More families raise safety fears of scandal-hit NHS maternity service: Members of my family and friends are included in this inquiry, demonstrating how pervasive the failings are in the East Kent Community
Independent inquiry is examining services at East Kent Hospitals University Trust after dozens of babies died and more than 130 infants suffered brain injuries during birth
Shaun Lintern
Health Correspondent Monday 29 June 2020
“When you put them all together, it is more people than anybody has known about previously.”
He acknowledged this was a worry but added: “It’s a concern about the scale of problems in East Kent but much better that we knew about the scale and the seriousness of the issues at the start.”
In a rare move, Dr Kirkup also revealed the panel will be advised by two patient safety campaigners James Titcombe, who helped expose maternity failings at the Morecambe Bay University Hospital, and Nicky Lyon from the Campaign for Safer Births.
The inquiry was commissioned after concerns emerged last year over the standards of maternity services at the trust following the death of baby Harry Richford, who died as a result of catastrophic errors by panicking doctors and midwives in November 2017.
The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference are due to be released this month: March 2021