I thank Donna Ockenden and her team for their excellent investigative work over the past five years. The Ockenden report made public today is vital for the families affected in such devastating ways and for us to demand the changes necessary for our hospital to operate in the way that is rightly expected. The accounts of the parents are truly heartbreaking and the brave staff members who came forward gave very concerning accounts.
One of the central issues surrounding the failures of the Shrewsbury and Telford hospital is that there was a drive by the NHS, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), and National Childbirth Trust for mothers to have a natural birth, seemingly at all costs. The lowest percentage of caesarean deliveries by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital was incorrectly applauded and regarded as a laudable achievement.
This was accompanied by a grave lack of empathy for mothers, a pattern of consistent disregard for the families’ concerns and, when there was medical intervention provided, it was often tragically too late. I mention the staff who came forward and characterise them as brave. It is very concerning that it has been reported that staff members often felt afraid to voice their concerns or were worried of being reprimanded for giving accounts to Ms Ockenden and her team.
When Ms Ockenden began this investigation in 2017, her team were initially given 23 cases. Today, we find a total of 1,486 families within the report and that shockingly 210 deaths could have been avoided: 201 babies and 9 mothers. There was a failure to assess risk, a shifting of blame from the Trust to the mothers and a failure to take grasp key opportunities for change. This is in addition to a real concern that even after the 2020 initial report, families are still coming forward to the investigative team.
I agree with Ms Ockenden that the high staff turnover due to the conditions on the ward cannot be fixed with constant recruitment. What is needed is a fundamental change in the way the hospital and specifically the maternity ward is managed. My peers, fellow Shropshire MPs and I have been in regular calls with the hospital and we have been given a detailed account of the changes that the hospital is making. We are assured that there have been major changes to the culture of care given by staff, and importantly, the investigative procedures which will ensure that cases raised are not only handled by the hospital but by an unbiased board. 100% of the actions recommended by the first report have been actioned: 67% are fully in place and evidence is available, 19% delivered but evidence is being gathered and 14% on track to being delivered.
I cannot begin to imagine the severe trauma these families have gone through. In some cases, their children have died and in other cases their children now live with the lifelong consequences of a lack of care that should be basic and second nature to a maternity ward. With this report now in hand, I will be working with my peers to see absolute and real change to the hospital. Click on the following link to read the full report: Final report of the Ockenden review - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)