Today, the Health and Social Care Committee took evidence from victims of clinical negligence. One tragic case related to the avoidable brain injury and subsequent death in a maternity negligence case in a case similar to many of those reported at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust.
The Ockenden Review was set up by Jeremy Hunt when he was Secretary of State for Health to investigate maternity malpractice and negligence at the Princess Royal and Royal Shrewsbury Hospitals.
The Review of maternity care at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust will be published in the coming months and Lucy hopes it will bring a sense of justice and closure for victims and their families. It is crucial that patients are listened to and not told that malpractice or negligence is in fact an “unavoidable” medical issue.
Lucy Allan MP said:
“It is all too often that poor medical outcomes arising from clinical negligence are explained to patients as ‘unavoidable’ or that ‘these things happen’. There is a culture of complacency that exists in some trusts and that is degrading and harmful to patients.
Today we heard from a brave mother who lost her youngest child as a result of medical negligence, in a story that has so many echoes of stories I have heard from patients in Telford. Most patients are not medical experts and trust their Doctors to be doing the best for them.
Not everyone can fight the system following a great personal injustice. It is crucial that MPs ensure that the system itself is improved and that openness, transparency and willingness to listen is part of the process. I will continue to fight for better rights for patients and fair treatment across the NHS.”
