Trust sets up new group to oversee Shropshire's maternity services

Ben Reid, who is chair of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust board, will also be chairman of the new group.

The group will hear of any concerns surrounding maternity services so improvements can be made.

It comes as an independent review into mother and baby deaths and injuries at Shropshire's hospitals, which is thought to be looking at more than 200 cases, is yet to reveal any conclusions.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) took urgent action against the trust's maternity department last year, when Sath was also rated 'inadequate' and placed in special measures following an inspection.

Hospital bosses say steps have been taken to make improvements and the trust was regularly reporting back to the CQC.

Mr Reid says the new committee which has been set up will exist for a limited period of time and its first meeting will be next week. He said: "The idea is to make sure all the issues that surround maternity services are tabled and dealt with.

"We are really taking these maternity issues seriously. We owe it to the mothers that are going to use these facilities now or in the future."

He said the trust needed to make sure it is providing the right level of support.

Sath's board was told at a meeting on Thursday that the trust is taking on 10 new midwives.

Sarah Jamieson, head of midwifery at the trust, told the meeting that the stillbirth rate for 2018 was also the lowest it has ever been at Sath.

She said bookings and birth numbers are consistent with last year and do not demonstrate any reduction in numbers.

But the meeting was told a large number of the workforce are also off sick with work related stress.

It comes as the results of a survey carried out by the CQC last year into maternity care at Sath have been shared.

The CQC survey highlights women’s views on all aspects of their maternity care from the first time they saw a clinician or midwife, during labour and birth, through to the care provided at home in the weeks following the arrival of their baby.

Sath, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, scored eight out of 10 or higher in 65 per cent of the questions asked.

Ms Jamieson said: “Mums told us they had confidence and trust in the staff caring for them during labour and birth which is the most important thing for any new mum.

"They also told us they were treated with dignity and respect during labour and the birth.

“Mums told us that they had a way to contact their midwife and if they needed to do so, they were given the help they needed and were spoken to in a way they could understand.

“We will continue to seek to improve in all areas, not just those where our scores were relatively low, but also in those areas where we performed well, to continue to provide the best possible experience for mums, babies and their families.”