NHS chiefs said families seeking answers about baby deaths were acting with 'venom'

The head of the hospital which had what is likely to be the NHS’ worst ever maternity scandal said families seeking answers were full of “venom,” leaked emails reveal.

The disclosures came as more families came forward to say they had suffered harm at the hands of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS trust.

On Tuesday, a leaked report revealed that a “toxic” culture saw the death of 45 mothers and babies, with more than 50 children suffering brain damage linked to alleged failings in care.

An independent investigation is looking at more than 600 cases, amid allegations that failings at the trust date back four decades.

Emails seen by The  Telegraph reveal the contempt and disdain with which parents who fought for answers have been treated.

The inquiry was launched following a long battle by Rhiannon Davies and Richard Stanton, whose daughter Kate died shortly after birth in 2009, following a catalogue of failings by the trust.

The couple said they encountered a culture of “deceit and lies and cover-ups” as they struggled to uncover the truth about what happened to their child.

Emails show that in 2014, the trust’s then chief executive, Peter Herring, said that the couple had “had a right go at me” in their written complaint about their experiences, describing himself as the “subject of their complaint and venom”.

In other emails, trust senior managers describe the couple’s complaints as “not pleasant reading”.

The couple said that in the hours since the scandal became public, following publication of a leaked interim report into midwifery services at the trust, they have been contacted by 15 families who say they too have fallen victim to the trust’s poor care.

The trust has said it is working with the independent review.

Its current interim chief executive, Paula Clark, said on Tuesday that she wished to “apologise unreservedly to the families who have been affected.”

She said the trust was making improvements to its services, and had done a lot to address the issues raised by previous cases.

Police are understood to be considering bringing corporate manslaughter charges against the trust.