An NHS trust has apologised after an independent review found that eight babies might have survived with better maternity care, admitting it has "failed families".
The stillbirths all occurred at the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust's hospitals between June 2025 and March 2026.
An independent review ordered by the trust found systemic issues lay at the heart of the failures. These included failures to manage high risk pregnancies, provide appropriate triage, identify foetal growth concerns, and make appropriate use of interpreter services.
Since the report, a further seven stillbirths have occurred, including three last month. A review into those deaths has now been ordered.
All the stillbirths occurred after 34 weeks gestation.
Papers for a board meeting on Thursday contained a report by the acting CEO of the trust, Dr Des Holden, who apologised to the families involved.
Dr Holden wrote: "On behalf of the board, and personally, I am very sorry and apologise to the women and families, and their communities, where failings in our care are at the heart of these devastating outcomes."
The board papers contained a further report, headed Response to the Independent Stillbirth Review, which said four cases were assessed as having care deficiencies likely to have affected the outcome for the baby.
In a further four cases, care issues were identified that may have contributed to the outcome.
The review found "recurrent and systemic weaknesses in the management of high-risk pregnancy, foetal surveillance, maternity triage, escalation and organisational learning", documents said.
Source: BBC News, 30 September 2026
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment