Babies Might Have Survived With Better Care At East Kent Hospitals

An independent review of maternity services at East Kent NHS Hospitals Trust has been published this week.

The investigation into maternity services at East Kent NHS Hospitals Trust was called for after multiple failings were highlighted in the Trust’s maternity care at the Inquest relating to the death of baby Harry Richford in 2017. The Coroner found in that case that baby Harry’s death was “wholly avoidable”.

Independent review of maternity services at East Kent NHS Hospitals Trust

The independent review was chaired by Dr Bill Kirkup and looked at the care provided from 2009 at two hospitals in Margate and Ashford.

The report has concluded that up to 45 babies might have survived had they received better care at East Kent NHS Hospitals Trust.

A “clear pattern” of “sub-optimal” care that led to significant harm was found, and the report said that families were ignored.

The independent review added that East Kent NHS Hospitals Trust had given the appearance of “covering up the scale and systemic nature” of its failings.

The investigators found that harm was not restricted to just physical damage, but there was also a repeated lack of kindness and compassion, even after injuries and deaths had occurred.

“Gross failures” were also identified in the team-work across the Trust’s maternity services.

The report said:

Following the Inquest into the death of Harry Richford, directives for improvement were made, but the Trust failed to implement almost all of the recommendations.

Dr Kirkup spoke to the press following the release of the report this week and commented that the most troubling aspect of his review was the attitude and behaviours of some Trust staff towards families with legitimate complaints.

He said that the scale of the failings identified were “deplorable and harrowing” and that there was much anger among the families he had met and spoken with.

Trust Chief Executive, Tracey Fletcher, said that she apologised unreservedly for the harm and suffering caused. She said:

She has said that the Trust will act on the report, and that numbers of midwives and doctors within the Trust have been increased, and investments made in staff training, and in listening to and acting on feedback from the people who receive its care.

Comment

As expected, this report will have made for incredibly distressing reading for all those impacted by the failures at this Trust. It is terrifying to read that, at the very basics, the care, kindness, and compassion that should be so easy to provide were not even there.

Patient safety has clearly been last on the list of priorities for East Kent and it is imperative that the findings of this report are not allowed to fall on deaf ears again. Action must be taken to improve services now, and prevent this from happening to any other innocent families.