'Bullying, unsafe practices and dysfunctional culture': Consultant speaks out on Shropshire maternity scandal

A former consultant gynaecologist has told how he raised concerns over bullying, unsafe practices and a "dysfunctional culture" ahead of a report into a maternity scandal.

Bernie Bentick, who worked at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals Trust (Sath) for almost 30 years, has spoken publicly about maternity care at the trust for the first time.

Sath is at the centre of the largest inquiry in the history of the NHS into maternity care, which is expected to report next month. An official investigation is examining the care that 1,862 families received.

Mr Bentick says he told senior management several times about a deteriorating culture at Sath.

“I was increasingly concerned about the level of bullying, of dysfunctional culture, of the imposition of changes in clinical practice that many clinicians felt was unsafe," Mr Bentick told BBC's Panorama.

"If the resources had been made available to employ adequate numbers, to provide safe levels of care in accordance with national guidelines, then the situation may have been profoundly different.”

Mr Bentick went on to say that though some “cursory” investigations were launched into his complaints, he believed the trust responded in a way that tried to “preserve the reputation of the organisation.”

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Source: Shropshire Star, 23 February 2022