A PENNINGTON dad whose newborn son’s death sparked a public inquiry has spoken of his sadness after a larger maternity scandal emerged.

At least 42 babies and three mothers died at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust between 1979 and 2017 in what is being described as the largest maternity scandal in the history of the NHS.

Clinical malpractice was allowed to continue unchecked over 40 years with repeated failings by doctors, midwives and hospital bosses, according to a leaked internal report.

More than 50 children also suffered permanent brain damage after being deprived of oxygen during birth.

The Morecambe Bay scandal, which saw 11 babies and one mother die avoidable deaths at Furness General Hospital between 2004 and 2013 was, until now, the worst ever maternity scandal in the history of the health service.

The Shrewsbury investigation revealed repeated clinical errors were compounded by investigations that failed to ensure lessons were learnt, while bereaved families were treated with ‘a distinct lack of kindness and respect’.

Staff referred to deceased babies as ‘it’, or got their names wrong, while many grieving parents were told their case was the only one of its kind.

The review, led by midwife Donna Ockenden, was subsequently expanded by health secretary Matt Hancock, while the trust’s two hospitals – Royal Shrewsbury and The Princess Royal in Telford – were put into special measures.

Pennington dad James Titcombe, whose son Joshua died as a result of poor care at the Morecambe Bay trust in 2008, said he felt ‘very sad’ to learn about events at Shrewsbury.

Mr Titcombe’s campaigning led to a public inquiry.

He said: “This is more evidence that the NHS needs to face up to the fact that there has been a systemic problem in maternity services.

“Yet again it has taken families to be the catalyst to get this exposed.”

Bill Kirkup, who chaired the Morecambe Bay inquiry, was passed a copy of the document by The Independent. He said it made for ‘ghastly’ reading and showed ‘unmistakeable parallels’ with the scandal at Furness General Hospital.

Dr Kirkup said he had been told many times that ‘Morecambe Bay was a one-off’.

“Yet within a few short years ‘it could not happen here’ has been exposed once more as simply a comfort blanket,” he added.

He said two clinical organisational failures ‘are not two one-offs: they point to an underlying systemic problem that may be latent in other units’.

He said there is ‘good evidence that some straightforward but far-reaching measures would benefit all maternity units, as well as greatly reducing the chances of another large-scale disaster like these two’.

Such measures include always involving families in investigations, he added.