
14
Feb 2023
Progress made but still more to do at maternity scandal trust
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust says it has made “significant progress” since a report found failures in care contributed to the deaths of hundreds of babies.
The review, led by Donna Ockenden, was the largest of its kind in the history of the NHS.
Last year, it found a string of catastrophic failures, together with a “toxic culture”.
Louise Barnett, chief executive of the trust, admitted it had “failed our community”. However, she said that while there was still “more to do”, she believed “services are safe”.
The Ockenden report examined cases dating back over 20 years and found more than 200 babies and nine mothers could have been saved.
Speaking about the findings, Ms Barnett said she was grateful to Ms Ockenden “because we have been able to benefit from the report and make these improvements.”
She said there had been a “massive impact” on the trust and that it had made a number of changes, including round-the-clock consultant cover on the labour ward and risk assessing every single contact with women.
Ms Barnett also said the trust had implemented a culture change programme after a recent staff survey found 32 per cent of respondents would not feel confidence to report incidents. This was highlighted as a particular area of concern in the report, which uncovered a culture of bullying, fear and anxiety.
Ms Barnett said “At the heart of that is ensuring that people feel that they can speak out. Because actually listening to our teams and understanding what their concerns are will help us to ensure that we’re delivering great care.”
Chadwick Lawrence’s team of medical negligence lawyers have years of experience in high value and complex medical negligence compensation claims and have an excellent record. The team is led by Tony May, a specialist cerebral palsy and birth injury solicitor, who has over 20 years experience in handling cases in which babies have been brain damaged or sustained other injuries as a result of medical negligence. He and his team continue to represent many cerebral palsy children and young adults in medical negligence claims. Tony also acts as a Court of Protection Deputy for many of the cerebral palsy and brain damaged clients that he has represented, so we can continue to support you after your case is settled. Tony can be contacted by email on tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk. Alternatively, please call and speak to any of Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist medical negligence Legal Aid and no win, no fee solicitors for free legal advice on Freephone 0800 304 7382
- Like this ? Share with friends