Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date the Health Service Investigation Branch took responsibility for investigating avoidable baby deaths; and what estimate he has made of the annual caseload in each of the next three years.

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) began work in April 2017 to conduct high-level investigations of serious patient safety incidents in the National Health Service in England with a specific focus on system-wide learning and improvement.

In November 2017, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced that, from April 2018, HSIB would investigate all cases of early neonatal deaths, term intrapartum stillbirths and cases of severe brain injury in babies, as well as all cases of maternal death in England. HSIB did not conduct investigations in these areas in 2017.

The new investigative approach will begin in a single region from April 2018 and rollout to all areas of England will be completed by the end of March 2019. It is estimated that there are approximately 1,000 cases of birth-related deaths or serious brain injuries in babies in England every year. The expectation is that the learning from investigations will spur system improvements leading to fewer deaths and injuries in the future.

The Secretary of State has been clear that the HSIB maternity investigations will involve patients and families in investigations. In carrying out the maternity investigations, the HSIB will consult and seek evidence or information from the patient, family members and staff involved in the care. In addition, the HSIB will share draft reports with family members, inviting comment, and provide family members with the final report.