Health secretary asked to meet over troubled trust

Councillors have requested a meeting with the health secretary to talk about the "ongoing poor performance" of a hospital trust.

The Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) is made up of representatives from Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council to scrutinise health issues in the patch.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) has faced a litany of issues including a high-profile maternity scandal that saw hundreds of baby deaths probed.

The government has previously said it is working closely with NHS England to monitor the situation.

The joint chairs of the JHOSC, Geoff Elner and Fiona Doran, said they were hoping to sit down with health secretary Wes Streeting to discuss "ongoing issues".

A report in 2022 by senior midwife Donna Ockenden highlighted catastrophic failures over 20 years that may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies and nine mothers, while other infants suffered life-changing injuries.

In May 2024, an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) concluded the trust was improving after the scandal but said areas still required action in areas like urgent and emergency care.

A month later, SaTH had to apologise after an undercover documentary showed patients waiting in A&E for up to 46 hours at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

In the request for a meeting, the chairs of the JHOSC described the current situation as a "locally challenged health and care system within a nationally broken NHS".

They added staff were working hard in a system under "significant pressure" and explained support was needed to make further improvements.

In September, health minister Karin Smyth said SaTH was in receipt of national mandated support via NHS England's Recovery Support Programme.

In an update to trust board members last month, SaTH's interim chief executive Jo Williams said that three more conditions imposed by the CQC had been lifted, leaving only two of the 58 originally set.

She also said that although winter and other pressures were a challenge for the trust, "our teams continue to work tirelessly to provide the best care possible for our patients and their families".

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