More than 250 families have now raised concerns about an NHS trust at the centre of a maternity scandal.
Their cases are being investigated by an independent review team set up to look at services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust, it was revealed last night.
Many families allege that babies died or were left with lifelong brain injuries as a result of poor care at the Shropshire trust.
The independent review was launched by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt in April 2017 when it was looking into 23 cases. But that number has increased ten-fold in what could be one of the NHS’s worst maternity care scandals.
In the last month, two officials in the trust’s maternity department have resigned unexpectedly amid rumours they were pushed.
Rhiannon Davies from Ludlow, Shropshire, pictured with her daughter Kate moments after she was born on March 1, 2009. The infant died just six hours later
Deirdre Fowler, director of nursing, midwifery and quality, announced she was leaving three weeks ago to take up a new post closer to her family.
Sarah Jamieson, the trust’s head of midwifery, said she would be departing the following week to pursue an ‘exciting opportunity’ elsewhere in Shropshire.
The Mail has been told that both managers were told to leave by more senior executives, although the trust insists their departures were nothing to do with the inquiry.
Last week, NHS officials were forced to axe a panel of experts set up to supervise the review amid concerns of a cover-up.
The experts included a representative from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and one from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
In 2017, the RCOG went into the maternity services in Shropshire and wrote a highly critical report which was never passed to watchdogs.
Instead it was persuaded by hospital bosses to produce a glowing progress review implying services were safe. Meanwhile, the RCM has long encouraged women to give birth naturally, without caesareans.
This agenda has partly been blamed for the problems at Shrewsbury and some women claim their babies were harmed because midwives failed to intervene.
Rhiannon Davies, whose daughter Kate died in 2009 following failures by midwives, said: ‘The decision to select compromised, self-interested individuals to people the scrutiny panel was offensive and legally questionable.
‘Each had a vested interest in covering up personal failings and closing down the review.’
About 5,000 women a year give birth in the trust’s maternity services, which include a main maternity department and five smaller midwife-led units.
Failures have been attributed to a lack of training, a culture of denial and a failure to intervene when labours went wrong.
The review is being led by independent midwife Donna Ockenden.
In a letter to families last week, she confirmed that more than 250 cases were now being examined.
She said the creation of the panel of experts had ‘caused confusion and upset for some families’, adding that she wanted to reassure those ‘who have bravely come forward to participate’.
She said in the letter seen by the HSJ: ‘Our work is continuing, and we are making good progress.
‘The review itself is of a very significant size – with more than 250 families’ cases now making up the cases under review.
‘As chair of this important review I know that the entire team is absolutely committed to working together and pooling their years of experience in a “search for the truth”.
‘We are progressing well in considering thousands of pages of documentation, and have met more than 50 families face to face so far.’
A panel of experts set up to look at the review’s findings was last week disbanded following complaints from families.
They said involving staff from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) could jeopardise the independence of its findings, because both had been involved in positive reports about the trust.
There was also concern about the Royal College of Midwives being on the panel because it is representing some of the staff involved in the cases.
After the panel was scrapped Ms Ockenden admitted it had caused ‘confusion and upset’ but insisted her inquiry wouldn’t be watered down.
She said all the specialists on her team – including midwives, neonatologists, obstetricians, paediatricians and anaesthetists – are ‘completely independent’.
As a result of the review now including so many more families, it is not expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Ms Ockenden acknowledged some families had ‘suffered terribly for many years’ and in her letter added: ‘It is therefore so important that the maternity review team is given the time needed to undertake this vitally important piece of work.
‘We cannot yet give a timescale for completion. As the review has grown so considerably in size, completion is likely to be the end of the year.’
The trust declined to comment.
