Our tragedies must lead to better maternity services
The Independent|March 31, 2022
At last, the final inquiry into the Shrewsbury maternity scandal has been published. Thanks to the inquiry, led by Donna Ockenden, we now know that poor maternity care led to 300 avoidable baby deaths and brain damage cases at a hospital trust – in what has become the largest maternity scandal to ever hit the NHS.
RHIANNON DAVIES & KAYLEIGH GRIFFITHS
Our tragedies must lead to better maternity services

We were two of the families affected. Our daughters Kate Stanton-Davies and Pippa Griffiths died in 2009 and 2016, respectively.

The release of the report feels like a huge milestone in a very, very, long journey. It’s been very difficult to get to this point. It can’t be understated – the hurdles you have to jump over; the games that people try to play to knock you off your quest for justice.

There really hasn’t been an appetite amidst regulators, or within the hospital trust itself, for change. There also hasn’t been an inclination to shine a light on the failures, which – speaking as victims of catastrophic failure – we find very difficult to understand. So, we feel really pleased that we’ve got to this point, but equally frustrated that it’s been so tough.

This story is from the March 31, 2022 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the March 31, 2022 edition of The Independent.

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