East Kent Hospitals maternity services: HSIB summary report (7 April 2020)

Summary

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) has been investigating East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust since July 2018 after a series of baby deaths.

The report discusses 24 maternity investigations undertaken since July 2018, including the deaths of three babies and two mothers.

It said: “These investigations have enabled HSIB to identify recurrent safety risks around several key themes of clinical care in the trust’s maternity services.”

Content

This HSIB summary report provides an overview of:

• the referrals caseload under the maternity investigations programme for East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
• the themes which were identified as indicative of patient safety risk to mothers and babies
• the engagement and escalation process that HSIB undertook with the trust and the wider system in response.