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The Furness General Hospital scandal involves an investigation by
'' Panorama'' episode titled "How Safe is Your Hospital?" with the Stafford Hospital scandal. In June 2013, Cumbria Constabulary announced they would only be pursuing the Titcombe case and that other complaints would not proceed to a criminal prosecution. Later in the same month, the British medical community was rocked by allegations that the
The Furness General Hospital scandal involves an investigation by Cumbria Constabulary
Cumbria Constabulary is the territorial police force in England covering Cumbria. As of September 2017, the force had 1,108 police officers, 535 police staff, 93 police community support officers, and 86 special constables.
The force serves a ...
and other government and public bodies into the deaths of several mothers and newborn babies, during the 2000s 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 ...
(FGH) in Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...
, Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Cases date back to 2004, with a number of major incidents occurring in 2008. The death of Joshua Titcombe and a suppressed report by the Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB or UHMBT) is an NHS Foundation Trust in North West England, providing services in South Cumbria and North Lancashire in the Morecambe Bay area. It has about 6,000 employees and ...
brought the spotlight onto FGH in 2011 when investigations began. Claims of medical records
The terms medical record, health record and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdict ...
being intentionally destroyed alongside the discovery of major wrongdoing on behalf of midwives led to threats of closure to the maternity ward
Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births global ...
.
The scandal was covered in a 2012 BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England.
I ...
(CQC), which took part in investigations, was fully aware of concerns of maternity care at FGH as early as 2008 and gave the hospital a clean bill of health in 2010, having destroyed evidence to the contrary.
The independently issued Morecambe Bay Investigation Report was published in 2015, stating a 'lethal mix' of 'serious and shocking' failings had led to the deaths of eleven babies and one mother. The report recommended a national review of maternity care and thorough investigations of staff members involved by the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator for nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC maintains a register of all nurses, midwives and specialist community public health nurses and nursing associates eligible to pra ...
. Numerous investigations have discovered serious failings, corruption and cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...
s on every level; investigations continue and no individual has been held accountable for the deaths at FGH. The criminal investigation into the scandal was concluded in April 2015 with no prosecutions.
Notable cases
Police did not announce the number of deaths being investigated but six known are listed below. Several families of the victims have revealed that they are suing theUniversity Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB or UHMBT) is an NHS Foundation Trust in North West England, providing services in South Cumbria and North Lancashire in the Morecambe Bay area. It has about 6,000 employees and p ...
, claiming clinical negligence. The claim of Carl Hendrickson (husband and father of Nittaya and Chester Hendrickson respectively) alone is expected to exceed £50,000.
* An inquest into the death of nine-day-old Joshua Titcombe at FGH revealed the infection
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dis ...
that killed him could easily have been treated if noticed by midwives. Medical staff ignored his parents Hoa and James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
's fears for his health.
CQC investigations
On 13 September, several national newspapers reported thatrace
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
played a role in the hospital's wrongdoings after it was revealed 83 percent of serious incidents at FGH in 2008 involved ethnic minorities, while only 2 percent of Barrow's population is non-white. Cumbria Constabulary have however refused to pursue the racial angle of the crime.
Other bodies involved in the investigation include health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. A report by the CQC threatened to close the maternity ward at FGH by 21 November 2011 if major changes were not implemented. The NMC identified 19 areas requiring urgent improvement, including governance, risk management, collaborative working and leadership.
In late October 2011, during the height of the investigation, leaked figures revealed that FGH had the worst mortality rate of any hospital in England. The mortality ratio for the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB or UHMBT) is an NHS Foundation Trust in North West England, providing services in South Cumbria and North Lancashire in the Morecambe Bay area. It has about 6,000 employees and p ...
(which also runs hospitals in Lancaster and Kendal) stood at 124, significantly higher than national average. It is suspected that up to 16 babies and two mothers died at FGH due to poor care with over 30 claims for compensation; despite this Cumbria police narrowed their investigation in 2013 to focus on the death of just one child and decided not to prosecute over any of the other deaths.
Care Quality Commission controversy
In August 2012, new CQC chief executiveDavid Behan
Sir David Behan (born November 1955) is a British public servant who is the current Chair of Health Education England and also Independent Non-Executive Chairman of HC-One.
Career
Behan began his career as a social worker, progressing as a m ...
commissioned a report by management consultants Grant Thornton
Grant Thornton is the world's seventh-largest by revenue and sixth-largest by number of employees professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms which provide assurance, tax and advisory services to private ...
. The report examining the CQCs response to complaints about baby and maternal deaths and injuries at Furness General Hospital, was instigated by a complaint from a member of the public and "an allegation of a 'cover-up', submitted by a whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
at CQC." It was published on 19 June 2013.
