BARROW hospital bosses are continuing to make progress following an investigation into historic problems in maternity care.

The organisation which runs Furness General Hospital has released the latest details of its work to implement recommendations made in the Kirkup Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation.

The June progress report provided by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT) shows health chiefs have met all of the deadlines in the report to date and set up project groups responsible for actions still to be taken.

Work to meet the report’s requirements has been divided into seven key work streams: the Kirkup Programme; Clinical Quality; Education, Learning and Development; Workforce Assurance Committee; Governance; Workforce; and Communications and Engagement.

Actions carried out in June included the start of a three-month detailed process to design proposed changes to the FGH maternity unit, the planning of staff training and the development of new formats for gauging patient experience and managing complaints. 

A new recruitment strategy has also been approved and new leadership structures are in the process of being designed.

Staff information sessions are being planned, the trust website will be updated and a new guide is being produced to allow reports to be written in “plain English”.

Trust medical director, David Walker, said: “We are pleased with the progress we are making, working with our partners, to implement all of the recommendations made in the report.

“It is really important to us that we involve our patients, the public and stakeholders in our work so that we can be sure that what we are doing will really make a difference to them and the services we offer to the local communities. “Each of the project groups have a public member who helps give that ‘sense check’ to the actions being taken and give valuable feedback that helps us plan our next steps.

“We are also planning to hold an engagement event in September, where we hope to meet with as many of the public as we can to have some honest conversations about what they want from our services and how we can involve them more. More information on this event will be shared as soon as it is finalised.”