Midwife says baby deaths were preventable without 'bullying' at embattled East Kent Hospital Trust

A midwife says 'the deaths of some babies could've been prevented had there not been a bullying culture' within maternity services at East Kent Hospitals.

That was one of the findings revealed in the damning Kirkup report, which found dozens of babies died or were left brain damaged by poor care within maternity services run by the Trust, and that the deaths of 45 babies at the trust could have been avoided, if if nationally recognised standards of care had been provided.

It comes as an ITV Meridian investigation found there were multiple formal cases of bullying and harassment submitted to the East Kent Hospitals Trust, but many more went unreported.

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request found there have been 8 formal cases of bullying and harassment among maternity staff at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford and the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate since 2009.

A former midwife who worked at hospitals run by the Trust has told us that junior staff were picked on, and if you weren't part of the so called 'A-Team' you were given shorter breaks, and the most complicated births to deal with - without any support.

'Jane' who spoke to us before the report was published, believed staff working in the units were overworked. She says the culture was one of the contributing reasons she left the profession.

• 'Jane' says she couldn't raise her concerns with management

The word bullying appears 67 times in the report, with one senior member of staff at the trust describing maternity services as 'a vipers’ nest.'

Dr Bill Kirkup who led the inquiry said the 'Bullying and inappropriate behaviour within the Trust and maternity services' was a 'missed opportunity' in his findings, and the treatment of many women and babies at hospitals run by the Trust was "deplorable and harrowing".

The report explains how when one midwife was asked 'what is a good day for you? They replied “getting to the car, across the car park, at the end of the day without bursting into tears”.

Other mentions of bullying in the report include:

• staff feeling intimidated and undermined in front of patients,

• alleged racism

• New staff were made to feel unwelcome, were excluded from cliques, and were given challenging cases and expected to manage them without support.

• staff were unprepared to put bullying claims in writing

“There were quite a few senior midwives who had been qualified for a while who were bullies, there was a huge bullying culture while I was there," 'Jane' added.

"You’d get picked on, you feel scared to go and discuss anything with them, you certainly couldn’t go to your head of midwifery - which you should be able to do but you never see them. 

“You'd feel dismissed or feel like you’re not doing your job properly.

"Instead of saying let’s go have a cuppa and discuss what’s on your mind, it was well why can’t you do that, why not, why not, and you’re just pushed to the ground.

“Because they’re not full time staff, and they are working for agencies, they’re treated completely differently.

"They (agency staff) would be assigned the women where there could be potential complications with their births - the most complicated ones.

"Whilst they’re working in East Kent, they’re not working for East Kent, they’re working for an agency so it doesn’t affect the trust."

The inquiry also found that the Royal College of Midwives discouraged a head of midwifery at the trust from whistleblowing about bullying.

They advised against disclosure in the interests of patient safety because of the risk it posed to their future career prospects and instead told them to resign and move on.

The report suggested the RCM are partly to blame, when they knew about the dysfunctional culture at the Trust.

The college wouldn't comment on individual cases highlighted in the report - but say they do support whistleblowers.

• Abbie Aplin from Royal College of Midwives says staff are encouraged to have their say.

In a statement, Sarah Shingler, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer for East Kent Hospitals said:

“The behaviours described in the report are completely unacceptable and we are working hard to make sure staff are listened to and that bullying or harassment of any kind is not tolerated.

“We have made it easier for staff to raise any concerns with improved Freedom to Speak Up provision and have strengthened our mental health and well-being support. We know there is much more work to do and we are committed to doing that for both our staff and patients.”