Latest news with #hospitalfailings
Sky News
15-07-2025
- Sky News
David Fuller: Offences committed by hospital worker who sexually abused dozens of corpses 'could happen again'
An inquiry into the case of a hospital worker who sexually abused dozens of corpses has concluded that "offences such as those committed by David Fuller could happen again". It found that "current arrangements in England for the regulation and oversight of the care of people after death are partial, ineffective and, in significant areas, completely lacking". The first phase of the inquiry found Fuller, 70, was able to offend for 15 years in mortuaries without being suspected or caught due to "serious failings" at the hospitals where he worked. Phase 2 of the inquiry has examined the broader national picture and considered if procedures and practices in other hospital and non-hospital settings, where deceased people are kept, safeguard their security and dignity. What were Fuller's crimes? Fuller was given a whole-life prison term in December 2021 for the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, in 1987. During his time as a maintenance worker, he also abused the corpses of at least 101 women and girls at Kent and Sussex Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital before his arrest in December 2020. His victims ranged in age from nine to 100. Phase 1 of the inquiry found he entered one mortuary 444 times in the space of one year "unnoticed and unchecked" and that deceased people were also left out of fridges and overnight during working hours. Sir Jonathan's second phase of his report looks into how we care for the dead across England. Report analysis by Jason Farrell After an initial glance, his interim report already called for urgent regulation to safeguard the "security and dignity of the deceased". On publication of his final report he describes regulation and oversight of care as "ineffective, and in significant areas completely lacking". David Fuller was an electrician who committed sexual offences against at least 100 deceased women and girls in the mortuaries of the Kent and Sussex Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital. His victims ranged in age from nine to 100. This first phase of the inquiry found Fuller entered the mortuary 444 times in a single year, "unnoticed and unchecked". It was highly critical of the systems in place that allowed this to happen. His shocking discovery, looking at the broader industry - be it other NHS Trusts or the 4,500 funeral directors in England - is that it could easily have happened elsewhere. The conditions described suggest someone like Fuller could get away with it again. Please refresh the page for the latest version.
The Sun
23-06-2025
- Health
- The Sun
National investigation launched into ‘failing' NHS maternity services as Wes Streeting apologises to ‘gaslit' families
HEALTH Secretary Wes Streeting has ordered a rapid investigation into NHS maternity care, stating 'it's clear something is going wrong' at mum and baby units across England. He made the call after meeting with parents whose infants died or were seriously injured due to hospital failings. 2 The review will begin with the worst performing maternity services in England and then look at the country as a whole, with a report due to be published in December. Mr Streeting said grieving families had been 'gaslit lied to, manipulated and damaged further' in their search for the truth due to trusts refusing to admit to failures in care. "For the past year, I have been meeting bereaved families from across the country who have lost babies or suffered serious harm during what should have been the most joyful time in their lives," he said. 'What they have experienced is devastating – deeply painful stories of trauma, loss, and a lack of basic compassion – caused by failures in NHS maternity care that should never have happened. "Their bravery in speaking out has made it clear: we must act – and we must act now." Though "the vast majority of births are safe and without incident", the Health Secretary said "it's clear something is going wrong". 'That's why I've ordered a rapid national investigation to make sure these families get the truth and the accountability they deserve, and ensure no parent or baby is ever let down again," Mr Streeting stated. He pledged to do "everything in [his] power" to prevent more families from suffering due to maternity service failings. The investigation will begin probing up to 10 of the most concerning maternity and neonatal units in the coming weeks to give affected families answers as quickly as possible, according to the Department of Health. This will include trusts in Leeds, Gloucester, Mid and South Essex and Sussex, with the other areas to be confirmed 'shortly'. Maternity deaths are at a 20-year high in Britain - here's what to do if you're worried about symptoms or want to lower your risk Mr Streeting added he'd be ordering investigations into individual cases of families in Leeds and Sussex who suffered from NHS failures. The second part of the investigation will be a 'system-wide' look at maternity and neonatal care. It aims to bring together lessons from past maternity inquiries - of which there have been many - to create one 'clear set of actions' improve NHS care at a national level. A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by Mr Streeting, has also been set up, made up of experts and bereaved families. Meanwhile, a new digital system will be rolled out to all maternity services by November to flag potential safety concerns in trusts, and an anti-discrimination programme to tackle inequalities is being launched. Mr Streeting told the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) conference in London: 'Over the last year, I've been wrestling with how we tackle problems in maternity and neonatal units, and I've come to the realisation that while there is action we can take now, we have to acknowledge that this has become systemic. 'It's not just a few bad units. Up and down the country, maternity units are failing, hospitals are failing, trusts are failing, regulators are failing. 