Shropshire maternity improvements to be monitored by new 'family board', reveals expert Donna Ockenden
A new family board will oversee progress on improvements to maternity services at Shropshire's hospitals.
The board will provide families affected by maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) the chance to monitor progress following the findings of the Ockenden Inquiry in 2022.
The investigation, led by maternity expert Donna Ockenden, confirmed years of failings in maternity care at SaTH.
It concluded there were more than 200 cases where mothers died, where babies were stillborn, or there was neonatal death, that had significant or major concerns – and where different care would have resulted in a different outcome.
As part of the final report Mrs Ockenden issued a series of immediate and essential actions - for improvements in maternity at SaTH specifically, and across the country.
Mrs Ockenden said the new family board, which will meet for the first time in the New Year, is being created because families involved in the inquiry felt they had not been informed of progress following the final report.
Mrs Ockenden also revealed that independent and trusted colleagues outside of Shropshire would be tasked with oversight on SaTH's progress.
She said: "I was asked by the trust and NHS England, last year actually, to come back to Shropshire to act as an independent bridge between the trust and local communities, which would help families, because I'm a known and trusted voice for so many families, and would help the trust themselves, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, in their ongoing journey of maternity improvement."
Mrs Ockenden said she had written to families involved back in September last year to ask if they wished to take part, adding that they are now in regular contact with more than 150 families.
She said they would also welcome contact from any other families - with a direct e-mail set up or a phone number to call.
Mrs Ockenden explained that the work to set up the panel has started - and it would operate in a similar manner to a board running as part of the investigation into failures in maternity services in Nottingham.
She said: "We have now begun preparation for a family board - a formal working group of families from across Shropshire that'll be able to report in to the trust board and a structure called the learning and improvement group.
"It is very similar to the structure we have in Nottingham, where the learning and improvement process, which meets formally every two months, has to show evidence of improvement in real time - and it has to be in a way that families have confidence.
"So I think we've achieved a lot. I guess the last six months have been about putting down foundations because we all know you can't build a house without putting down foundations."
'Everyone who was at the meeting left feeling really positive'
Mrs Ockenden said she had met with a number of families on Thursday (November 27) to discuss the progress on the plans - with a 'really positive' feeling about the way forward, and a further meeting planned for January.
She said draft terms of reference are in place for the board and added: "I think everyone who was there last night left feeling really positive that they can be a part of this ongoing return to improvement journey."
Mrs Ockenden said the idea had been developed because of worries from families about seeing that the improvements have been effective.
She said: "The trust are really clear that they've worked very hard on the immediate and essential actions, but what families conveyed to me, and actually to NHS England, was they hadn't seen the evidence of it.
"So the trust were working really hard at implementing all of my findings, my immediate and essential actions, but families wanted more reassurance and that what the trust was saying was actually happening.
"So in response to that I was asked to come back and act as this independent bridge between the trust and families.
"As a part of that we're setting up the family board, as a further part of that - and, you know, I have to be really fair to the trust, they are having external scrutiny of their improvement journey from colleagues who work outside Shropshire and outside this whole local health economy.
"So I think the trust have shown really good will in listening to the fact that under previous leadership - of course we've got a new chief executive and a new chairman - under previous leadership after the conclusion of the Ockenden report in March 2022, the trust didn't do enough to engage with families.
"They've been honest about that. We are now in a different place. The current leadership of the trust is absolutely committed to working with families in a very collaborative way and I'm here to assist that journey, I suppose, until I am not needed anymore."
SaTH said the trust "hopes to build relationships that lead to meaningful and lasting change".
Group chief executive Jo Williams said: "We are grateful to the families for working with us as we continue to improve our maternity services. We hope to build relationships that lead to meaningful and lasting change.
"We would like to thank Donna Ockenden for her support as we strive to provide outstanding and trusted care. We will listen, learn and act upon feedback."
People who wish to contact Mrs Ockenden and her team about the new board can email [email protected] or call 01243 786993.
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