Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Scandal

[RedToothBrush]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-shropshire-50472199?__twitter_impression=true
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital: Babies and mums died 'amid toxic culture'

Babies and mothers died amid a "toxic" culture at a hospital trust stretching back 40 years, a report has said.

And

Its initial scope was to examine 23 cases but this has now grown to more than 270 , covering the period from 1979 to the present day.

The cases include 22 stillbirths, three deaths during pregnancy, 17 deaths of babies after birth, three deaths of mothers, 47 cases of substandard care and 51 cases of cerebral palsy or brain damage.

The interim report said the number of cases it is now being asked to review "seems to represent a longstanding culture at this trust that is toxic to improvement effort".

It's horrific. You would think about the Kirkup report into Morecambe Bay things would have improved, but obviously not.

Nope.

And sadly I can't say I'm really surprised sadly.

Another one. So awful. Still think sometimes about the families who suffered at Furness Hospital.

Just horrific. Why does seem to keep happening?

My ten cents - hospitals are too big. Last time we were in A and E we saw loads of different staff. One person came in and attached a wristband. Another came in and did X another came in and did Y. It was a conveyor belt.

It was similar when I had DC. No set person to look after me. Everyone was responsible for everyone. So no one is responsible.

This is how you start seeing patients as not people. When a mother is in distress they’ve “seen all this rubbish before” and miss vital signs. Its because they’ve not built up even the smallest rapport with that actual patient due to conveyor belt staffing. Dehumanisation occurs.

Ah shI t, my sister had a stillbirth at that hospital. Does anyone know where the full report can be found?

So sorry for your sister and your family Arella

The report was leaked to the Independent so the full version has yet to see the light of day. It is horrible to read the details (even as someone with no connection to the hospital).

www.independent.co.uk/news/health/shrewsbury-maternity-scandal/nhs-maternity-scandal-shrewsbury-telford-hospitals-mothers-babies-report-a9207176.html

Thank you - it was devastating in so many ways for her mostly but also our family; I don’t even know if I want to bring it to her attention or not. I think if there was even the thought that her loss was not inevitable, I don’t know what I want to say actually.
But thank you

The bit about the baby decomposing so badly after post-mortem that the mother could not see it one final time before burial - I remember my sister was told she could not see her baby after the post-mortem, she was told that she would be able to, and then that she could not. Now I wonder about the time between her stillbirth and the release of the body and what on earth happened. I wonder if they are notifying parents whose babies were involved/being investigated. I don’t even know if that would be better or worse to know. This is just every level of shit, it really is.
Sorry for posting that here if that upsets anyone.

Not at all Arella. It may be that someone with more knowledge of hospitals and this kind of oversight will be able to give you some advice.

Losing a baby is terrible enough but to hear about these abuses and have to revisit the details of your own family's experience without knowing for sure is just awful.

I'm very sorry for your sister's loss, Arella. I can't imagine how she must have felt at the time, and since.

Very sad reading these disclosures.

Thank you

The reporting of this is sobering and distressing. My sincere sympathies to Arella and all the families affected.

My sister had such poor care during the delivery of her preterm baby that she nearly lost her and could have died too, as a partial placental abruption had been completely overlooked. During her debrief, the midwife asked her to lodge a formal complaint so they’d have more cases/evidence to push for the department to be properly resourced. I saddens me to say it, but I have a horrible feeling that Telford is only the tip of a very large iceberg. In writing this, I don’t wish to diminish or minimise what happened in Telford, which is beyond the pale - but to note that I think there are likely to be other, similar cases in future.

It appears that the Telford issues are still lingering on? And yes BettyFilous it seems as if this is just one of a number of similar cases. Certainly my own experience of hospital maternity care highlighted numerous toxic institutionalised behaviours from staff that contrasted poorly compared other types of hospital care that I've experienced.

I think the problems in this case were at a midwife led unit with hostility to doctors and an obsession with natural delivery at all costs. There is often a bit of friction between midwives and obstetricians, and territorial disputes, in my experience (36 years as a hospital doctor) and I’m just surprised that it doesn’t lead to morbidity and mortality more often.
If a midwife has been with a patient for hours of labour, they’re keen to get the delivery, and reluctant to hand the patient over for instrumental delivery instead, if things are not progressing.
Sure, there are also issues of under resourcing and staffing, but I think the idea of having separate autonomous midwife units is a recipe for disaster. It leads to a sense of failure if they have to transfer the patient to a hospital labour suite, so that delays the decision.
If you’re labouring in a consultant led unit, the obstetric staff will be keeping a watching brief on you and can intervene much sooner.

Sorry to read about what happened to your sister Arella 💐

I agree that this is a result of staff placing their egos above the care of the patient, can’t even be blamed on resources when it goes back 40 years. How do we resolve it? Accountability - does this actually mean anything in reality or is it just another sound bite? Improving relations between healthcare professionals - all too often there is a them and us scenario. Is there a need for training/CPD to be more intertwined to build trust between staff?
Sometimes I think the constant changes and meddling in the NHS means staff morale is low, how can you have pride in developing a service when nothing is constant? Just my thoughts.

My heart goes out to all the families but it doesn’t surprise me. Ds2’s birth many many things went wrong and I’ve been told to get a solicitor if I even want a debrief. The amount of covering and lack of admittance of mistakes in healthcare is shocking.

Really grim for mother's in rural areas. 30mile journey to Shrewsbury if local maternity unit at Ludlow closed. On shockingly accident prone/flooded A49. Shutting excellent, local rural maternity units to go and experience poor care at Shrewsbury/Telford. Bloody criminal.

I gave birth in Ludlow solely because when in labour, I couldn't face the trip along the A49, so stayed in the midwife led unit where I had a horrible time with a useless midwife and her sadistic sidekick. As the midwife was the boss and seemingly did most births, I'm not surprised about any of it. This was fifteen years ago, and having heard what friends said about giving birth in Shrewsbury, and given my experience, the whole lot should be closed

I think the problems in this case were at a midwife led unit with hostility to doctors and an obsession with natural delivery at all costs

I agree.