A FAILING maternity service which had to be rebuilt "brick by brick" to make it safe for mothers and babies has been held up as a blueprint for other hospitals to follow by a health watchdog.

Failing standards within the maternity unit at Barrow's Furness General Hospital was found to have led to the deaths of 11 babies and a mother over a nine year period.

But the dramatic transformation of services for pregnant women and babies at the Dalton Lane site has been applauded as having outstanding elements during the latest inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

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Standards of care within the unit between 2004 and 2013 were described as being unreognisable from modern day midwifery within the Morecambe Bay Investigation, by patient safety expert Dr Bill Kirkup.

The women tasked with turning around FGH's maternity care, director of midwifery Sascha Wells, has now spoken of the challenge she faced upon her arrival at the dysfunctional maternity ward in 2011 - as well as her joy at the achievements by staff in the years since.

In an interview with the Evening Mail, Ms Wells said: "If the unit had been a commercial business we would have closed the doors and shut it down.

"There were no firm foundations, no robust governance processes, the unit was very inward looking with no established expectations.

"It was also under resourced in terms of staff.

"We literally had to rebuild from the ground up."

Since the publication of the Morecambe Bay Investigation, by Dr Bill Kirkup, in March 2015 work to dramatically improve standards of care within FGH's maternity unit have been ongoing - all while under the intense scrutiny of the CQC.

There has been several waves of recruitment into midwifery roles, job descriptions have been standardised across the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust and a governance structure is in place.

Staff now spend time on larger units within the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the Central Manchester NHS Foundation Trust to expand their experience and clinical skills.

And parents from across Furness are now heavily involved in writing job descriptions for new midwives as well as in helping to shortlist candidates and sitting on interview panels - a system noted by the CQC as outstanding practice.

Ms Wells said: "Working with the families and having them come on board to help us shape the service we are now providing to women has been a huge step and really helped change the course of things.

"The legacy of their work is having an impact on families now and into the future.

"It's amazing to have our work recognised by the inspectors.

"It's been a long and challenging journey but I'm incredibly proud of what we have all achieved."

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