Hospital baby deaths probe

Government inspectors were today sent in to investigate deaths of mothers and babies at an NHS hospital.

The unprecedented action follows mounting concern over the series of deaths at the maternity unit in St Peter's hospital in Chertsey, Surrey.

Inspectors from the health watchdog, the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI), would not be drawn on details but confirmed they were looking into deaths going back a number of years.

The maternity unit deals with 3,700 births a year and has been the focus of union complaints over chronic staff shortages with about 30 per cent of midwife positions unfilled.

Until 1999, maternity services in the area were available at Ashford hospital in Middlesex and Queen Mary's hospital in Roehampton. But in a radical and controversial shake-up, the maternity, A&E and intensive care units at Ashford were closed and all the services were moved to St Peter's. When Queen Mary's closed two years ago, the hospital came under even more pressure.

It is the first time the CHI has sent a team into an NHS trust to investigate maternity services.

Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs St Peter's, refused to give any details.

A CHI spokeswoman said: "The trust approached us and asked us to investigate. There have been a number of serious incidents in recent years which have resulted in infant and maternal deaths. We do not know how long the inspectors will be in for, as the investigation has only just started."

Geoff Martin, of the pressure group London Health Emergency, said: "We have been warning for years that there were serious problems with maternity services at St Peter's. If women and children have died as a result, the health authority should hang their heads in shame."

He added: "St Peter's has been under intolerable pressure. There aren't enough staff, enough beds or enough facilities. Maternity services have been really badly hit."

Sources said the investigation was not focusing on a particular obstetrician or midwife but more on the systems and services delivered at the unit.

Earlier this year, a report found that St Peter's had one of the busiest maternity units in the country, raising concerns about the quality of care offered to women.

Guidelines by the Royal College of Midwives state that no midwife should deliver more than 35 babies a year and that more than 40 indicates that there are serious staff shortages. The Dr Foster Good Birth Guide found that midwives at St Peter's were delivering an average of 49 babies a year.

CHI was set up last year to inspect hospitals, trusts and other NHS services, as well as to investigate serious failings and scandals in the health service. Its chief executive, Peter Homa, said: "It is important to acknowledge that the trust contacted CHI for advice and is keen to work with us to ensure the care provided is of a high standard."