Watch the response of Trust chief executive Dr Andy Heeps to today’s publication of the Amos report.
His message is also reproduced below:
“I’m Andy Heeps, the chief executive at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.
“Many of the experiences Baroness Amos details in her report are difficult to hear, but they are deeply important because of that.
“Here at University Hospitals Sussex, we know there are families whose care fell below the standards they had every right to expect. I am deeply sorry for that, and for the harm and distress they have suffered as a result.
“The report makes clear that we must do better, especially in how we listen to women and families, how we communicate, and how we respond when things are difficult or when something goes wrong.
“We are committed to doing that. Our hospitals care for people at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives, so we owe it to everyone to do all we can to ensure every woman, baby and family receives safe, compassionate, consistent care across all our hospitals, and that we listen to and learn from their experiences – good or bad.
“Despite the extreme pressures our maternity and neonatal teams face, I have seen the important progress they have made, and I know they are determined to continue improving further still. Telephone triage is one area that has been transformed in response to some of the experiences Baroness Amos heard, while we have also recruited more midwives and changed for the better how we listen and learn when things do go wrong. These steps have helped improve our performance against national safety and quality standards over the last three years.
“This progress must continue, and we will support our teams to achieve that.
“To ensure it does, we will commit to implementing all the recommendations the national taskforce brings together from this and other recent maternity and neonatal reviews.
“Our maternity teams will continue using our own data and family feedback to improve the quality of care we offer everyone who needs it.
“And, above all, we pledge that the voices of the people we serve will guide our efforts to build an even safer, kinder maternity service here. Thank you.”
Andy