Shropshire baby deaths: Health campaigner says hospital failings must lead to action
A Shropshire health campaigner says improvements in the wake of the county's maternity scandal are vital to avoid services being lost.
Gill George of Shropshire Defend our NHS said she was concerned that without action to address the failings identified in the Ockenden Report measures could be taken to dissolve the Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH).
Similar action was taken in the wake of the Mid Staffordshire scandal, where the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was shut down, and the management of its hospitals transferred to other organisations.
Mrs George said the catalogue of failings listed in the Ockenden Report raised serious concerns about the future of the trust.
She said investment is required in staff at the hospitals.
"SaTH has been in special measures for a long time – since 2018," said Mrs George.
"The leadership makes lots of positive noises but has not delivered – the staff survey results show that from a front-line point of view things are getting worse."
She added: "There are significant problems but if it is put into special administration then the possibility is a lot of services would be packed up and moved to other trusts like Stoke or Wolverhampton and where would that leave services in a large rural county?
"We need funding. I think it is absolutely vital. SaTH has been starved of funding it needs for a long time. We need investment in staff and change in culture. The lack of accountability and transparency is deeply engrained."
Mrs George said the prospect raised by Donna Ockenden of staff not feeling safe to speak up over concerns was particularly worrying.
"Unless staff feel confident in speaking out on areas of clinical concern, and unless staff start acting when people raise those concerns, it is not going to get better," she said.
