24 February 2022
Please see our full statement following last night’s BBC Panorama programme:
“As a Trust we take full responsibility for the failings in the standards of care within our Maternity services. These occurred in the care we provided for women and families, the way in which we dealt with the incidents subsequently, and in the manner in which we communicated and engaged with those involved. We offer our sincere apologies for all the distress and hurt we know this caused.”
“Apologies alone are not enough and must be backed up with clear and meaningful action. Under the new executive leadership at the Trust and within our Women & Children’s division, our work is driven by a determination to ensure that we deliver safe, effective, reliable and high-quality services to the women and families we are caring for today and in the future.”
“We have made strong progress, including significant investment in additional staff and staff training, and the Care Quality Commission highlighted the “outstanding practice” it saw in Maternity during its 2021 inspection. We have also completed over 80% of the actions set out in the first Ockenden report but know we have more to do. This includes continuing to ensure that women and the choices they make are placed at the heart of everything we do, and we remain determined to keep improving.”
“We owe it to those we failed previously, those we care for today, and our dedicated, compassionate colleagues providing that care, to ensure that we build on the progress made so far and provide excellent care for the communities we serve.”