'There's too much obfuscation, too much passing the buck and giving lip service.' What was the 'biggest NHS maternity scandal'? Some 201 babies and nine mothers needlessly died in the biggest maternity scandal in NHS history, at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. An inquiry by top midwife Donna Ockenden found a litany of devastating errors, with the findings revealed in March 2022. It found maternity units were short-staffed for years and bosses refused to take responsibility for mistakes. Alongside the tragic deaths, 94 babies suffered life-changing brain injuries as a result of 'catastrophic' care. Nearly 1,500 families were devastated by death, injury and disability. The report looked at more than 1,800 complaints at the Midlands hospitals, with most from between 2000 and 2019. It found 40 per cent of stillbirths had not been investigated by the trust, similarly with 43 per cent of neonatal deaths. It led staff members to come forward and paint a picture of a "clique with a culture of undermining and bullying", where concerns were ignored by bosses. The investigation found an obsession with keeping caesarean section rates low and promoting "natural births" needlessly cost lives. Some women were even blamed for their own deaths, while major incidents were "inappropriately downgraded" to avoid scrutiny. Patient concerns were dismissed. The "toxic culture" was left unchecked for more than two decades. Ms Ockenden warned the failings identified by her report were "not unique" and called for all maternity units in England to be overhauled. The Health Secretary said "appalling" maternity care scandals had come to light over the last 15 years and that "the rate of late maternal deaths has been consistently rising". 'Too many children have died because of state failure and I will not allow it to continue under my watch," he stated. Mr Streeting apologised on behalf of the NHS, after meeting families around the country whose children have died or been injured. He said: 'I want to say publicly how sorry I am, sorry for what the NHS has put them through, sorry for the way they've been treated since by the state and sorry that we haven't put this right yet, because these families are owed more than an apology. "They're owed change, they're owed accountability and they're owed the truth.' The Health Secretary stopped short of launching a statutory public inquiry - despite it being the wish of some bereaved families - explaining that "rapid investigation" would get answers to families faster. But he said he would keep 'that option open'. Asked about the cost of the review, Mr Streeting said: 'I suspect it will be somewhat less than the enormous costs we pay in clinical negligence claims. 'Probably the most shocking statistic in this area is that we are paying out more in clinical negligence for maternity failures than we are spending on maternity services. That's how bad things are." He described the cost of the report as "a drop in the ocean compared to the price of failure". 'A line in the sand' Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, said: 'Despite the hard work of staff, too many women are experiencing unacceptable maternity care and families continue to be let down by the NHS when they need us most. 'This rapid national investigation must mark a line in the sand for maternity care – setting out one set of clear actions for NHS leaders to ensure high quality care for all. 'Transparency will be key to understanding variation and fixing poor care – by shining a spotlight on the areas of greatest failure we can hold failing trusts to account. 'Each year, over half a million babies are born under our care and maternity safety rightly impacts public trust in the NHS – so we must act immediately to improve outcomes for the benefit of mothers, babies, families and staff.' The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said maternity services are 'at, or even beyond, breaking point'. RCM chief executive Gill Walton said: 'Every woman and family should leave maternity and neonatal services whole, happy and healthy. 'Yet we know that, for far too many, that isn't their experience. 'Systemic failings and a lack of attention to the warning signs have let those families down and let down the hardworking staff who are trying so hard to provide the care they deserve. 'Everyone involved in maternity services: the midwifery community, obstetricians, anaesthetists, sonographers and, of course, the women and families in their care; knows that maternity services are at, or even beyond, breaking point. 'This renewed focus and commitment by the Health Secretary to deliver change is welcome, and we will do everything we can to support him in doing so.' Professor Ranee Thakar, president of the RCOG, said: 'The maternity workforce is on its knees, with many now leaving the profession.' She said that 'for years, maternity units have had too few staff, too little time for training and lacked modern equipment and facilities, resulting in women and babies being harmed.' She urged the Government to 'not to lose sight of funding and workforce shortages within this'.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Singleton Hospital maternity report reveals 'concerning' care
Parents of a boy left with lifelong disabilities due to hospital failings during his birth say no lessons have been learnt. Sian and Rob Channon's son Gethin was born at Swansea's Singleton hospital in 2019 and say his life was "destroyed before he took his own breath" after being left with a serious brain comes as a report into the hospital's maternity and neonatal services found pregnant women were left alone in labour or had to give birth outside proper areas, with some mums saying they decided not to have more children as a result of their experiences. Swansea Bay health board apologised to parents with a "poor experience" and said it was focused on strengthening its services. Llais, which represents patients in Wales, based its report on more than 500 people's experiences of maternity and neonatal services at Swansea's Singleton report, carried out over several months at the end of 2024, heard about failings in safety, quality of care and respect at almost every families felt ignored or unable to raise concerns and Llais could not find anybody who shared "an entirely positive experience of their care".The