The General Medical Council (GMC) has warned that doctors who failed to report poor care during the NHS's worst maternity scandal may face suspension or being struck off. The regulator has asked NHS bosses for details of any doctor who may have ignored their duty to raise concerns about patient safety at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS hospital trust (SaTH).
The warning follows the publication of an independent investigation, led by maternity expert Donna Ockenden, which found that at least 42 babies and three mothers died at the trust in cases linked to poor care between 1979 and 2017. Failings included staff not realising a woman was in labour, not monitoring a baby's heartbeat properly, and failing to give bereaved parents full information.
Anthony Omo, the GMC's general counsel and director of fitness to practice, said: 'The reports in the media and press this week are shocking and our thoughts are with the families affected. We are in contact with the trust and have asked NHS England and NHS Improvement for details of any concerns about individual doctors.' He reminded medics that all doctors have a responsibility to take action if patient safety may be at risk.
Meanwhile, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has criticised SaTH for delaying publication of a report it had commissioned from the college. The RCOG passed its report to the trust in December 2017, but SaTH did not publish it until July 2018, after receiving a second report. The college said the seven-month delay showed a lack of transparency.
The RCOG has pledged to share all future 'invited reviews' with the Care Quality Commission. However, sources at the trust dismissed the criticism as 'a shift in their position' and maintained that the college had agreed to the delay at the time.
The Royal College of Midwives has not yet commented on specific failings by midwives, saying it will respond when Ockenden's final report is published next year. Clea Harmer, chief executive of the stillbirth charity Sands, described the findings as 'truly shocking'.
