MEMBERS of a band of midwives at the centre of a national maternity scandal are set to face formal misconduct allegations today.
Furness General Hospital staff Lindsey Biggs and Holly Parkinson will travel to the headquarters of the Nursing and Midwifery Council in London for the disciplinary panel hearing.
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They are accused of failing to provide adequate care for Dalton newborn Joshua Titcombe as he suffered with a treatable infection after his birth at the unit in 2008. Baby Joshua later died, aged nine days old.
The pair face being permanently struck off the midwifery register if the case against them is proven. Their hearings will run concurrently and are scheduled to last until next Thursday.
Ms Biggs is said to have failed to conduct observations on Joshua over the course of three hours on October 27 that year, of failing to refer him to a paediatrician on account of his low temperature and of failing to record the care she provided.
Ms Parkinson is said to have failed to record the advice of a paediatrician, of failing to document the care she gave to Joshua and of failing to refer his low temperature to a doctor.
Ms Biggs and Ms Parkinson were among a group of midwives criticised within the controversial Morecambe Bay Investigation Report which found Joshua was among 11 babies who died needlessly at Barrow's maternity unit between 2004 and 2013.
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