Shropshire baby death probe: Hospital boss 'ashamed' of failures
The chairman of the board which runs Shropshire's hospitals has told a county couple he is "ashamed" of the way health bosses behaved towards them after the tragic death of their baby daughter.
Professor Peter Latchford spoke after hearing from Richard Stanton and Rhiannon Davies at an extraordinary meeting of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital yesterday.
The couple, from Ludlow, spoke for nearly 20 minutes to the board about the circumstances surrounding the death of their daughter Kate, who passed away just six hours after being born at the midwife-led unit at Ludlow Hospital in 2009.
The findings of an independent maternity review were published last week which criticised the trust for failing to properly investigate the circumstances of the death.
The author of the report, maternity services expert Debbie Graham, ruled the trust failed to investigate Kate's death, failed to hold staff to account and failed to address concerns raised by the couple.
Professor Latchford said: "I am personally ashamed of the things you say we should be ashamed of. I am ashamed. This should be a defining moment in this organisation's history. I think there is some evidence the journey has started, but I don't want to over-proclaim that."
The couple spoke of how they felt their concerns had been "brushed off".
Donna Leeding, a non-executive director on the board, said: "I find it abhorrent that people can be treated in such a way. As someone who has children myself, for me that is unforgivable. I am sorry and ashamed on behalf of the board."
The sentiments were echoed by fellow non-executive director Paul Cronin, who also said he was ashamed and urged the couple to tell them what the board could do to improve.
"I would urge you to make sure that the people responsible are held to account," Rhiannon replied.
When the report was published last week, trust chief executive Simon Wright apologised "unreservedly" but said "significant steps" had been taken to ensure improvement. They include extra training for midwives and a strengthening of the trust's complaints team.
