Date set for final report into Shropshire maternity scandal

The report will be the second detailing failures in care provided by Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which manages both Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Maternity expert Donna Ockenden has been leading the inquiry into the trust since 2017.

Her first report was published in December 2020, and examined 250 cases.

It detailed shocking and harrowing findings about the experiences of mothers, fathers, and their babies, and led to a series of recommendations for the improvement of maternity care at the trust, and across England.

The final report is expected to include findings from nearly 1,900 cases.

A publication date of Tuesday, March 22, has been set for the release of the report.

The inquiry was launched after Rhiannon Davies and her partner Richard Stanton, and Kayleigh and Colin Griffiths, wrote to the-then health secretary Jeremy Hunt in 2017.

Both families had suffered tragedy at the hands of the trust with the deaths of Ms Davies and Mr Stanton's daughter, Kate, and Mr and Mrs Griffiths' daughter, Pippa, judged to have been avoidable.

The scope of the investigation has expanded significantly throughout the review. The initial inquiry was looking at around 60 cases, but that has risen to nearly 1,900.

While the inquiry has been ongoing West Mercia Police have also launched a criminal investigation into maternity care at the trust, called Operation Lincoln.