Release of Ockenden report into failures of maternity care at Shrewsbury & Telford NHS Trust delayed

The report had been due on March 22nd

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Author: Alex MeakinPublished 9th Mar 2022
Last updated 9th Mar 2022

The publication final part of a report examining the failures of maternity care at Shrewsbury and Terlford NHS trust has been delayed due to "parliamentary processes".

The report was due for publication on March 22nd but that will no longer be the case with no new date for publication being given.

Senior midwife Donna Ockenden has examined the cases of 1862 families as part of her report.

A spokesperson from the Independent Maternity Review, said “We have been informed that a number of parliamentary processes are required before the final report can be published in Parliament. The Department of Health and Social Care are working to have these arrangements in place so we can publish the report at the earliest opportunity. These parliamentary processes are completely beyond the control of the review team.”

Rhiannon Davies lost her daughter Kate at the trust in 2009 and has been long awaiting the publication of this report, she gave us her reaction.

"I was quite upset and then angry on behalf of the other families. We all have such a huge investment in this report in terms of our emotional commitment. To have no end date in sight and a very wishy-washy excuse as to why; it just feels very uncomfortable."

"The report is finished, the report is ready. It will contain once in a generation learning to ensure that maternity services in this entire country are far safer and that more babies and more mothers have a better outcome. How on earth would anyone want to delay those findings coming out?"

"When we did have a date we were hanging our emotional hat on it. It feels quite frightening actually to have no end date. It just feels like an intentional delay and it's very concerning."