Maternity staff from crisis-hit East Kent Hospitals are being interviewed as part of an independent review into the trust's baby death scandal.

It forms part of an investigation by Dr Bill Kirkup, who is leading the probe into maternity and neonatal services at the QEQM in Margate and William Harvey in Ashford.

Bereaved families who lost a baby, or mothers who have come to harm, have given their personal experiences through individual 'listening sessions' as part of the review.

Now, interviews with those responsible for providing and regulating maternity services - dating back to 2009 when EKH became a foundation trust - are underway.

In a letter to families involved in the review, the Kirkup team said these are expected to be completed well before Easter. The final findings of the investigation are due to be published in a panel's report in the summer or autumn.

"Since we last wrote, we have been able to complete the listening sessions with individual families," the team said in its letter.

"We know that these listening sessions will not have been easy for any family member who has participated.

"So we want to put on record our thanks to everyone who has taken part in this essential part of the investigation.

"In our last message, we said that we were beginning to plan ahead for the interviews with the relevant East Kent staff who have worked in maternity services. Significant progress has been made with this work since October.

"As a result, we are on course to complete the necessary interviews and envisage doing so well before Easter.

"These will include interviews with other organisations, such as those responsible for the regulation of maternity services.

"Important work remains ahead and we are not in a position to give a precise date, however, we can say that we are now looking ahead to the panel’s report being published either in June/July or in the autumn."

The team says the review will help them accurately understand what has happened within maternity services to provide lessons for the future.

Each family will also be offered the opportunity to have the result of the panel's inquiries explained to them individually.

The Kirkup Review was launched in response to calls for a public inquiry into maternity services after serious problems were exposed at the trust in 2020.

It followed the high-profile inquest into the death of baby Harry Richford - who died aged one week in November 2017 at the QEQM - in which multiple failings were exposed.

East Kent Hospitals was fined £733,000 last year for the unsafe care and treatment of the tot resulting in his tragic death, after a criminal case was brought by the Care Quality Commission.

During the hearing, the CQC highlighted a 2016 report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists which found significant problems across the QEQM and the William Harvey.

Issues highlighted were consultants not carrying out ward rounds, attending out-of-hours calls when requested or completing mandatory training, but the CQC says improvements did not happen.

Harry's death has led to numerous other cases of maternity incidents.

In 2020, the hospital trust's board admitted the number of potentially avoidable baby deaths could be as many as 15 in seven years.

Dr Kirkup investigated the maternity failings at Morecambe Bay in 2015.

He is being supported by Ken Sutton and Ann Ridley, who established the groundbreaking Hillsborough Independent Panel which uncovered the truth about the football ground disaster.

Dr Kirkup worked with them on the Hillsborough panel and has drafted them in to help with the East Kent Hospitals review.