Shropshire stillbirth and infant deaths still 'too high', says report
Stillbirth and infant deaths at the trust which controls Shropshire's two hospitals are still "too high", a report says.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) has published an internal review of maternity services after concerns were raised.
It found that patient safety had dramatically improved but that there was more work to be done.
Simon Wright, chief executive at SaTH, said: "This is not where we want to be. We want to provide an outstanding service and that is the journey we are currently on.
"Perinatal deaths have fallen since 2009, but we recognise that further action is needed so that this continues to fall.
"We have made a determined effort to improve monitoring of babies’ heartbeats, including regular training and investment in equipment to promote safer use and better interpretation of results."
Colin Ovington, lead reviewer and interim director of nursing and quality at SaTH, said the trust had put in place a number of actions to promote safer use and interpretation of CTGs - which is the recording of a baby’s heartbeat.
He said: "CTG monitoring is one of the most crucial areas of risk management of women and babies in the antenatal and intrapartum period.
"Learning from Barking Havering and Redbridge Trust, SaTH have put in place a number of actions to promote safer use and interpretation of CTGs.
"This includes; a fresh eyes approach to reduce the CTG being misread, increased staff training, CTG machines in the consultant unit being all the same and appointing a midwife specific to CTG training.
"There are still risks in our maternity service but no evidence that the service is unsafe. There are some areas we need to work on.
"Historically the nature of the trust’s business has been less open to public scrutiny than it should have been. This is changing, however there is still much that could be done to strengthen engagement with parents.
"Infant deaths are still way too high - but the trust is working hard to tackle that."
Figures show there were 8.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2009, and 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015.
Dr Edwin Borman, medical director at SaTH, said: "We want to reduce it to zero deaths. I wish we could find a way so nobody has to feel that awful and tragic loss.
"There are avoidable factors and preventable avoidable factors and our goal is to identify those areas."
