Maternity services shake-up after review into deaths of babies

Neonatal Unit at the Royal Oldham Hospital

Urgent changes have been made to maternity services at the Royal Oldham Hospital after a review into the deaths of babies and mothers.

The external review, which investigated the deaths of seven babies and three mothers at the hospital and at North Manchester General between January 2013 and 2014, found “notable absence of clinical leadership” and a lack of care planning.

The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs both hospitals, repeated its apologies to families after the review, conducted by a senior midwife and obstetrician outside the trust, was released.

Gill Harris, the Trust’s chief nurse, said: “The board has repeated sincere apologies for the failings in care identified.

She said the review found the mothers’ deaths didn’t stem from a lack of care, but improvement is need in neonatal practices. She said the deaths came in the context of a trust handling 10,000 births a year.

The review found the cases of three women classed as obese weren’t managed in line with local or national guidance.

A £1million improvement plan has been implemented to answer 12 recommendations made in the report. This includes hiring around 40 new healthcare assistants.