Royal College of Anaesthetists responds to the Ockenden Report

Published: 22/12/2020

The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) welcomes the Ockenden Report1 on failures of care in maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, and the immediate and essential actions that it recommends. It is sad to see that many of the lessons to be learned are similar to those identified by previous reports2,3.

We recognise the immense bravery of the families who have contributed to the public enquiry and sincerely hope that this will mark a turning point for maternity care.

We are pleased to see that this report includes specific recommendations for obstetric anaesthesia service. The overarching message is that obstetric anaesthetists should be an integral and active part of the multidisciplinary team in order to provide the best and safest care possible for mothers and babies. We urge our members to read and act on the report, and trust that hospitals will support them in doing so.

The report recommends that obstetric anaesthetists regularly review their local guidance to make sure it is in keeping with that produced nationally by the RCoA and the Obstetric Anaesthetists’ Association. The report refers to RCoA’s Guidelines for the Provision of Obstetric Anaesthetic Services as the standard against which obstetric anaesthetic services should be benchmarked and is in keeping with the RCoA’s Anaesthesia Clinical Service Accreditation scheme.

Dr Felicity Plaat, RCoA Council lead for obstetric anaesthesia said: “We firmly believe that in order to help change the culture in maternity care, anaesthetists must embrace their integral role in the service and in the words of the report, ‘where there is apparent disengagement from the maternity service, obstetric anaesthetists must insist they are involved and not remain on the periphery’”.

References:

  1. Ockenden report. Emerging findings and recommendations from the independent review of maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. 10 December 2020
  2. Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation. The Stationary Office. Kirkup B. 2015
  3. National Maternity Review. Better births - Improving outcomes in maternity services in England. NHS England, London 2016