The independent review of maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, led by Donna Ockenden, a midwifery expert has today published an "emerging findings report".

The review has identified in excess of 1800 serious incidents, only 250 of which have been reviewed to date, but due to the concerns raised and the need for urgent improvements in all maternity centres, this initial report has been published.

The aim of the report is to take on board these recommendations and "essential actions" for all maternity services, designed to improve maternity safety "at pace". 

The willingness of the independent review to make these preliminary findings and recommendations demonstrates the level of feeling that urgent improvements are required to promote the safety of mothers and babies. It is hoped this is a turning point for patient safety in maternity care across the country.

My colleagues Victoria Fullilove and Rankeshwar Batta have written a short article on this, which can be found here.

Sarah Huntbach, has also written an article which deals with the impact on a family of failures in maternity care. That can be found here.