Call For Medical Notes Alert For Maternity Scandal Families

When Kayleigh Griffiths mislaid her babe daughter, Pippa, successful 2016 done maternity failings successful Shropshire, she had nary thought really galore times she would person to retell her traumatic communicative astatine early aesculapian appointments.

She has worked to get a alleged "Ockenden alert" connected her aesculapian notes – an thought which came retired of meetings pinch different traumatised families.

Donna Ockenden is nan elder nurse who led nan 2022 reappraisal which recovered much than 200 babies and 9 mothers successful Shropshire could person survived pinch amended care.

Mrs Grifiths wants nan alert to beryllium offered to much affected families, and yet to group nationally.

She said it meant wellness workers "can spot that alert and person a look astatine what that intends for us".

"And it mightiness conscionable mean that they return a spot of other clip to publication our notes, to understand what our history is, truthful that we don't person to support going complete that aforesaid communicative astatine each azygous assignment because it is retraumatising," she added.

Pippa was her 2nd daughter. She died of an infection, Group B Strep. In 2017 a coroner ruled her decease was preventable.

At nan clip of nan inquest, Mrs Griffiths was pregnant pinch her 3rd child, who is now eight.

When she gave commencement to him, he was temporarily taken to neonatal care, but she was not told this earlier being taken to spot him. She said it was "so traumatising to spot him for illustration that".

Thankfully, he was ok. But Mrs Griffiths said that "having that alert connected our records would astir apt person stopped each of that, because group would person known astatine each shape of our attraction that we'd been done truthful overmuch already".

The Reverend Charlotte Cheshire besides has nan Ockenden alert connected her notes, and is waiting for it to beryllium added to those of her 14-year-old son, Adam.

Adam suffered aggregate disabilities aft processing an infection. The Ockenden reappraisal successful 2022 recovered that 94 children, for illustration Adam, suffered life-changing injuries.

Rev Cheshire should be predominant aesculapian appointments pinch Adam, who is autistic, including for his profound learning difficulties, arsenic good arsenic proceeding and show impairments.

Before nan alert was added, she often had to retell nan communicative of really he was failed.

"In a business wherever location is admitted aesculapian negligence and harm astatine birth, that's revisiting nan trauma each azygous time, and I genuinely judge that if they are seeing us, if they are treating us, they request to astatine slightest cognize nan overview," she said.

"Nothing tin undo nan harm now that's been done to us, but it wasn't conscionable a infinitesimal successful clip that fades into history.

"This is simply a harm that stays pinch maine and Adam for nan remainder of our lives, truthful it matters that they know, 'oh, this is 1 of those families that carries a very analyzable level of trauma', and person nary action but to spot different clinician pinch our aesculapian care, contempt everything that we've already been through."

Mrs Griffiths is pushing for different improvements successful Shropshire too, including reviewing really doctors successful training study astir babe loss.

She besides wants nan aesculapian notes alert to beryllium offered to different people.

"Nationally we cognize there's a problem successful maternity, truthful different group could person thing akin to this alert connected their records," she said.

"We could look to rotation it retired successful different services. People person specified varied experiences, intersexual abuse, intelligence health. It could beryllium rolled retired truthful overmuch wider that [it] makes people's attraction easier."

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said it hoped to rotation retired nan alert to different areas of attraction crossed nan organisation.

"We will perceive and study from families, pinch nan support of Donna Ockenden, arsenic we strive to supply fantabulous maternity and neonatal services," said group main executive Jo Williams.

"We dream that nan alert will supply affirmative and lasting change," she added.