies dying.
The independent review identified a failure to properly assess the potential risks of patients in addition to failing to “properly” monitor babies.
Furthmore, the report found the NHS Trust failed to learn from past mistakes.
Donna Ockenden, chair of the review said:
“Throughout our final report we have highlighted how failures in care were repeated from one incident to the next”
“For example, ineffective monitoring of fetal growth and a culture of reluctance to perform caesarean sections resulted in many babies dying during birth or shortly after their birth”, she added.
“In many cases, mother and babies were left with life-long conditions as a result of their care and treatment”
Donna Ockenden suggested the failings were “clear”, blaming a lack of staff and continuous training.
She added:
“There was a lack of effective investigation and governance at the Trust and a culture of not listening to the families involved. There was a tendency of the Trust to blame mothers for their poor outcomes, in some cases even for their own deaths”
“Going forward, there can be no excuses, Trust boards must be held accountable for the maternity care they provide. To do this, they must understand the complexities of maternity care and they must receive the funding they require”
Throughout the review, a list of immediate areas of action for the Shrewsbury and Telford Trust exceeds 60.
Additionally, the independent report outlines 15 areas for all maternity services in England to improve to fully ensure patient safety.
