NHS chiefs aim to rebuild trust in maternity care

Hospital bosses have pledged to rebuild trust with families after its maternity services were criticised in a damning review.

The Independent National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation, published in June, found widespread racism and discrimination at the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust (SWBH).

Families and staff told investigators care was varied based on ethnicity or background, while researchers reported seeing a racist incident among staff during a visit.

The trust, which runs Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick, said it was taking steps to improve, including meeting with faith groups, charities and "trusted voices".

At a recent meeting of NHS Birmingham and Solihull (BSOL) and NHS Black Country Joint ICB Cluster Board, members were also told new training had been brought in, along with improved accessibility into wards and departments.

In a video showed to the meeting, SWBH director of midwifery Claire McDermott said the investigation, led by Baroness Valerie Amos, unearthed "deeply disturbing" things.

"We do want to apologise to anybody that's received care that falls below the standards," she added.

"We know that rebuilding the trust of our families and communities won't happen through words alone and we need to do this through action."

The BSOL and Black Country Cluster Perinatal Improvement Programme was also established in the wake of the review, the meeting was told.

A report to the board said other work included enhanced performance oversight, mortality reviews, health inequalities initiatives and family engagement.

Further work was required but what had been done so far provided a "strong foundation" for improving outcomes, the document added.

The criticism cited in Baroness Amos's review also included mortality rate exceeding comparable trusts by 5%, while some families said they felt judged or ignored during care.

Before the Midland Met Hospital opened in 2024, SWBH ran a consultant-led maternity unit at City Hospital in Birmingham, with midwife-led units in West Bromwich and Smethwick.

Tom and Ewa Hender's son Aubrey was stillborn at City Hospital in 2022, and they were among those who spoke as part of the Amos investigation.

Ewa Hender previously told the BBC that hospital staff did not listen to her, and her concerns for Aubrey's health were "dismissed", which she believed was a key factor in his death.

Responding to the measures taken by the trust, Tom Hender said: "We welcome SWBH's continued recognition that serious issues remain within its maternity services.

"However, only sustained improvement in outcomes over time will show whether these measures are sufficient."

Meanwhile, maternity services at Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital, run by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, were recently upgraded from a rating of requires improvement to good by the Care Quality Commission.

But Tom Hender said he was concerned because the service's safety had only been upgraded from an individual rating of inadequate to requires improvement.

"Safe care every time should be the minimum expectation," he added.

"In our view, a maternity service should not be rated good overall while its safety remains below that standard."

Margaret Garbett, chief nurse at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said the trust recognised there was more to do and plans were already in place.

"We will continue to build on the progress we have made," she said.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.