Police are investigating whether criminal charges should be brought against a hospital trust where hundreds of cases of poor maternity care are being examined, including allegedly avoidable deaths of babies and mothers.
Failures in care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust have been described as the worst maternity scandal in the history of the NHS.
An independent review was established in 2017 to look into a cluster of baby deaths at the trust, initially focusing on 23 cases.
Since then, hundreds more families have come forward, and the investigation is now looking at more than 1,200 cases, including deaths of babies and mothers and babies who have been left with permanent brain damage.
The incidents being examined range from 1979 to this year.
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Richard Stanton and Rhiannon Davies helped push for that investigation after their daughter Kate died just six hours after her birth in 2009.
An inquest confirmed her death could have been avoided if staff had picked up on warning signs during the latter stages of Ms Davies's pregnancy and immediately after Kate's birth.
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Ms Davies, who was only able to hold her daughter for 30 precious minutes, still breaks down as her husband recalls what happened.
"I was shown Kate in a side room and told that the situation was really poor and I cradled Kate while she died in my arms just six hours after Rhiannon had given birth to her," Mr Stanton said.
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Since then, the couple have discovered more and more cases where they believe lessons should have been learnt by the Trust.
A leaked report last year found that clinical malpractice was allowed to continue unchecked for 40 years at a trust with a "toxic" culture.
Mr Stanton and Ms Davies welcome the involvement of the police.
Mr Stanton said: "There has to be accountability at this trusRead More – Source
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