Hospitals in Shropshire and Leeds have been excluded from the national maternity review

Two NHS trusts have been removed from a review of maternity breaches across England.

Trusts in Shropshire and Leeds have been excluded from the government’s rapid reviews into “system failures” after it was confirmed last month that they were two of 14 trusts to be investigated.

Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) was removed following “discussions with West Mercia Police regarding the details and timetable”. [an] ongoing investigations“. The decision shocked families in the district.

The news that Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTH) will no longer be included in the review comes after a “separate maternity request “This was announced by the Secretary of State on Monday,” officials said.

The national inquiry is set to urgently look into the country’s worst-performing maternity and newborn services and deliver a report by December.

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan said she was concerned that “a review of maternity care in the UK does not expect to learn from one of the most in-depth investigations into failures in a maternity ward in decades”.

In Leeds, a BBC investigation found that the deaths of at least 56 babies and two mothers from LTH over the past five years may have been preventable.

Health Minister Wes Streeting said he hoped the Leeds-focused inquiry announced on Monday would help families find out the truth about what went wrong in their care.

The trust’s maternity units were downgraded from “good” to “unsatisfactory” earlier this year after unannounced inspections raised concerns that women and babies were being “put at risk of avoidable harm”.

In a statement released at the time, the trust told the BBC that it was already “taking significant steps to deliver improvements”.

In 2022 a review of maternity services in Shropshireled by senior midwife Donna Ockenden, concluded that catastrophic failures may have resulted in the deaths of more than 200 babies and nine mothers, with other infants suffering life-changing injuries.

West Mercia Police began its own investigation in 2020 to establish whether there was evidence to support a criminal case against the trust or people involved.

The force announced earlier this year that it had begun doing so Survey of current and former employees.

Charlotte Cheshire, from Newport in Shropshire, has a son who is severely disabled due to maternity failure in the county.

She said she was “absolutely horrified” to learn that SaTH had been removed from the review.

She found out about the decision when a letter was sent to some parents on Tuesday.

The decision to exclude Shropshire and Leeds from the review would mean families’ stories would not be heard, she said.

“I see no way that Baroness Amos and her team are actually getting to the bottom of the issues that could improve maternity care in the future,” Ms Cheshire said.

Morgan, who is also the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesman, said: “I am quite concerned that a review of maternity care in the UK does not expect to learn from one of the most in-depth investigations into failings in a maternity ward over decades.”

“I also think it is very important that the families affected make their contribution.

“They were the first to come to light, they went through incredible tragedies and trauma and I think their experiences are relevant to this investigation.”