Three hundred babies died or suffered brain damage due to mistakes that could have been avoided in care, the independent review will report when published this week, according to the Sunday Times. Infant deaths and allegations of poor maternity care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) were examined by an independent Ockenden investigation. Donna Ockenden is the former senior midwife who leads the research (PA) The survey was created in 2017 by then-Health Minister Jeremy Hunt and examines the experiences of 1,862 families. It is headed by Donna Ockenden, who is currently the senior obstetrician of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). At least 12 mothers died in childbirth and some families lost more than one child, the Sunday Times reported. The paper quoted Ms Ockenden as saying: “There were many opportunities for the system to wake up and realize that there was a problem with that trust. “There have been many cases where families have tried to be heard for many years and have been silenced or ignored.” He added: “We have seen families that have been separated, families where relationships have broken down, cases of trauma and PTSD that persist for years after the incident as well as terrible, terrible sadness. “Sometimes, after meeting families, I would go back to my hotel room and cry.” An interim report published in December 2020 highlighted a number of failures, including improper parental listening. The review found that maternity staff had caused anxiety to patients by using “inappropriate language” and blaming grieving mothers for their loss. A spokesman for the group involved in the final report, which is due to be released on Wednesday, said it would not comment until then.
