The Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation was an independent investigation into the management, delivery and outcomes of care provided by the maternity and neonatal services at the Furness General Hospital, between 2004 to 2013. The Report was published in 2015 and highlighted major failures in care that patients received during this period.
It was discovered that there were twenty instances of significant failures of care at the Furness General Hospital, associated with three maternal deaths and sixteen baby deaths shortly after birth. The report showed that if reasonable clinical care was given, it is expected that one maternal death and eleven baby deaths would have been prevented.
The maternity department lacked the ability to provide safe and effective care for its patients. The report found several reasons explaining why this was the case.
- Clinical competence amongst staff fell significantly below the required standard due to a lack of essential knowledge and a failure to apply the basic principles of paediatric and maternity care.
- Working relationships between different groups of staff particularly amongst midwives, obstetricians and paediatricians, was extremely poor.
- A small number of dominant staff had an over-zealous approach to natural childbirth which led to inappropriate and unsafe care.
These errors committed by the maternity staff at Furness General Hospital meant that mothers and babies experienced major failures in care. This is highlighted in the case of 9-day-old Joshua Titcombe, who died as a result of an infection which should have been noticed by midwives. The parents’ fear for Joshua’s health was also ignored by medical staff.
In light of this report, Pearse Butler who is the Chair of Morecambe Bay Trust said that “The Trust has made some very serious mistakes. More than that, the same mistakes were repeated. For these reasons, on behalf of the Trust, I apologise unreservedly to the families concerned. I am deeply sorry that so many people have suffered.”
Unfortunately, these major faults are not limited to Furness General Hospital. More recently, it has been reported that Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust are also responsible for serious failures in maternity and paediatric care.
If you believe that you or your baby received a lack of care whilst in hospital, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us and we would be happy to help you.
