An independent enquiry was carried out into procedures at Furness General Hospital in Barrow, Cumbria, leading to the discovery of shocking failures ‘at every level’, spanning almost a decade.
Commenting on the findings of The Reports of the Morecambe Bay Investigation, committee chair Dr Bill Kirkup revealed that the investigation documented a series of events that led to avoidable harm to mothers and children.
As well as ‘shocking’ substandard clinical competence, and poor working relationships between staff groups, the report also shed light on instances where midwives had conspired to cover up mistakes.
“Had any of those opportunities been taken, the sequence of failures to recognise the nature and severity of the problem with, in some cases, denial that any problem existed, and a series of missed opportunities to intervene that involved almost every level of the NHS,” said Dr Kirkup.
Most shockingly, the study found 20 instances of major failures of care linked to the deaths of 16 babies at or shortly after birth, and a further three maternal deaths.
The investigation was launched in late 2013 following a series of deaths at the hospital, and six midwives are now facing disciplinary hearings.
This is absolutely frightening, and we can’t imagine what the families of those affected are going through right now.
