Shropshire baby deaths: Calls for greater local oversight in wake of hospital maternity scandal

At a meeting of Shropshire Council’s cabinet, members said they owed it to residents to ensure there is better scrutiny of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) and other health partners, to prevent past failures from being repeated.

The council is set to become part of the county’s new Integrated Care Board (ICB) later this year in a shake-up of how health services in England are commissioned, brought about by the Health and Care Bill.

It comes after maternity expert Donna Ockenden's review inquiry into the Shropshire maternity scandal found at least 201 babies and nine mothers could have been saved if SaTH had provided better care.

In a question to cabinet, Labour councillor Kate Halliday, who sits on both the council’s health and adult social care scrutiny committee and the joint health overview and scrutiny committee (JHOSC) with Telford & Wrekin, said the authority should also be acting to improve its scrutiny of local health providers.

She said: “The Ockenden Report is damning regarding the practices and culture of SaTH maternity services over the past 20 years.

“It highlights poor clinical practice, an inability to learn from mistakes, a culture of not listening to staff and patient concerns, and underfunding and understaffing all of which led to the avoidable deaths and injury to children and women in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

“It is the families’ bravery in continuing to fight for answers that led to the review of maternity services. This cannot happen again.

“Shropshire Council is an important partner with SaTH.

“In July we will form part of the ICB together with our health partners in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

“We owe it to our residents to maximise our scrutiny of services on their behalf.

“What can Shropshire Council do to ensure that in the future health services do not repeat the tragic mistakes of SaTH maternity services?”

Council leader Lezley Picton said the authority’s leadership “have asked this very question – what more can Shropshire Council do?”

She said: “We have be reassured by the trust that many measures and recommendations in the report are already in place to improve services and the trust is making itself accountable to the parents and families affected, in order to restore public confidence and transform its culture.

“We hope that this report can give the families the answers they seek, while ensuring that SaTH can now be fully focused on further improving its services and resolving the long-term questions about how it is organised.”

Councillor Picton said the council’s role would be to seek assurance on behalf of residents and use its scrutiny process to hold health bosses to account.

This will be done through the scrutiny committees and the Health and Wellbring Board, as well as working with other partners on the new ICB “to hold each other and the trust to account for performance”, she said.

Councillor Picton added: “We continue to want the best possible healthcare for our residents and need to both challenge and support the trust.”

She also said the county’s MPs have regular meetings with SaTH which the council would be requesting the chairs of the two scrutiny committees and health and wellbeing board be able to join.

In a separate question Councillor Heather Kidd, who also sits on both scrutiny committees, asked cabinet to “lobby government to upgrade the role of JHOSC”, and make links with sector regulator the Care Quality Commission and Healthwatch Shropshire, which champions the views and voices of patients.

Councillor Kidd said: “All our roles need to be reviewed and strengthened.”

Councillor Picton said cabinet “supports strengthening the role of scrutiny” and would work with the chairs of JHOSC to lobby for this.