Morecambe Bay health trust part of national maternity care review

A Morecambe Bay health trust will be part of an investigation into maternity services to share improvements made in the decade since a damning inquiry into baby deaths.

The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) said they will share good practice for the national independent review into NHS maternity and neonatal services.

Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced the investigation in June to drive urgent improvements to care and safety.

It is being led by Baroness Valerie Amos, a former government minister and senior official at the United Nations.

Bereaved and harmed families will be central to the investigation, said the government.

“The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation is an important piece of work that will give all NHS trusts the opportunity to learn from each other and improve the maternity services offered across the country," said Aaron Cummins (pictured below), chief executive at UHMBT, which runs maternity services at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Furness General in Barrow.

“We are pleased to have been identified as a trust who can share good practice with others as a result of the significant improvements our teams have made following the Morecambe Bay Investigation in 2015 and our involvement in the national Recovery Support Programme and the Maternity Safety Support Programme.

"The investigation will develop one set of national recommendations to drive improvements in maternity and neonatal services across England. It will also review the maternity and neonatal system, bringing together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of actions to ensure every woman and baby receives safe, high-quality and compassionate care. 

"Our vast geography, varied population demographics and involvement in a previous national investigation put us in a good position to be able to share our experiences and support other trusts who are working to improve.

"Baroness Amos will work with expert advisors and an investigation support team to conduct local reviews of all 14 trusts - including UHMBT. In practical terms, this means a team of trained investigators will spend several days on site at each trust, conducting interviews with relevant individuals and gathering evidence directly from women and families, including fathers and non-birthing partners. 

"We expect to know more about the timings and methodology for local reviews in the coming weeks, but the current expectation is that the on-site elements of the local reviews will take place between October and December 2025.

"We look forward to supporting the investigation and working with other trusts to share the learning and improvements we have made over recent years. We are also keen to listen and work with our services users and families to take forward any further opportunities to improve as a result of this work.

"We’ll continue to keep colleagues, stakeholders and our communities updated as the work progresses."

The Morecambe Bay Investigation was called in 2013 to look at the maternity and neonatal services at the trust, after concerns over serious incidents in the maternity department at Furness General.

Covering January 2004 to June 2013, a report in 2015 concluded the maternity unit at Furness General was "dysfunctional and that serious failures of clinical care" led to unnecessary deaths of 11 babies and one mother.

The report made 44 recommendations for the trust and wider NHS, aimed at ensuring the failings were properly recognised and acted upon.

Lizzi Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale (below), said today: “I welcome the inclusion of University Hospitals Morecambe Bay Trust in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation which will develop one set of national recommendations to drive improvements in maternity and neonatal services across England.

“Whilst the majority of maternity and neonatal care is safe, we still see preventable baby deaths in this country, despite numerous previous investigations.

"I have personally supported constituents who have been harmed by failures in maternity care and they deserve not only answers, but real action to make lasting change.

“From what I have witnessed, one of the most pressing issues is the culture in some trusts that values protecting their public reputation over transparency and care. I hope the investigation focuses on what we can do to change this culture and make sure that families stop being harmed.

“I recently met with families harmed by poor care in Nottingham and their stories were horrifying. They should never have happened and I feel a duty to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.

“I will engage with the national investigation and make sure any of my constituents who want to contribute are able to. I know the Secretary of State for Health, Wes Streeting, is firmly committed to supporting and protecting families and making our NHS maternity services world class.”

The government said the investigation will review the maternity and neonatal system across 11 trusts, "bringing together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of actions to ensure every woman and baby receives safe, high-quality and compassionate care".

They said it will produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025.  

"Shrewsbury and Telford, East Kent Hospitals and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay – have been chosen where previous investigations have taken place and learnings from these will be incorporated in this new investigation," said a government report.

The 14 trusts involved overall are:

• Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust
• East Kent Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust
• Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust
• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
• The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust
• The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust
• University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
• University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
• University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
• Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust / Somerset NHS Foundation Trust