Hospital trust faces inquiry after ministers order probe following deaths of ten babies
- Details of more than 10 preventable deaths at East Kent Hospital Trust emerged
- Trust said it ‘wholeheartedly’ apologised to ‘every one of those families let down’
- Health minister Nadine Dorries confirmed the review in the House of Commons
An independent review into the deaths of several babies at a hospital trust has been ordered by ministers.
Heartbreaking details of more than ten preventable deaths at East Kent Hospital Trust have emerged, with 26 cases of poor care under investigation.
Yesterday, the trust said it ‘wholeheartedly’ apologised to ‘every one of those families we have let down’.
Details of more than ten preventable deaths at East Kent Hospital Trust have emerged, with 26 cases of poor care under investigation. Pictured: Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital in Margate, Kent, which is part of the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
Health minister Nadine Dorries (pictured) confirmed the review in the House of Commons and said it will ‘leave no stone unturned’
East Kent has been in the spotlight since last month’s inquest into baby Harry Richford – who died ‘wholly avoidably’ seven days after his birth in November 2017.
Health minister Nadine Dorries confirmed the review in the House of Commons and said it will ‘leave no stone unturned’.
It will be led by Dr Bill Kirkup, who chaired the inquiry into Morecambe Bay hospital trust – where 11 babies and one mother died between 2004 and 2013.
He will also work with England’s chief midwifery officer Jacqueline Duckley-Bent.
It comes after the trust’s chief executive Susan Acott was accused of downplaying the issue, claiming there had only been ‘six or seven’ avoidable deaths since 2011 and that things ‘aren’t always black and white’.
Health minister Nadine Dorries confirmed the review in the House of Commons and said it will ‘leave no stone unturned’. Pictured: The maternity unit of the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital in Margate, Kent, part of the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust