A “lethal mix” of denial and failure at almost every level of the NHS led to the needless deaths of 11 babies and one mother at a dysfunctional hospital, a “damning” review has found.
Staff at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS trust “distorted the truth” about poor care and suppressed a critical report in the pursuit of a clean bill of health from NHS regulators, an inquiry concluded today.
A national review into the safety of maternity services across the country is expected to be launched after the Morecambe Bay inquiry laid bare “inexcusable” failures of honesty and competence that could be repeated elsewhere without urgent action.
In a report with clear echoes of the Mid Staffordshire scandal, the inquiry found that