health board insisted a number of changes have been made but Llais said "cultural, clinical and leadership" improvements were most serious concerns in the report revolve around mothers who felt the safety of their babies could have been "at risk", with Llais hearing "distressing stories" of women being left alone in labour and failures to recognise and treat infections. Mr Channon said it was horrifying knowing that Gethin's situation was "avoidable". "As a result of catastrophic failings, he was left with lifelong disabilities. A serious brain injury that has shortened his life expectation and left him really struggling day to day."Gethin can't walk. Gethin can't move on his own. He's fed through a button in his stomach. He's completely reliant on other people for every aspect of his life." Mrs Channon said they found it very difficult to go out anywhere where they see other children. "You can't help but compare children of Gethin's age and wonder why your son isn't running around and splashing in the sea."The couple, who were first made aware of what went wrong during Gethin's birth in 2022, said they were furious a report in 2025 "shows no lessons have been learnt". A total of 76% of people who took part in the survey reported a negative experience or identified failures in the quality of their care, including feeling like being on "a conveyor belt", or "lost in a system".Several women said they were not fully monitored and had to push for mum was left feeling "like a slab of meat" after being left "covered in blood".She added: "I had one person taking my clothes off, another inserting a catheter. I was naked and uncovered. My catheter was left in for 26 hours. I had a horrific experience and just left."One mother said: "This experience is one of the main reasons I will not have more children. I cannot go through all that again."Another said: "At birth I wasn't checked for two hours. I went to the toilet and rang the emergency cord - I gave birth in the toilet cubicle." A separate ongoing independent review of the health board's maternity services, commissioned after serious concerns about maternity services were recorded in 2023 and 2024, is set to be published in the said it wanted to give more families an opportunity to share their experiences. Llais said it was concerning that only 48% of respondents felt involved in decisions about their care, given the importance of informed consent and shared respondents felt "pressurised" into having their babies induced without full discussion of the risks, benefits and the report heard examples of staff providing compassionate, professional and supportive care, it found these were often tied to specific described a "dismissive" culture with one woman feeling "judged" after asking for a bath, and was also told "it isn't the Hilton" for asking for a pillow. The report said "a consistent and deeply concerning theme" was people not being listened to, even when they raised serious mother said she was told to take paracetamol and "rest up" when she phoned a consultant concerned about reduced movement of her unborn child following a car accident. She said: "I later found out that an accident is one of the main causes of a placental abruption. Which is how we actually lost our son. They didn't listen at all."Inadequate or no pain relief was also a frequent complaint, with many women describing being made to feel they were overreacting or imagining included woman being told they were not in pain, being wrongly told they were not in the process of giving birth or being questioned about why they needed pain relief immediately after stitches. Just 53% of respondents reported postnatal care was "positive", while 21% identified poor care, including feeling neglected, unsupported and even unsafe."I had to walk two wards to get to my baby after surgery [then] I collapsed at the reception desk," said one women spoke of being unable to reach their newborn due to a lack of assistance after having caesareans. "I couldn't reach my baby. I was told: 'You're the mum, we don't have to do everything for you'," said one respondent. Some women with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit said they were left to manage their own recovery and were unable able to see their babies. Some women told the report stereotypes affected their care, with black women describing being perceived as "aggressive" and others feeling "invisible".Some who spoke English as a second language said they found it difficult to understand new mum, a healthcare professional, said she was warned complaining about her care could threaten her ability to practise medicine in the UK, which she felt led to severe postnatal depression and the breakdown of her marriage. Llais said it wants acknowledgement from the health board of the scale and nature of poor care and commitment to use the report and the independent review findings to learn and report regularly on performance. It has also asked the Welsh government to encourage the development of a national approach to support those harmed by poor maternity care. Medwin Hughes, chairman of Llais, said: "What's needed now is continued leadership across the system to make sure those experiences are heard and acted on."Health board chief executive Abi Harris said the organisation was "completely focused on strengthening our services and the Llais report recognises many of the improvements that have been made"."We will respond fully to all the recommendations of all these important reports together and ensure we learn and act on them," she Jan Williams apologised and said she was grateful for the report and did not "underestimate how difficult it will have been for individuals who have had a negative experience of our services to relive that while contributing". The Welsh government said its main concern was for the welfare of the mothers and babies. In a statement, it said: "Considerable work is ongoing to improve the safety and quality of maternity services in Swansea Bay, but as the Llais report indicates, there is still more to do to improve the experiences for all women."It added it had commissioned an assessment of the safety and quality of all maternity units in Wales to "measure the impact of recent interventions made".
