East Kent hospitals: Troubleshooter brought in to baby death NHS trust

Maternity services at the QEQM are being closely monitored by the health watchdog

A troubleshooter has been drafted in to a hospital trust which has been at the centre of a scandal over baby deaths.

Sir David Dalton has been deployed to East Kent Hospitals Trust after it began rolling out an action plan.

It comes after a watchdog said in January that conditions remained unsafe at the trust, which runs two hospitals in Margate and Ashford.

In October, an independent review said that at least 45 babies might have survived with better care at the trust.

The review, which was chaired by Dr Bill Kirkup CBE, also uncovered a "clear pattern" of "sub-optimal" care that led to significant harm, and said families were ignored.

Analysis

By Mark Norman, BBC South East health correspondent

Sir David is a big hitter who will enter the East Kent boardroom with a reputation for problem solving.

Some will question whether this should have been done earlier, perhaps in October last year with the publication of the Kirkup report.

Others will question if three months is enough time to make sustainable changes to the culture of a trust that is struggling in so many departments.

He describes himself as an expert in "supporting complex strategic change".

He may well need all his skills in the next few months as he gets to grip with the challenges facing East Kent Hospitals.

The Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in Margate and the William Harvey in Ashford have been told to give monthly updates to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after it raised the safety concerns earlier this year.

A spokesman for NHS England said: "As part of NHS England's recovery support programme for East Kent, Sir David will be working alongside the trust for a three-month period to offer advice and support on an integrated improvement plan, which is standard practice as part of the programme."

The East Kent Hospitals Trust says the improvement plan is due to be presented to the trust's board of directors at its next meeting on 6 April.

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