Family of baby who died in Leicester describe hospital report as 'concerning'

• ITV News Central Health Correspondent Nancy Cole went to meet the family

The family of a baby who was stillborn at a hospital in Leicester say they are "concerned" by a damning new report into 'inadequate' maternity services at two hospitals in the city.

Mason Hodges was stillborn at Leicester Royal Infirmary in January 2022.

A report after Mason died found multiple failings and missed opportunities to put care plans in place to ensure the wellbeing of both mother and baby, including timing of birth.

Today, the family say they are furious that changes they were promised by the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust after Mason's death have not come to fruition.

In an interview with ITV News Central Mason's father, Aaron Hodges, said: "Really it is the basics, the things that they failed us on, which really is the concern for future mums and babies going to that hospital.

"It really is concerning, we have said we will never step foot in that place again."

In the two weeks leading up to Mason's birth, his mother Ellie had all the main symptoms of pre-eclampsia including high blood pressure and sight loss but those concerns weren't acted on.

Mr Hodges added: "We got sent to the doctors and she [Ellie] had raised blood pressure.

"So then they sent us to the MAU at the Royal, and that's when, well it was never really diagnosed, it was always very wishy-washy with it."

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust admitted Mason would have been alive if he was delivered earlier due to Ellie's health concerns.

The family say they were assured changes had been put in place after Mason's death - including the BSOTS (Birmingham Symptom Specific Obstetric Triage System) to ensure staff have an overview of women's care.

Today's CQC report shows those issues still remain.

Mr Hodges said: "There were multiple failings, it's just basic stuff that's just not been followed, it was really disheartening."

He added: "It starts from management and higher up the pecking order, so something needs to change somewhere."

Mason's grandmother, Jo Holland, added: "I think they referred to Mason as an unfortunate outcome, which was disgusting to be perfectly honest.

"We'd had endless letters back and forwards where I was calling them out on their, to be brutally honest, lies and cover-ups.

"You know we picked holes in everything they said. Every time they wrote to us I went back with actually no, you didn't do this, you didn't do that."

The Trust has spoken about the findings of the report and wants to reassure families they are taking action.

What did today's report find?

Two maternity services in Leicester have been rated as inadequate following an inspection by the health watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission visited Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and St Mary's Birth Centre, run by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, in February and March.

Inspectors found that maternity services at both the Royal Infirmary and the General Hospital had moved down from "good" to "requires improvement".

The inspectors did say though that the overall rating for maternity services at St Mary’s Birth Centre remains "good".

What did the inspectors say?

Carolyn Jenkinson, deputy director of secondary and specialist healthcare, said: “When we inspected maternity services at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, we observed a deterioration in the level of care being provided to women, people using the service and their babies.

“The leadership team has recently restructured with many new posts still needing to be embedded.

"Leaders should continue to focus on improving their oversight of risks and managing performance so people can receive a better, and safer standard of care.

“Senior leaders already had plans in place to prioritise the main risks, including staffing levels, so we hope to see these changes embedded when we next inspect.

"Staff spoke positively about the new leadership team, describing them as visible and approachable and felt they supported staff to develop their skills and take on more senior roles.

"In addition, a matron had recently been appointed to focus solely on recruitment, retention, and staff wellbeing.

“Both services were regularly understaffed which placed people and their babies at risk.

"It also meant staff weren’t always able to take their breaks, which affected their well-being, morale and ability to do their job."

What does the Trust say?

Julie Hogg, chief nurse at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “Improving maternity services is a key priority and many of the highlighted challenges had already been identified before the inspection with plans in place to tackle them.

"However, we take the report and its findings incredibly seriously and are using them to drive further improvements for women and birthing people.

“Our new Director of Midwifery has overseen plans to strengthen staffing.

"Since January this year, 25 new midwives have joined us, and we will welcome 24 more in November.

"We have invested in new equipment and daily safety checking and made rapid improvements to cleanliness and infection prevention practices.

"We are also progressing plans for a new maternity theatre at the Leicester General Hospital, meaning that planned and emergency caesareans will take place in separate areas.

“While we know there is more to do to, we are committed to providing safe, high-quality and compassionate care and are encouraged that the reports highlight our hardworking staff and the actions being taken to ensure a culture of safety and openness.

“We have invited the CQC back to see the changes we have made and the positive impacts they are having on the safety and quality of our service.”

Open Letter from University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust in full

Dear parents, parents-to-be and families,

We are writing to you following publication of the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports into maternity services at our hospitals. The CQC inspected maternity services at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) in February and March 2023, as part of its new national maternity inspection programme.

Their findings were published on Wednesday 20 September.

Inspectors visited services at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, the Leicester General and St Mary’s Birth Centre, rating the overall UHL service as ‘Requires Improvement’.

This is a move down from our previous rating of ‘Good’.

We were also instructed to make immediate improvements in several areas following the inspections.

We understand this may be concerning to hear. We want to reassure you that we hadalready identified many of the challenges raised by the CQC and put plans in place toaddress them.

These changes are now embedding. They include improving our staffinglevels to ensure a consistently safe service for all.

Thirty-five new neonatal nurses have joined us since April last year, 25 new midwives have joined us since January, and a further 24 midwives will join UHL in November.

Other important changes include investment in new equipment and our estate, daily safety checking, and improvements to cleanliness and infection prevention practices.

We now have bereavement support in place 7 days a week and have separated telephone triage from our assessment unit to ensure that urgent calls are answered in a timely way by an experienced clinician.

We are also progressing work on a new maternity theatre at the Leicester GeneralHospital meaning that planned and emergency caesareans can take place in separate areas.

While we know there is much more to do to, we are encouraged by the reports’ reference to the commitment of our hardworking team and the actions being taken to ensure a culture of safety and openness.

We have invited the CQC back to see the changes we have made and the impact they are having on the safety and quality of our services.

Please be assured that Leicester remains a safe place to give birth, and there are several ways you can get in touch with us if you have any concerns.

If you are ever worried about the care you are receiving, please contact your community midwife or your named consultant in the first instance.

We promise to listen to you and take your concerns seriously.

If your concerns are not resolved or you wish to raise them to someone outside of the clinical team, you can contact our Patient Information and Liaison Service.

You may also wish to engage with the local Maternity & Neonatal Voice Partnership (MNVP), a network of local parents and health professionals that work together to help improve maternity care in our area.

We are committed to working with you to improve maternity services in Leicester and to ensure any feedback you have is heard, recognised, and acted upon.

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