Published on 13 February 2020
We welcome the NHS-commissioned review and will work closely with the independent team to make improvements for families giving birth in east Kent.
We know that we have not always provided the standard of care for every woman and baby that they expected and deserved, and wholeheartedly apologise to every one of those families we have let down.
We are taking all necessary steps to provide safe care and we are treating the recently raised concerns about the safety of our service with the utmost seriousness and urgency.
This includes making use of support from leading maternity experts, who have already identified further improvements that we will make.
We recognise that the change needed in our maternity service has not taken place quickly enough, and we are doing everything we can to improve our culture so that we become an organisation which is constantly learning and improving.
As part of this we continue to work with our regulators in an open and transparent way.
Our externally-chaired Board sub-committee will review the actions we have taken since we commissioned an independent review into our service in 2015, ensuring we are complying with national safety standards and are implementing the Coroner’s recommendations fully and swiftly.
Around 7,000 women give birth under our care each year, and one death that could be prevented is one too many. We will not rest until we are delivering an outstanding maternity service that has the full confidence of all families in east Kent.
If you are expecting a baby, and have concerns, we would encourage you to contact your named midwife for reassurance.
If you have been under the care of East Kent Hospitals’ maternity service in the past and have concerns about your care, you can contact us on 01233 651900. This phone line is open 9am to 4pm this week. Your call will initially be answered by the patient advice service.
