A NATIONAL expert in patient safety has commended work to transform maternity care for women and babies across the area in just two years.

The Morecambe Bay Investigation Report - published this week in 2015 - issued a damning indictment of standards at Furness General Hospital's maternity unit which resulted in the deaths of 11 babies and a mother.

Its author; Dr Bill Kirkup, this week spoke of his admiration for the achievements of hospital bosses and staff who have worked to secure desperately needed improvements to services for women.

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But Dr Kirkup has also voiced his continued frustration that some recommendations made for the wider NHS following the Morecambe Bay maternity scandal have still not been implemented to ensure a similar tragedy cannot unfold again.

He said: "I think the trust has done exceptionally well.

"It's always very difficult for a trust to improve so significantly when they clearly had a failing service.

"I think a huge amount of credit must go to the leadership and their commitment to change things right from the top."

Dr Kirkup added: "I think they had begun to address some of the issues by the time the report came out though I'm not sure they had appreciated the scale of the problem."

Last month the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust - FGH's parent organisation - secured a good rating from the Care Quality Commission for the quality of care available throughout its hospitals.

Elements of maternity provision now offered to families at FGH, in Dalton Lane, were highlighted by the government inspectors as excellent.

However, progress towards improving safety for pregnant women and babies across the country using learning from the tragedies at Barrow's hospital between 2004 and 2013 has been slower.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council has not yet called all midwives involved in the failings to fitness to practice hearings - with one case still outstanding.

And a recommendation to ensure an independent medical examiner looks at the cases of all stillbirths has never been implemented, despite it being a recommendation set out in the Morecambe Bay Investigation Report.

Dr Kirkup said: "The national picture is much more encouraging than it was this time last year.

"It was certainly slow to start.

"My biggest concern is that a move towards better scrutiny when things go wrong and improvement in standards of investigation have not moved forward.

"It's disappointing that progress has been slow on this. Having medical examiners looking at stillbirths would have been a real safeguard but this isn't likely to happen at the moment."

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