Health minister apologises for maternity care failings which led to preventable deaths of 45 babies

A minister has apologised after a damning report found the lives of 45 babies could have been saved if it were not for the failings of maternity care at an NHS Trust.

Health Minister Caroline Johnson said she was "profoundly sorry" to all families impacted by the failings at East Kent Hospitals

Dr Johnson also promised to “listen, learn and act” to prevent failings like those in East Kent from happening again.

She said: “Before I say more I want to say this, I am profoundly sorry to all the families affected.

“This should never have happened and we will work tirelessly to put it right.”

The health minister further paid tribute to the families whose “tireless determination to tell the truth” led to the investigation, telling the Commons: “Nothing we can do can bring back the children that they have lost, an awful tragic void of a life never lived.

“But now we know their stories we will listen, learn and act so that no other family should ever experience such a pain.”

She said the government was “already taking a number steps to improve the quality of maternity care in East Kent and across the country”.

And added: “An intensive programme of maternity support was put in place at East Kent Hospitals University Trust in September 2019.”

The health minister also thanked Bill Kirkup for his work with the report and recommendations, but added "it is vital they are not viewed in isolation."

She said: “As Dr Kirkup has said himself, since his Morecambe Bay investigation in 2015, maternity services have been the subject of more significant policy initiatives than any other service.

"So his recommendations must be considered alongside existing work to improve maternity outcomes.”

Conservative former minister Helen Whately, MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, posed a question to the minister in the Commons about the damning report.

She said: “Can she categorically assure me and all the parents-to-be who are soon to have babies in East Kent Trust that the maternity units in these hospitals are safe for them to give birth?”

To which, Caroline Johnson replied: “In terms of safety at East Kent Trust… the regional team are there, there’s also a maternity safety support team who are in the trust working actively on the ground to ensure that the lessons are learnt and services are improved.”

She added she has been given some figures that “demonstrate that the outcomes are improving” and there are “steps in place” to improve the quality of service.

Labour MP for Canterbury Rosie Duffield said: “It’s clear there has been an utterly toxic and dysfunctional culture within maternity services at East Kent Hospitals Trust and it’s shocking and disturbing, and made so much worse by the revelation that the trust tried to cover these cases up.

“Mothers were treated appallingly and babies died. I cannot comprehend what they had to endure and I am so angry on their behalf.”

Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale (North Thanet) commended the parents for their 'quiet dignity' in the face of 'horrific circumstances'.

While Shadow Health Minister Feryal Clark said: “Sadly this is another example of women’s voices not just being ignored but being silenced.”

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