Among the findings, the CQC was "accused of quashing an internal review that uncovered weaknesses in its processes" and had allegedly "deleted the review of their failure to act on concerns about University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust". One CQC employee claimed that he was instructed by a senior manager "to destroy his review because it would expose the regulator to public criticism". The report concluded "We think that the information contained in the eletedreport was sufficiently important that the deliberate failure to provide it could properly be characterised as a 'cover-up'".
In June 2013, following a series of critical reports and facing 30 civil claims for negligence
Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...
, it was announced that the organisation would be subjected to a public inquiry. David Prior, who was appointed CQC Chair in February 2013, admitted that the organisation was "not fit for purpose". Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Richard Streynsham Hunt (born 1 November 1966) is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2022. He previously served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport ...
, the Secretary of State for Health
The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent ...
, issued an official apology in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
for "the appalling suffering" of the 30 families involved.
On 20 June 2013, Behan and Prior agreed to release the names of redacted senior managers within the Grant Thornton report, who were alleged had suppressed the internal CQC report. The people named were the former CQC Chief Executive Cynthia Bower
Cynthia Bower (born 6 July 1955) is a former manager in the National Health Service, and the first Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the United Kingdom, from which she was forced to resign after the Winterbourne View hospit ...
, deputy CEO Jill Finney and media manager Anna Jefferson, who were all said by Grant Thornton to be present at a meeting where deletion of a critical report was allegedly discussed. Bower and Jefferson immediately denied being involved in a cover-up. In a later interview with ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', Bower accused the CQC of commissioning "a report... that was neither fair nor reasonable and "against natural justice", but admitted that the CQC inspection process, whilst she was CEO, had failed to uncover the failings at Morecambe Bay trust. She said: ''"We should have registered it with conditions."''. Finney brought an action for libel against the commission, denying that she had been part of a cover-up. The commission agreed in an out-of-court settlement to pay her £60,000 in damages and £510,000 towards her legal fees.
Morecambe Bay Investigation
The Morecambe Bay Investigation Report was the independent public inquiry conducted by Bill Kirkup on behalf of the government into maternity and neonatal services and care at FGH, between 2004 and 2013. It was published in March 2015 with a damning verdict. The report stated the deaths of eleven babies and one mother at FGH were avoidable and a result of a 'lethal mix' of failings. Amongst the findings were that the maternity unit had been 'dysfunctional', with 'substandard care' provided by staff 'deficient in skills and knowledge'. Working relationships between doctors and midwives had been extremely poor, there had been 'significant organisational failure' on behalf of the Care Quality Commission and the North West Health Authority and Parliamentary and the Health Services Ombudsman had failed to take opportunities that could have brought the problems to light sooner. The report also stated that the Department of Health had been reliant on misleadingly optimistic assessments from regulators; 44 recommendations were made in the report, ranging from action to be taken on midwives involved, to national reviews on maternity care. The Nursing and Midwifery Council was criticised by Kirkup, for the way it handled the investigation resulting from events atUniversity Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMB or UHMBT) is an NHS Foundation Trust in North West England, providing services in South Cumbria and North Lancashire in the Morecambe Bay area. It has about 6,000 employees and ...
, relating to misconduct by two midwives involved in the Furness General Hospital scandal. He said their response to his report had "fallen far short of expectations". The Professional Standards Authority
The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) oversees the nine statutory bodies that regulate health professionals in the United Kingdom and social care in England. Where occupations are not subject to statutory regulation ...
said the regulator's investigation was "deficient" because evidence was not presented to the panel by the council even though it had it in its possession.
Improvements
In November 2011, the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust announced plans to replace outdated equipment and rebuild FGH's maternity ward at a cost of £5 million. A random inspection in September 2012 by the CQC found that recommended changes had been made and found quality and safety standards being met.References
Further reading
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Furness General Hospital investigationFurness General Hospital maternity ward deaths investigation
The Furness General Hospital scandal involves an investigation by Cumbria Constabulary and other government and public bodies into the deaths of several mothers and newborn babies, during the 2000s at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow-in-Fu ...
Furness General Hospital maternity ward deaths investigation
The Furness General Hospital scandal involves an investigation by Cumbria Constabulary and other government and public bodies into the deaths of several mothers and newborn babies, during the 2000s at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow-in-Fu ...
Furness General Hospital maternity ward deaths investigation
The Furness General Hospital scandal involves an investigation by Cumbria Constabulary and other government and public bodies into the deaths of several mothers and newborn babies, during the 2000s at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow-in-Fu ...
Furness General Hospital maternity ward deaths investigation
The Furness General Hospital scandal involves an investigation by Cumbria Constabulary and other government and public bodies into the deaths of several mothers and newborn babies, during the 2000s at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow-in-Fu ...
Furness General Hospital maternity ward deaths investigation
The Furness General Hospital scandal involves an investigation by Cumbria Constabulary and other government and public bodies into the deaths of several mothers and newborn babies, during the 2000s at Furness General Hospital (FGH) in Barrow-in-Fu ...