A CORE group of midwives were known to "fly close to the wind" and to "push past the boundaries" of safe practice during the births of babies at the shamed maternity unit in Barrow, newly released government files show.

The poorly equipped labour and delivery ward at Furness General Hospital was also described as being so short staffed women could not be safely cared for.

But when the matter was raised with hospital bosses on numerous occasions, they were said to have replied "Do you want us to knit a midwife?"

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The shocking description of working conditions at the Barrow hospital was given by midwife Joan Moorby when she was interviewed by patient safety expert Dr Bill Kirkup during the Morecambe Bay Maternity Investigation.

The inquiry concluded last year that 16 babies and three mothers died at FGH between 2004 and 2013 as a result of poor care and a toxic culture.

In papers kept secret by the government until last week, Mrs Moorby was revealed to have said: "I was aware that there were certain midwives that would push past the boundaries.

"You know, there were things said at the time like 'she flies a bit close to the wind'."

Mrs Moorby went on to describe a labour ward where communication between doctors and midwives was poor, and there was no defined way for midwives to receive news of incident learning or new protocols.

Staffing levels became so short on the labour ward that off-duty midwives had to be 'on call' if too many women came in at once.

Mrs Moorby told the investigation panel: "I think we coped on very little staff to be honest.

"There was a lot of asking for extra staff at the time and it was, kind of, being told there isn't any.

"I think one of the terms was 'do you want me to knit a midwife?'."

So far, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the organisation in charge of ensuring nurses and midwives are safe to practice in the UK, went on to strike off two midwives who had been employed at FGH's maternity unit – Marie Ratcliffe and Lindsey Biggs – after finding them not safe to practice.

Another midwife, Holly Parkinson, was suspended for nine months for failing to properly care for baby Joshua Titcombe after his birth in 2008.

The Morecambe Bay Investigation Report made 44 recommendations for the trust in charge of FGH and the wider NHS.

Bosses within the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which runs FGH, met all improvements by the deadlines set – with a new £12m maternity unit expected to be completed by December 2017.

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