A lead investigator into maternity scandals says the treatment of families failed by a Welsh hospital’s maternity unit is “appalling”.
Senior midwife Donna Ockenden says an independent review into failings at Singleton Hospital, commissioned by the Swansea Bay University Health Board, is “not fit for purpose” and should be “closed” immediately.
It comes after the maternity unit at the hospital came under considerable scrutiny in a number of internal and external reviews.
The hospital was put under enhanced monitoring by the Welsh government in December 2023 due to concerns raised by families. In the same month, the health board commissioned an independent review, but families say they continue to be ignored.
Sky News has spoken to six families who have been cared for by the trust, each raising concerns about their treatment and those responsible for reviewing it.
Image: Sian Channon with Gethin (right), who was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy
“Families are the victims,” said Sian Channon, mother of Gethin, who was born with quadriplegic cerebral palsy in 2019.
She said five years on she is still fighting for answers, and her family’s request for involvement in the independent review has been dismissed.
“Families are at the very heart of what is being reviewed here. The effects are on them. It’s only right that families should actually be involved in what is written,” she said.
A recent visit by Health Inspectorate Wales in April found there had been some improvement, particularly with staffing levels and leadership.
However, they found some concerns around patient safety had not been sufficiently addressed.
Swansea Bay Health Board said it is fully committed to improving its maternity and neonatal services, acknowledging there is more to be done.
The interim chair of the review, Dr Denise Chaffer, responded: “We are sorry that there have been delays. There is now a determination to move forward, and the website will be launching during the week commencing 12 August, making communications much easier between the review and families”.”
However, Ms Ockenden said when she set up the review into Nottingham’s hospitals, which she currently chairs, “families were engaged from the very beginning,” adding that “you cannot have a review where the families have got such a degree of mistrust.”
“For families to say to me that they feel they are having to fight for their voices to be heard, it is shocking, it is inappropriate and it is unacceptable,” Ms Ockenden said.
Image: Kathryn Arnold says she was told information which led her to believe she was at fault
‘I was never really given straight answers’
Kathryn Arnold had her son Kingsley in 2021 and said she truly believes she is lucky to be alive after complications caused her and her son to contract sepsis. She said when she raised her concerns she was dismissed and three years later still hasn’t been given the answers she has been looking for.
“When I was in the hospital I always asked questions. I was never really given straight answers,” Ms Arnold said.
She was told information which led her to believe she was at fault.
“There was one surgeon that came back and said there can be complications with cesareans when carrying extra weight,” she said.
“I blamed myself for it all and later found out it was just an excuse and that’s false.”
She added: “They’re giving reasons and excuses that aren’t true.”
‘This is still happening to other families’
Some of the families Sky News spoke to wish to remain anonymous, like a mother who said her son died aged 13 months due to traumas they encountered at birth.
“I should’ve been playing with him in the park, taking him swimming. All of that is gone,” she said.
“This is still happening to other families. It’s not right and not fair. Lessons are not being learned.”
Another said they feel like they have been “dumped by the hospital and brushed under the carpet”, telling Sky News: “I’ve still not received the answers I deserve.
“I hope they can be accountable and there will be lessons learned, but history keeps repeating itself.”
Mother left ‘deeply traumatised’
A mother who gave birth in 2023 said she believes had she been “listened to and provided the correct, early preventative care” her little girl may still be alive.
She wanted to stay anonymous and said: “Even though a year has passed, I am still deeply traumatised by the events which took place.
“I was not listened to, and it has all been very emotionally draining, why should they listen now, when they haven’t throughout.”
Liz, who had her first child at Singleton Hospital 24 years ago and her third in 2019, said when she has asked for answers “nobody ever gets back to us, or says anything”.
“Mothers need reassurance, they shouldn’t be made to feel like we are wasting their time,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Swansea Bay University Health Board said: “We commissioned an independent review of our maternity and neonatal services in December 2023.
“This is now underway and progress updates will be provided regularly over the coming months, including how the review is engaging with families and staff.
“The review will also shortly publish its own website, which will be used to keep families up to date.
“In addition, Llais – the patient advocate body for Wales – is currently working alongside the review and is reaching out to maternity service users to secure their feedback via a range of different approaches.”
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