Update: Investigation into Shropshire Baby Deaths - New Training for Maternity Staff
On 11 December 2020 we wrote about the publication of an interim report concerning the independent review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
Patient Safety Minister, Nadine Dorries, has now announced a new £500,000 maternity leadership programme starting this year. This programme aims to help maternity and neonatal teams in England learn lessons from maternity safety inquiries, including Donna Ockenden’s independent review.
The issue of leadership was identified as a key factor in Donna Ockenden’s review. She highlighted the disconnect between ‘ward and board’ in maternity services and the importance of multi-disciplinary training, escalating concerns to senior leaders and learning lessons from serious incidents.
The new £500,000 programme aims to equip maternity leaders with the skills and knowledge to improve workplace culture and facilitate collaborative working between nurses, doctors, midwives and obstetricians. It also seeks to help maternity leaders develop other skills, including:
- effective engagement with patients and families;
- liaising with NHS Trusts’ board level senior staff about the level of care and support that is actually required for safe and personalised maternity and neonatal services;
- how to support local systems, anticipate risk and implement improvements; and
- effectively learning from previous errors, near misses as well as examples of excellent care.
It is estimated that 700 staff members from 126 NHS trusts and 44 local maternity units will benefit from this new training programme. This must be seen as a positive step to improve maternity care.
Compensation for Poor Maternity Care
Independent inquiries into maternity care standards have triggered this new maternity leadership programme. Donna Ockden’s review concerned the care that more than 1,800 families received in Shropshire. If you were affected by poor maternity care here or at another NHS Hospital Trust we can help you investigate and if your care was substandard and caused injury compensation may follow.
Our medical negligence lawyers specialise in birth injury cases. We support families in tragic circumstances, for example, relating to: cerebral palsy, brain injuries, stillbirths and neonatal injuries.
For more information about birth injuries visit our dedicated page or read some of our Case Studies to find out more about how we have helped other families and how we can help you.
Contact Us
If you or a family member have received poor maternity care from Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust or any other NHS Hospital please contact us to speak to our friendly and passionate solicitors.
Submit an “Ask Us a Question Form" from our website or call us on 0113 245 8549