'I'm deeply concerned Shrewsbury & Telford families are being sidelined': Frustration after county hospitals dropped from national maternity review
Families have reacted with anger and dismay at the decision to drop Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals from a national maternity review.
It was revealed yesterday that Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) was being removed from a list of 14 trusts across the country being examined by Baroness Valerie Amos as part of her National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation ordered by the government.
Baroness Amos said the decision had been taken after discussions with West Mercia Police - and because SaTH is currently the focus of an ongoing police investigation into its failings.
That investigation, Operation Lincoln, is assessing whether any criminal charges will be brought after the Ockenden Inquiry uncovered more than 200 cases where babies or mothers died due to SaTH's poor care.
In the wake of Baroness Amos' announcement families involved have expressed anger at the decision to remove the trust that has been the focus of England's biggest maternity scandal to date - along with the handling of informing traumatised families about the move.
Rhiannon Davies, whose campaigning was central to uncovering the failings at SaTH, said families would rightly feel let down by the decision, and the way it has been communicated.
She said: "It is just a knee-jerk decision, badly made, poorly informed and horrendously communicated."
Mrs Davies whose daughter Kate Stanton-Davies died avoidably while in SaTH's care, has written to Baroness Amos outlining her concerns - in a joint letter prepared with Kayleigh Griffiths.
Mrs Griffiths' daughter Pippa also tragically died avoidably while in the trust's care.
In the letter they express "profound disbelief" at the move, adding: "The experiences of families from Shrewsbury and Telford remain pivotal to understanding the origins and necessity of the national review.
"Those experiences were the catalyst for the first Ockenden Review, which in turn directly informed the establishment of your investigation.
"To disregard or exclude that perspective now would erase a vital part of the learning journey the review seeks to capture."
A spokesman for Baroness Amos' investigation said affected Shropshire families would still be able to contribute through the "call for evidence".
The Rev Charlotte Cheshire from Newport, whose own son was left seriously disabled following shocking failings in the care provided by SaTH, said she was appalled at the handling of the decision.
She said: "It is not new information to consider that if you have a family which has a baby who has died, or a mother who has died, or a baby and a mother who have both suffered irreparable harm, it does not need a psychology degree to realise there is trauma involved.
"So if you are going to look into those experiences - tread lightly. Do it in a trauma-informed way."
Rev Cheshire said she was disappointed that families had learned of the decision through the media.
She said: "The fact that other families found out from the media is even worse.
"It makes them feel that their stories do not matter."
Rev Cheshire said she had not been confident in the Government's 'rapid review' approach to delivering maternity improvements, but had been prepared to give it a chance.
She said: "I was ready to have my opinion changed but so far I am not seeing anything to have my opinion changed."
She also said she had been alarmed at the failure to approach other families involved in SaTH's failings, and had raised it with the Department of Health and Social Care - but had received no response.
Mrs Davies, Mrs Griffiths, and Rev Cheshire have all questioned how the ongoing police investigation prevents SaTH's inclusion.
In their letter Mrs Davies and Mrs Griffiths said: "We fully appreciate that nothing must undermine Operation Lincoln; nothing is more important. However, in line with the methodology and terms of reference of the Amos Review, this national investigation is intended to take a high-level, thematic approach focusing on system learning, national policy, and culture across maternity services.
"It is not a fact-finding inquiry into specific cases or events. On that basis, we cannot see how our participation - or indeed continuation of the review itself - could possibly interfere with an ongoing police investigation.
"Both Ockenden Reviews (in Shrewsbury and currently in Nottingham) have proceeded in parallel with police and regulatory investigations without any compromise to criminal proceedings.
"That precedent demonstrates the two processes can and do co exist appropriately, provided boundaries are respected. The Amos Review, operating at an even higher systemic level, presents no risk of interference."
Writing on her own blog Rev Cheshire said: "The investigation into maternity harm and avoidable death in Shrewsbury and Telford was the largest in NHS history with a final figure of 1,486 families involved, some of whom experienced multiple incidents of harm either to mothers or babies.
"It is a good thing that the police are investigating this situation, however as will always be the case with a wide ranging police investigation, these things take time – if I remember correctly, Operation Lincoln began over five years ago and shows no sign of concluding anytime soon; it is also presently limited to corporate manslaughter so many of our families do not fit this narrow remit.
"However, three years ago in 2022, the Ockenden Review into the catastrophic events in our area was published with no suggestion that doing so would harm police activities. So why should participating in a much less involved, rapid review do so?
"Once again, I am deeply concerned that families from Shrewsbury and Telford are being sidelined, our concerns ignored and our experiences dismissed.
"Our voices deserve to be heard, alongside those of other harmed families across the country, and lessons need to be learned from our experiences.
"There are 1,486 families in this area who have experienced avoidable bereavement, avoidable harm, lifelong disability and have had their lives changed forever as a direct result of care at our local hospitals that has been proven to be negligent."
Meanwhile North Shropshire's Liberal Democrat MP, Helen Morgan, has outlined her own worries over the developments.
She said: “I’m concerned that a review into maternity care in the UK will not be properly considering the most in-depth investigations into failings at a maternity unit over decades.
“Bereaved families have been through incredible tragedy and trauma and need to be listened to.
“SaTH is also an important case study in what happens when failures come to light – both in terms of what has been done well and what could have been better managed at the Trust since the Ockenden Review was published.”
