Shropshire's midwifery department sees second high profile departure
Shropshire's midwifery department has seen its second high profile departure announced in the space of a week.
Sarah Jamieson, head of midwifery at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (Sath), has announced she will leave her role to take up another job in Staffordshire.
It comes after it was announced last week that Deirdre Fowler, director of nursing, midwifery and quality at the trust, will leave to move to a job with Bedford Hospital NHS Trust.
Ms Jamieson said she was sad to be leaving but was looking forward to taking up the new post.
She said: “I will be sad to leave my team at Sath after two-and-a-half years with the trust.
“I have been offered an exciting opportunity in Staffordshire and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my professional career.
“I would like to thank my colleagues at Sath for all the support I have received in my time here and wish everybody all the best for what is a very exciting future for the trust.”
Last week, it was announced that Mrs Fowler would be leaving the trust to take up a new role closer to her family.
She has been with Sath, which runs the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, since May 2017.
She said the decision to take on the new role had been a difficult one, but she was excited about the prospect of working closer to home.
Mrs Fowler also said the forthcoming Future Fit changes would allow the hospitals to achieve great things.
Sath's maternity unit has been faced with troubled times in recent months.
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.
The trust has also set up a new group to oversee its maternity services.
At a board meeting earlier this month, Ms Jamieson said that the stillbirth rate for 2018 was 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.
The board heard that the trust is taking on 10 new midwives.
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 also yet to reveal any conclusions.
