Families urged to contact inquiry into maternity deaths at NHS trust

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Dr Bill Kirkup, who is leading the inquiry into safety concerns at East Kent Hospitals University Trust has encouraged families who have concerns about the care they received to speak out. In a message to families affected by care at the trust since 2009 Dr Kirkup, who led the inquiry into a major maternity scandal at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay in 2015, said: “As the chair of the investigation I would like to invite any families who wish to share their experience of the maternity and neonatal services at East Kent Hospitals during this time period to contact the investigation to talk about this. “The investigation is looking at individual cases where there has been a preventable or avoidable death; a concern that the death may have been preventable or avoidable; a damaging outcome for the baby or mother; or where there is reason to believe the circumstances shed light on how maternity services were provided or managed or how the trust responded when things went wrong.” He added he would also be considering how the trust responded to “signals that there were problems” and how it engaged with regulators like the Care Quality Commission. “I will therefore make arrangements for any families to share with the Investigation their experience in private and to remain anonymous, if you would prefer to do so.” A spokesman for the East Kent Hospitals University Trust said: "We welcome the independent investigation and we will do everything we can to help Dr Bill Kirkup and his team."