Morecambe Bay Trust Inquiry

A day after it was revealed failings led to the unnecessary deaths of 11 babies and one mother, attention is now turning to the future of the maternity unit at Furness General.

David Cameron told parliament during Prime Minister's Question Time that following the Morecambe report it is important that problems don't get 'swept under the carpet'.

Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock has pressed the prime minister to implement in full the recommendations of the Kirkup report into the tragic deaths of babies and mothers at Furness General Hospital.

Speaking at prime minister’s questions following Tuesday’s publication of the report, John asked David Cameron to honour the struggle of the families who lost loved ones as a result of failures at the maternity unit, by ensuring that all of Dr Kirkup’s recommendations for the wider NHS were adopted as quickly as possible.

Responding, the prime minister expressed his sympathies for the families.

University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust has apologised unreservedly to the families of those who suffered as a result of poor care in the maternity unit at Furness General Hospital between 2004 and 2013.

Pearse Butler, the chair of the Trust Board said, “This Trust made some very serious mistakes in the way it cared for mothers and their babies. More than that, the same mistakes were repeated. And after making those mistakes, there was a lack of openness from the Trust in acknowledging to families what had happened.

This report vindicates these families.

“For these reasons, on behalf of the Trust, I apologise unreservedly to the families concerned. I’m deeply sorry that so many people have suffered as a result of these mistakes. As the Chair of the Trust Board, it’s my duty to ensure that lessons are learned and that we do everything we possibly can to make sure nothing like this happens again.”

The Trust welcomes the publication of the Morecambe Bay Investigation report, accepts and acknowledges the criticisms and accepts its recommendations without reservation.

Towards the end of the period covered by this report - as a consequence of the problems in maternity and neonatal services - the whole Trust board changed and the Secretary of State for Health commissioned the Morecambe Bay Investigation.

The new board recognised the need for improvement in our maternity and neonatal services and the Trust has now made a number of service improvements including the following:

• We’ve made a significant investment in staffing with over 50 additional midwives and doctors.
• We’ve improved culture and team working at the Trust introducing, for
• example, multi-disciplinary ward rounds that take place four times a day on our maternity units.
• And we’ve improved patient safety by ensuring best practice and learning are shared consistently across all of our hospitals.

The Morecambe Bay Investigation report notes that concerns over clinical practice were confined to Furness General Hospital and concludes that significant progress is being made at this maternity unit.

Jackie Daniel, the Trust chief executive, said: “We welcome these comments but we must not be complacent. We will address all the recommendations in this report to ensure that we further improve the services we offer to women and families, across our hospitals.”

David Cameron told parliament during Prime Minister's Question Time that following the Morecambe report it is important that problems don't get 'swept under the carpet'. He highlighted the newly created post of 'Chief Inspector of Hospitals' and said that the government had to work out how to 'turn a hospital around':

The Kirkup report found 11 babies and one mother died following "a lethal mix" of failures in a "seriously dysfunctional" maternity unit at Furness General Hospital.

ITV Granada Correspondent Elaine Willcox has followed this story from the beginning and looks at the findings of the report and how it investigated ''the broken contract'' between a hospital and the people in its care.

The chief executive of the NHS Confederation has refused to answer questions about the failings at Morecambe NHS Trust.

Mike Farrar was asked about the independent inquiry after he had hosted a discussion panel at the UK e-Health Week event at Olympia in London.

James Titcombe's baby son Joshua died after an infection which could have been treated.

He's angry staff at the hospital failed to speak out after the failures.

But he hopes the legacy of Joshua's death and others at Furness General, will make the whole of maternity services safer in the future.

Read more: 'Lethal mix of failures' led to deaths of 11 babies at maternity unit at Furness General Hospital

The chief executive of Morecambe NHS Trust has apologised to "all those who suffered" because of the failings at one its maternity units.

In a press conference, Jackie Daniel admitted there had been serious failings, saying: "The Trust accepts the board's recommendations without reservation. It is a definitive picture of what happened between 2004 and 2013."

The chief executive added that since the Health secretary commissioned the report, the leadership of the Trust had changed and made some improvements which the Kirkup report recognised. However, Daniel realised that there was still much more to, particularly at Furness.

"I would like to add my own apology. During the period covered by this investigation there were some very serious failings," she said. "The Trust then failed to show openness and transparency in acknowledging those failings. So, on behalf of all the staff at the Trust I want to say sorry."

The Morecambe Bay inquiry has found 11 babies and one mother died following "a lethal mix" of failures in a "seriously dysfunctional" maternity unit at Furness General Hospital.

Leigh Young lost her baby daughter during childbirth.

You can see more of this interview on tonight's Granada Reports at 6pm.