Joint statement by RCM and Morecambe Bay NHS foundation Trust
By RCM on 02 November 2016
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (the Trust) has recently released details of a ‘compromise (or settlement) agreement’ reached with a Royal College of Midwives (RCM) member to sever her employment.
Following the publication of the Morecambe Bay Investigation (MBI) report into serious clinical failings in maternity services at Furness General Hospital in the period January 2004 to June 2013, the Trust has sought to fully embed the learning that has emanated from this. Whilst the report highlighted many failings at an individual, organisational and system level, it left unanswered questions for some of the families.
The release of the details resulted from a commitment by the Trust to work with one of the families to fully and openly review the circumstances and events that led to the tragic, and avoidable, loss of their son. An element of this was to review staff accountability and this internal investigation by the Trust found no evidence that the agreement or the associated payment were subject to formal governance processes.
The Trust is an organisation that respects the rights of all individuals and seeks to treat employees and ex-employees with the same dignity and compassion that it accords to patients and their families. The Trust recognises that it is the duty of unions (such as the RCM) to ensure for members that fair employment processes are followed and to hold employers to account for their failures, just as the Trust should hold employees to account for their failures.
For a number of years now, and certainly since 2013, the RCM has been working hard to support the turnaround in maternity care needed at Morecambe Bay. The Trust is grateful for the support the RCM has been able to offer the entire maternity team as it strives to learn from the past and make a better service for local women.
The Trust respects the importance of confidentiality in settlement agreements. Its action in releasing the details of this settlement agreement was a unique response to a unique situation. Whilst the Trust regrets any distress this disclosure caused, the overriding aim was for openness, transparency and candour in close liaison with the family to understand and address their residual concerns.
The RCM and the Trust acknowledge that trying to deliver both the learning from, and to give justice to, those affected by past poor maternity services at Morecambe Bay is proving to be complex. In striking a balance between individual legal rights, collective rights, the need to demonstrate openness and transparency, acknowledging past failings, and meeting the specific needs of individual patients, families and employees, the responsibilities of the employer and those representing employees do not always exactly align. The Trust is grateful that the RCM has agreed not to pursue a claim against it.
The RCM and Trust will continue to work in partnership to achieve better maternity care for all.