Hospital bosses face questions over neonatal care

Bradford hospital bosses have offered a fresh apology to families harmed by failings in maternity and neonatal care, in the wake of a national inquiry.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was one of 12 organisations included in the review by Baroness Amos, which found maternity services nationally require "urgent" reform and are no longer fit to give high quality care.

It found a "clear gap" between how staff at Bradford's maternity services "intend" to care for women and how families actually experience that care.

In a new report to be presented to senior Bradford councillors it says the trust "sincerely apologises" and that those experiences will "drive our ongoing improvement".

Senior hospital staff are set to be questioned by a cross-party Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee at Bradford's City Hall on Thursday about what it is doing to tackle some of the issues raised by the Amos investigation.

In their report to councillors, hospital leaders admit the Bradford findings were "difficult to read in parts", but pay tribute to the "brave" families contributing to the broader investigation.

The Trust says it has asked the Amos investigation team to contact people who contributed, on its behalf, and offer them the opportunity to speak directly to hospital staff.

"We welcome contact from families who have unanswered questions, or who want to hear about changes made since their experience of care," the report says.

The report says several Trusts pinpointed by the Amos report had "demonstrated improvement journeys while still being presented with systemic and local challenges".

After publication of the national investigation's findings, the trust's chief executive Mel Pickup apologised to the "women whom we have let down" and said she recognised the "lasting trauma and harm" caused.

However, she added that neonatal services at the trust had recently received an Outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission, while its maternity services had been rated as Good.

The trust has also pledged to "streamline" patient record systems which currently "do not interface", as well as re-examining the layout of the Women's and Newborn Unit.

It acknowledges staffing and patient flow "pressures" as areas needing attention.

However it also stresses larger changes to buildings and IT would require "substantial" investment that is not currently available.

The report to the scrutiny panel concluded that: "We fully recognise that we cannot change the poor experience of care and poor outcomes for families, but we are committed to listening to families, acknowledging where mistakes were made, and using their negative experiences to shape and support service improvements which will improve care for women, babies, and families accessing care at BTHFT in the future."

Councillor Ishtiaq Ahmed, deputy leader of the Bradford Independents Group and a member of the health scrutiny panel, said he would be looking for proof that changes are improving care.

"Don't just tell us that the systems are now robust," he said.

"Action plans are not accountability. Show us the evidence that they are making maternity and neonatal care safer for Bradford families.

"I want us to move beyond assurances and ask for measurable evidence that lessons have been learned and patient safety has improved."

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