More failings at Furness hospital maternity unit says Monitor

The CQC last month gave the hospital trust until mid-November to sort out "significant problems"

Further examples of failings at a maternity unit in Cumbria have been highlighted by an NHS watchdog.

The unit at Furness General Hospital in Barrow-in-Furness is under investigation after the deaths of a number of babies and mothers.

In a letter to the hospital trust, the regulator Monitor says it has found more examples of "long standing concerns".

The trust has agreed to Monitor's external review of management.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust recorded two recent incidents on 27 and 28 September 2011, one in maternity and the other regarding safeguarding in paediatrics.

Both incidents have provided Monitor with evidence of staff not following guidelines.

The letter comes after the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said governance, risk management, collaborative working and leadership needed to improve in the unit.