Bradford Hospital chief resigns in protest at 'cover-up' over baby deaths

The chairman of Bradford Teaching Hospitals has resigned, claiming the trust failed to properly investigate the deaths of two babies and 'covered up' a string of failures.

Dr Max McLean has raised nine concerns, claiming there is a ‘genuine safety risk to patients and colleagues.

Among those concerns is the length of time it took to investigate three serious neonatal incidents that happened in the space of 12 days in 2021.

Two babies died and a third was left with a long-term disability.

NHS England states that investigations into incidents like these should be carried out within 60 days, but Dr McLean says it took Bradford Hospital 14 months.

“14 months before we could truly understand what went wrong,” says Dr McLean.

“14 months before families could get answers. And 14 months while new parents were coming into our maternity service and wondering ‘is it safe in here?’

“I accept that mistakes can be made. But what I don’t accept is that it takes us 14 months to investigate those incidents against a time expectation of 60 days.”

'This was a cover-up and I will not be party to that'

He says the investigations into those neonatal incidents flagged concerns relating to infection prevention control and the proper monitoring of visual signs that signal something is wrong.

In his resignation letter Dr McLean also lists concerns relating to alleged failings by the hospital’s Chief Executive, Mel Pickup.

He claims there has been a ‘cover-up’, with ‘obvious similarities’ to the Lucy Letby case in terms of information not being shared:

“The independent review found that there was no proper reporting (of those three neonatal incidents) to either the board or the quality committee which has responsibility for serious incident investigations.

“This was a cover-up and I will not be party to that.

“I know things can go wrong. But I will not work with a chief executive officer who cannot accept that things have to change and that improvements have to be made.

“This is appalling service to those patients and public of Bradford who rightly should expect better.

“I don’t think Bradford Hospitals can continue as it is. There is a dishonest culture amongst the directors and that has to be stopped at source. There needs to be immediate change.”

Response from the Trust

A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said:

“Following an independent review into concerns raised by both the former Chair and by the Trust's Chief Executive, it was determined that the Trust's Chief Executive has not fallen short of the expected standards for the role.

“No findings in the outcome of the report were made that the Chief Executive's actions or inactions could reasonably be seen to breach the Nolan principles which govern behaviour in a public office. The report did not recommend escalation to external regulators.

“The Trust takes all concerns regarding patient and staff safety extremely seriously and conducts thorough investigations when necessary. This includes the Trust Board being updated on the progress of reviews and continuing to consider any recommendations, whilst considering learning. The independent review did recommend further discussions, to improve working relationships, but the former Chair declined to participate and resigned with immediate effect. The CEO continues to have the full support of the Board.

“The Trust stressed the importance of moving forward to ensure the best possible care for patients in a supportive working environment.”

The hospital’s neonatal team also shared its response on Facebook:

“As a Neonatal team we have all been incredibly upset by a recent national news article which relates to the resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Bradford Teaching Hospitals. In the article the former Chairman makes comments about the time it took to investigate three unrelated serious incidents that occurred at the beginning of 2021. All of which have undergone very thorough review and scrutiny. Rapid learning was shared at the time of the incidents and action plans to respond were created and followed through.

As a service we recognise that the concerns raised in the article along with recent events in the media at the Countess of Chester Neonatal Unit are likely to cause distress for families with babies on the unit and those whose babies we have provided care for in the past.

If any family who received care on the NICU, past or present, wishes to discuss their baby’s care, we would like to offer further ongoing support.

Despite media reporting we do strongly believe that we have robust processes in place to ensure that the care on our unit is of a very high standard and that learning from incidents is rapid and shared widely. In the sad event of any serious incident, care is thoroughly reviewed in an open and clear way.

We welcome feedback from our families and use this to review and improve the care we give. If based on recent events you have any further questions about your baby’s care please get in touch with the Trust’s Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) on 01274 364021 who will redirect your query or comments to an appropriate member of the clinical team who will be more than happy to get in touch and discuss.”