232:
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.
19:
223:, 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.
154:(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.
88:
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
525:
177:
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
231:
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
142:
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
251:
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
178:
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 report was sufficiently important that the deliberate failure to provide it could properly be characterised as a 'cover-up'".
138:
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.
217:, 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
892:
535:
81:. 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
170:. 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
212:
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
642:
921:
85:(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.
101:
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.
742:
236:
674:
652:
949:
239:, 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
113:, claiming clinical negligence. The claim of Carl Hendrickson (husband and father of Nittaya and Chester Hendrickson respectively) alone is expected to exceed £50,000.
771:
489:
109:
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 the
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151:
110:
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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.
146:
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
53:, England. 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
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being intentionally destroyed alongside the discovery of major wrongdoing on behalf of midwives led to threats of closure to the
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The
Nursing and Midwifery Council was criticised by Kirkup, for the way it handled the investigation resulting from events at
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and other government and public bodies into the deaths of several mothers and newborn babies, during the 2000s at
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that killed him could easily have been treated if noticed by midwives. Medical staff ignored his parents Hoa and
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42:
27:
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197:, who was appointed CQC Chair in February 2013, admitted that the organisation was "not fit for purpose".
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urgent improvement, including governance, risk management, collaborative working and leadership.
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643:"NHS Watchdog accused of hospital 'cover-up' still not fit for purpose, chairman admits"
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23:
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743:"NHS watchdog covered-up scandal at hospital where eight babies died of neglect"
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117:
An inquest into the death of nine-day-old Joshua Titcombe at FGH revealed the
864:
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710:
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57:
brought the spotlight onto FGH in 2011 when investigations began. Claims of
97:. Numerous investigations have discovered serious failings, corruption and
990:
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715:
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437:
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836:"NHS regulator exposed as 'not fit for purpose' by maternity deaths"
181:
In June 2013, following a series of critical reports and facing 30
17:
189:, it was announced that the organisation would be subjected to a
922:"Kirkup outlines 'lamentable' NMC failures to health secretary"
69:
526:"Resident Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (Percentages)"
462:"Hospital staff failings led to baby's death, says coroner"
402:"Joshua Titcombe death: No prosecutions after police probe"
374:"Ex-CQC executive denies Cumbria baby death cover-up claim"
209:
for "the appalling suffering" of the 30 families involved.
134:
On 13 September, several national newspapers reported that
950:"Hospitals trust to rebuild maternity unit at cost of £5m"
433:"Ulverston man sues hospital over deaths of wife and baby"
237:
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
986:"CQC finds improvements on wards in Barrow and Lancaster"
711:"Healthcare regulator CQC 'may have covered up failings'"
614:"South Cumbrian hospitals 'have worst mortality ratio'"
490:"Baby deaths: 'Too early to say if race played a role'"
284:"Furness baby deaths inquiry: 'Lethal mix of failures'"
558:"Barrow hospital maternity unit given recommendations"
340:
338:
77:
episode titled "How Safe is Your Hospital?" with the
807:"NHS 'cover-up' unacceptable, says health secretary"
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675:"The Care Quality Commission re: Project Ambrose"
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275:
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346:"Furness General Hospital police probe narrowed"
166:commissioned a report by management consultants
152:University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
111:University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
1020:The Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation
315:"Axe threat to Furness General Hospital unit"
8:
174:at CQC." It was published on 19 June 2013.
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162:In August 2012, new CQC chief executive
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1080:History of women in the United Kingdom
1070:Medical scandals in the United Kingdom
865:"NHS 'cover-up' names revealed by CQC"
308:
306:
7:
594:. Barrow-in-Furness. 20 October 2011
205:, issued an official apology in the
958:. Barrow-in-Furness. Archived from
586:"FGH mortality rate figures leaked"
498:. Barrow-in-Furness. Archived from
158:Care Quality Commission controversy
641:Dominiczak, Peter (19 June 2013).
68:The scandal was covered in a 2012
14:
891:Laurence, Jeremy (24 June 2013).
834:Siddique, Haroon (19 June 2013).
772:"Cover-up over hospital scandal"
770:Donnelly, Laura (18 June 2013).
741:Cooper, Charlie (19 June 2013).
241:Professional Standards Authority
35:Furness General Hospital scandal
920:Lintern, Shaun (13 May 2016).
863:Triggle, Nick (20 June 2013).
684:. 14 June 2013. Archived from
531:Office for National Statistics
282:Triggle, Nick (3 March 2015).
1:
460:Carter, Helen (7 July 2011).
203:Secretary of State for Health
95:Nursing and Midwifery Council
37:involves an investigation by
1060:History of Barrow-in-Furness
1017:Kirkup, Bill (March 2015).
893:"I've been hung out to dry"
534:. June 2009. Archived from
227:Morecambe Bay Investigation
1096:
79:Stafford Hospital scandal
780:. London. Archived from
651:. London. Archived from
125:'s fears for his health.
43:Furness General Hospital
28:Furness General Hospital
955:North-West Evening Mail
682:Care Quality Commission
591:North-West Evening Mail
495:North-West Evening Mail
320:The Westmorland Gazette
91:General Medical Council
83:Care Quality Commission
55:Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
927:Health Service Journal
30:
1028:The Stationery Office
252:standards being met.
21:
39:Cumbria Constabulary
994:. 19 September 2012
777:The Daily Telegraph
648:The Daily Telegraph
130:CQC investigations
31:
1065:Hospital scandals
1037:978-0-108-56130-6
622:. 20 October 2011
566:. 11 October 2011
441:. 25 October 2011
47:Barrow-in-Furness
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815:. 19 June 2013
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168:Grant Thornton
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105:Notable cases
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996:. Retrieved
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960:the original
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841:The Guardian
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782:the original
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686:the original
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568:. Retrieved
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536:the original
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469:. Retrieved
466:The Guardian
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247:Improvements
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183:civil claims
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471:16 November
199:Jeremy Hunt
195:David Prior
164:David Behan
1049:Categories
1026:. London:
966:2 November
626:1 November
598:1 November
570:1 November
542:1 November
506:1 November
445:1 November
327:1 November
256:References
187:negligence
1055:Cover-ups
119:infection
99:cover-ups
45:(FGH) in
991:BBC News
930:. London
901:. London
870:BBC News
844:. London
812:BBC News
751:. London
716:BBC News
619:BBC News
563:BBC News
438:BBC News
414:26 April
407:BBC News
379:BBC News
351:BBC News
323:. Kendal
289:BBC News
150:for the
74:Panorama
998:24 June
934:31 July
905:24 June
876:20 June
848:19 June
819:19 June
788:19 June
755:19 June
723:19 June
695:19 June
659:19 June
386:24 June
358:24 June
295:3 March
51:Cumbria
1034:
201:, the
1024:(PDF)
689:(PDF)
678:(PDF)
123:James
1032:ISBN
1000:2013
968:2011
936:2016
907:2013
878:2013
850:2013
821:2013
790:2013
757:2013
725:2013
697:2013
661:2013
628:2011
600:2011
572:2011
544:2011
508:2011
473:2020
447:2011
416:2015
388:2013
360:2013
329:2011
297:2015
185:for
136:race
93:and
33:The
70:BBC
26:at
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988:.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
