East Kent maternity deaths: Scandal-hit trust sets out action plan

An independent review in October found that at least 45 babies might have survived

An NHS trust is rolling out an action plan after a watchdog found services were still unsafe following a damning report into care last autumn.

East Kent Hospitals will take measures after the the Care Quality Commission (CQC) raised concerns last month.

The trust is also writing to all residents in east Kent after last October's independent review found dozens of babies died unnecessarily.

The trust said changes had been made but there was more to do.

The review, which was chaired by Dr Bill Kirkup CBE, concluded that at least 45 babies might have survived with better care at the trust.

Board papers for trust directors this week said areas of concern raised by the CQC in January were fire safety, fetal monitoring and escalation, maternity triage and infection control.

A serious incident in July identified maternity triage risks, including women not being seen within 15 minutes of arrival due to staffing challenges, and women not being reviewed by the doctor in the appropriate time because of lack of dedicated obstetric medical cover.

Analysis

By Mark Norman, health correspondent, BBC South East

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that there are still ongoing problems within the maternity departments at East Kent.

The issues revealed by the Kirkup report were systemic and of such scale that everyone realised there were no quick fixes.

But as the trust itself acknowledges in this week's board meeting papers, the recent Care Quality Commission inspection was "disappointing" and "underlines the reality that we have still issues to address".

Many families who were affected by this scandal will be frustrated by the slow progress but equally determined to make sure the trust holds good to its promise to "fundamentally transform" the way it works - with what the trust describes as a "commitment to openness and honesty".

An independent review was chaired by Dr Bill Kirkup CBE

Following the Kirkup report, board members are also being asked to approve a open letter to east Kent residents.

The draft letter listed Dr Kirkup's findings, including that clinical care was not good enough, and that the trust did not listen to women, families and, at times, its own staff.

It said the report highlighted that care lacked kindness and compassion and the consequences were devastating. It added that the board had apologised unreservedly.

Improvements were being made, the letter said, but it added: "While we have made some progress, there have been previous efforts to tackle some of these problems and they have not been successful.

"We are determined to make sure that does not happen again."

Sarah Shingler, the trust's chief nursing and midwifery officer, said the CQC recognised some improvements, but also identified areas of concern.

She said: "We have taken immediate action to address these to ensure we are delivering the high-quality care we and our patients expect.

"This includes employing a dedicated fetal heart monitoring midwife, adding an automated electronic alert for staff when a fetal monitoring check is due, increased doctor cover of triage at William Harvey Hospital, changes to fire routes and strengthening processes around regular cleanliness checks."

She said the trust continued to work hard to improve services, including its work "to listen and act on feedback from those using our care".

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].