Shropshire hospitals trust makes progress against actions of final Ockenden Report

It follows the Trust delivering all actions it has a lead on from the first Ockenden report.

The first Donna Ockenden Report, released in December 2020 set out 52 actions for delivery, and 100% of those actions, which the Trust leads on, have now been delivered. The remaining six actions all have external leads and dependencies, which the Trust is working with external partners to deliver. 

The final Independent Review into Maternity Services at SaTH by Donna Ockenden, released on 30 March 2022, set out 158 extensive and thorough actions for the Trust to deliver, to help ensure the highest standards of maternity care are upheld, improving outcomes for women and babies. Presented in the June Ockenden Report Assurance Committee (ORAC), the Trust shared that of the 158 actions, 18 (10%) have been implemented so far.

The 18 actions implemented cover a range of themes including ensuring clinical practice, guidelines and audits are up to date and based on the best evidence, driving forward improvements in patient safety and quality of care, learning from complaints and compliments, and improving the Trust’s bereavement support.

The progress made by SaTH’s Maternity Transformation Programme team over the last three months builds upon the improvement work that has been carried out following the release of the first Ockenden Report in December 2020.

Alongside this, the Trust has introduced other initiatives such as the User Experience (UX) System to help shape improvements within Maternity Services and ensure that the voices of women and families are at the heart of care provided.

The Trust continues to work closely with Maternity Voices Partnership (MVP) Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, which helps to ensure that the Trust’s services are responsive to the needs of service users.

Hayley Flavell, Director of Nursing at SaTH, said: “The Trust has made significant progress in the provision of its Maternity Services, as noted recently by the CQC, and our teams have urgently taken forward the findings and recommendations set out in the final Ockenden Report to build on this work.

“As noted at the most recent ORAC meeting, our Maternity Services now have a fully resourced senior leadership team and a powerful multi-disciplinary approach implemented that is working in conjunction with other improvement initiatives to deliver the actions set out.

“We know there is much more to do and we are committed to delivering clear and meaningful change for the women and families we serve.”