Leading midwife ‘horrified’ by maternity ward’s treatment of families | UK News

A lead investigator into the maternity ward scandals says the treatment of failed families at a Welsh hospital’s maternity ward is ‘appalling’.

Senior midwife Donna Ockenden says an independent review into failings at Singleton Hospital, commissioned by the Swansea Bay University Health Board, is “not fit for purpose” and should be “terminated” immediately.

It comes after the hospital’s maternity ward came under considerable scrutiny in a series of internal and external reviews.

The hospital was placed under enhanced monitoring by the Welsh Government in December 2023 due to concerns raised by families. The same month, the health board commissioned an independent review, but families say they continue to be ignored.

Sky News spoke to six families who were looked after by the trust, each raising concerns about their treatment and those responsible for reviewing it.

“The families are the victims,” said Sian Channon, mother of Gethin, who was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy in 2019.

She said five years later she is still fighting for answers and her family’s request for involvement in the independent review was rejected.

“Families are at the center of what is being analyzed here. The effects are on them. It’s only right that families are really involved in what is written,” she said.

A recent visit by the Health Inspectorate of Wales in April found that there had been some improvements, particularly in staffing and leadership levels.

However, they found that some concerns around patient safety had not been sufficiently addressed.

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Review chairman ‘sorry’ for delays

Swansea Bay Health Board says it is fully committed to improving its maternity and neonatal services, recognizing there is more to be done.

The review’s interim chair, Dr Denise Chaffer, responded: “We regret that there have been delays. There is now a determination to move forward, and the website will be launched during the week commencing 12 August, making communications much easier between the review and families.”

However, Ms Ockenden said that when she organized the review at Nottingham hospitals, which she currently chairs, “families were involved from the start”, adding that “you cannot do a review where families have such a degree of distrust ”.

“For families to tell me that they feel they have to fight to have their voices heard is shocking, it is inappropriate and it is unacceptable,” Ockenden said.

‘I never received direct answers’

Kathryn Arnold had her son Kingsley in 2021 and said she truly believes she is lucky to be alive after complications caused her and her son to contract sepsis. She said that when she raised her concerns she was fired and three years later she still hasn’t received the answers she was looking for.

“When I was in the hospital, I always asked questions. I never got straight answers,” Arnold said.

She received information that led her to believe she was to blame.

“There was a surgeon who came back and said there can be complications with C-sections when carrying extra weight,” she said.

“I blamed myself for everything and then I found out it was just an excuse and that’s false.”

She added: “They are giving reasons and excuses that are not true.”

‘This is still happening to other families’

Some of the families Sky News spoke to wish to remain anonymous, such as one mother who said her son died at 13 months due to trauma they faced at birth.

“I should be playing with him in the park, taking him swimming. All of that is over,” she said.

“This is still happening to other families. It’s not right or fair. Lessons are not being learned.”

Another said he feels “dumped by the hospital and swept under the carpet”, telling Sky News: “I still haven’t got the answers I deserve.

“I hope they can be held accountable and there are lessons learned, but history keeps repeating itself.”

Mother left ‘deeply traumatized’

A mother who gave birth in 2023 said she believed that if she had been “listened to and received the correct and early preventative care”, her daughter could still be alive.

She wanted to remain anonymous and said: “Even though it has been a year, I am still deeply traumatized by the events.

“I haven’t been heard, and it’s all been very emotionally draining, why should they listen now when they haven’t all along?”

Liz, who had her first child at Singleton Hospital 24 years ago and her third in 2019, said that when she asked for answers “no one ever answers us or says anything”.

“Mothers need reassurance, they shouldn’t feel like we’re wasting their time,” she said.

A spokesperson for Swansea Bay University Health Board said: “We have commissioned an independent review of our maternity and neonatal services in December 2023.

“This is ongoing and updates on progress will be provided regularly over the coming months, including how the review is engaging with families and staff.

“The magazine will also soon publish its own website, which will be used to keep families updated.

“In addition, Llais – Wales’ patient advocacy body – is currently working alongside the review and reaching out to users of maternity services to secure their feedback through a range of different approaches.”