Midwife satisfied with Shrewsbury and Telford maternity improvements

Annmarie Lawrence has been reporting on progress since the Ockenden report

A county's top midwife says she is "very satisfied" with progress made since a baby deaths inquiry.

The Ockenden report in March 2022 found failures at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) had contributed to the deaths of 201 babies and nine mothers over the course of 20 years.

Director of midwifery, Annmarie Lawrence, said the trust was ahead of schedule in addressing the recommendations raised in the report.

She said fewer meetings were needed.

Ms Lawrence told SaTH's board of directors: "We are exceeding expectations and I am very satisfied with where we are currently."

She said as of last month, 47 of the 52 actions set out in an initial report in 2020 had been addressed.

Of the 158 actions in the final report, 133 had been addressed and 107 of them were recorded as being "evidenced and assured".

She suggested the monthly meetings of the Ockenden Review Assurance Committee should become bi-monthly, to allow more time to give "additional time and capacity to support some of those more extensive actions".

In November last year, the trust announced it was hiring 25 newly qualified midwives after the Ockenden report highlighted staffing levels as an issue.

The report, led by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, came about after grieving parents campaigned for years for an inquiry and it found babies' deaths were often not investigated and parents were not listened to.

This meant, the report found, "failures in care were repeated" and some mothers were blamed for deaths.

It also found some babies who lived, suffered life-changing injuries.