NHS boss expecting praise and criticism from probe into mother deaths

The deaths of five women being cared for by Sandwell's NHS Trust are being investigated, with a report expected to be released in the coming weeks.

The women died over the last two years. The two most recent deaths occurred within four months of an investigation starting in February.

Toby Lewis, chief executive of the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, said the review would seek to discover any lessons which can be learned from the "tragedies".

Mr Lewis said "good progress" was being made with the inquiry but that both praise and criticism of the trust was likely to emerge.

Babies are delivered at City Hospital in Birmingham as there is currently no maternity ward at Sandwell General. It is not clear how many of the mothers died in hospital.

The deaths of the mothers were described as "serious incidents" by Mr Lewis, chief of the trust which runs both hospitals.

He said in a report to board members: "Good progress is being made with our maternal deaths learning inquiry.

"I would now expect a final report with actions agreed to be ready for consideration later in July.

"External clinicians have worked with our own teams over the last six weeks, and I believe that there will be both evidence of really good practice and opportunities to do better when the inquiry is concluded."

Chief nurse Paula Gardner said families affected and employees had been given bereavement support following the deaths.

She said in February: "As with all serious incidents, an internal investigation is carried out into why they occurred. The chief executive and I will then commission external advice to support the trust and the maternity team to learn for the future.

"By being open about what has happened, we believe that local people should retain confidence in the integrity of the organisation’s commitment to safety and quality."