James Roger Titcombe

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

is a patient safety specialist. He was previously, from October 2013 to March 2016, the National Advisor on Patient Safety, Culture & Quality for the Care Quality Commission. Earlier in his career he was project manager in the nuclear industry. His baby son Joshua died of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

at Freeman Hospital nine days after his birth at

Furness General Hospital Furness General Hospital (FGH) is a hospital located in the Hawcoat area of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital, which replaced four local hosp ...

in November 2008. James refused to accept the initial explanations he and his wife were given by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust for Joshua's death and made an official complaint about his treatment. He got no apology from the Trust until nearly 17 months after the event. In March 2011 a police investigation into Joshua's death was launched. It later included the deaths of 18 other babies and two mothers at the hospital. There was also an independent investigation by Dr Bill Kirkup into the maternity unit. The

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) comprises the offices of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) and the Health Service Commissioner for England (HSC). The Ombudsman is responsible for considering complaints ...

eventually investigated the way his complaints had been dealt with and made recommendations which Titcombe supported, "in particular the need for honestly and robust incident investigation following avoidable harm or death in the NHS" using techniques for which staff were properly trained. Jeremy Hunt credits him as the inspiration for the establishment of the

Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) is the independent national investigator for patient safety in England. HSIB was formed in April 2017 and investigates serious patient safety risks that span the healthcare system, operating indepen ...

. He draws heavily on his own experience in speaking about quality improvement in the NHS. He reports sadly that "I'll Datix you", is used as a threat in argumentative situations in the NHS. He was appointed an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2015 for services to patient safety. In December 2015, his book ''Joshua's Story: Uncovering the Morecambe Bay NHS Scandal'' was published. In 2021, James was appointed as a Specialist Advisor to The Independent East Kent Maternity investigation, headed up by Dr Bill Kirkup. The Inquiry was started as a result of the inquest into Harry Richford that showed gross failings and that his death was "wholly avoidable". After the publication of the

Ockenden Review In 2017 Rhiannon Davies, her husband Richard and two other bereaved parents, Kayleigh and Colin Griffiths asked the UK health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to set up a public inquiry into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. ...

he was still demanding that NHS adverts move away from messages that promote the role of midwives as ‘guardians of normal birth’.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Titcombe, James Officers of the Order of the British Empire Medical scandals in the United Kingdom English health activists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British whistleblowers

See also

References