Cherilyn Mackrory, MP for Truro and Falmouth, has responded to the findings of the final report on the Independent Review of Maternity Services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
The review into almost 1,600 clinical incidents has identified failures to acknowledge families, learn from clinical incidents and in addition, the failure of multiple external bodies to act in regulating and managing the quality of maternity services at the Trust over two decades.
Cherilyn said:
“It is deeply disheartening to hear of the repeated failures in the quality of care and both internal and external governance at the Trust throughout the last two decades – resulting in severe distress and bereavement for numerous families
I pay tribute to all those families whose lives have been irrevocably changed by their experience at the Trust. I give special thanks those who have had the courage to selflessly speak up and help Donna Ockenden and her team investigate these failings.
We must seriously consider the report’s 60 specific Local Actions for Learning for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and the 15 Immediate and Essential Actions for all maternity services in England. I will do my utmost to ensure these recommendations are widely acknowledged and considered at the highest levels of government so that improvements can be made without delay.”
Chair of the review Donna Ockenden, 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.
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.”