Head of midwifery and chief nurse at Rotherham NHS Trust offers “heartfelt condolences” to families affected by Ockenden review

The review of review of maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust concluded that the service “often failed to safeguard mothers and their babies” between 2000 to 2019.

Donna Ockenden's report found that more than 200 babies may have died due to “repeated failures” within the trust.

It also found that staff were reluctant to perform Caesarean sections, and some mothers and babies were left with life-long conditions as a result of their care.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the House of Commons that he report “paints a tragic and harrowing picture of repeated failures in care over two decades which led to unimaginable trauma for so many people.”

In a joint statement from the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, head of midwifery, Sarah Petty and interim chief nurse, Helen Dobson said the report is a “difficult read for all.”

“Maternity Services in England are under a lot of scrutiny and surveillance, focusing on Maternity safety, to ensure that the services we provide to our mothers, families and their babies are safe, kind and personalised,” adds the statement.

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“The report is a difficult read for all, and we would like to reassure everyone who uses our services, as well as our colleagues, that The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust is committed to improving outcomes for women and babies.

“We have implemented a number of quality improvement initiatives to improve the care that we offer, following best practice guidance.

“We work very hard to ensure that our service is open and honest in our approach to reporting and investigating incidents, with an embedded culture of learning and striving to provide patients with outstanding care and birth experiences.

“We will continue to work with our teams and our service users to further embed the learning from the second Ockenden report.

“We will continue to listen to the views and feedback from women and families who use our Maternity Services and ensure that we fully engage with families

on all service improvements and developments.

“We appreciate that many of you may be upset by the report and we encourage you to discuss any concerns with your Midwife.”