Marcia Fry from the Healthcare Commission was just on BBC Breakfast - is she someone you can contact, Bubble? She sounded very keen to change things.
Here's the original article - I hope you didn't not post it for a reason, btw, Bubble:
July 17, 2005
Official alert on deadly baby units
Jonathon Carr-Brown, Health Correspondent
MOTHERS? and babies? lives are being put at risk by substandard care in maternity units, the government?s National Health Service inspectorate will warn this week.
The Healthcare Commission has uncovered evidence that chronic staff and equipment shortages or management failings have contributed to the deaths of mothers or babies. Sir Ian Kennedy, the commission?s chairman, now wants all trusts to review their maternity services because of huge discrepancies between the performance of the best and the worst.
He said: "This is an area where the consequences of things going wrong are very great. And there is growing evidence that in some places maternity services are not as good or as safe as they should be. Our work has shown that there is too much poor practice that needs to be rooted out."
It is the first time Kennedy has issued such a strongly worded warning about the state of NHS practices since the commission was created two years ago. A Department of Health source said: "We will be taking it very seriously."
Kennedy?s report was prompted by the commission?s investigations into three maternity units. Each found examples of healthy mothers and babies dying or being put in jeopardy because they were not treated properly.
At one, Northwick Park hospital in northwest London, Kennedy took the unprecedented step of ordering a team of experts to take over the maternity unit after 10 mothers died in three years ? five times the national average.
Premalatha Jeevagan, a healthy 27-year-old mother, died at the hospital in February when doctors failed to realise she had suffered a womb haemorrhage.
At New Cross hospital, Wolverhampton, a review by commission inspectors of 20 deaths of babies between 2001 and 2003 found that half might have survived with better care.
Trinity Reynolds died there in March 2003 when she suffocated in her mother?s womb after mistakes by medics. The inspectors concluded: "Staff either failed to recognise that the babies were seriously at risk or there were delays in taking action."
The third investigation, at Ashford and St Peter?s NHS Trust in Surrey, found no evidence of unnecessary baby deaths, but concluded that "feuding" between consultants was jeopardising standards of patient care.
Britain has the worst infant mortality rate in Europe at 5.3 deaths per 1,000 deaths. Only Poland and the Slovak Republic have worse rates, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
There is evidence that standards may be declining, as the number of deaths in pregnancy and childbirth has risen from 30 in 1999 to 45 in 2003.
Kennedy, who chaired the inquiry into the scandal of bungled baby heart surgery at Bristol Royal Infirmary, is concerned that many of England?s maternity units may be in crisis because of staff shortages, dilapidated buildings, poor staff training and weak management.
He acknowledged that giving birth was safer than it had ever been and few mothers and babies died or suffered serious damage. However, he said: "The numbers could be smaller if we threw the spotlight on maternity more often, and not just in the aftermath of a serious problem."
He added: "We want to bring all units up to the standards of the best. We need a fresh co-ordinated effort to raise standards and get the risks as low as possible."
Kennedy will use the publication of the commission?s annual report to highlight his concerns with Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary. He wants NHS trusts to provide more detailed information on their performance. Those that fail to do so will face spot checks by inspectors.
Liam Byrne, a health minister, said: "I?m concerned that not enough maternity units are reaching the best standards. I?ll be announcing on Wednesday plans to bring the best brains in maternity care together and by the end of the year we will have audited every unit so we can improve services."