Police have launched an investigation into allegations of poor maternity care at an NHS trust where dozens of babies may have died unnecessarily. West Mercia Police confirmed it was looking into Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Hospital Trust – into what threatens to be one of the worst scandals in the history of the NHS. The trust’s maternity services are currently subject to an independent inquiry, led by Donna Ockenden, which has identified 1,170 cases over a 40-year period that warrant investigation. An initial inquiry into about 250 cases found that at least 42 babies and three mothers may have died unnecessarily and more than 50 newborns suffered avoidable brain damage at the trust. Since then hundreds more cases have emerged. The details of some of these cases, involving deaths of babies and some mothers, will now be passed to the police. In April, Ockenden said she had written to 400 families where potential failures had been identified. Of these cases, 333 involved either stillbirths, neonatal deaths or baby brain damage, as well as a small number of maternal deaths. Police confirmed they met Ockenden and representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS Improvement on Tuesday. Geoff Wessell, the assistant chief constable of West Mercia Police, said the police investigation would explore whether there was evidence to support a criminal case “against the trust or any individuals involved”. He said: “We have met with NHS Improvement, the Department of Health and the independent reviewer [Ockenden] to discuss complaints made against Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Hospital Trust in relation to maternity services and provision. The independent review is ongoing. “We can confirm that a police investigation will be conducted to explore whether there is evidence to support a criminal case either against the trust or any individuals involved.” Ockenden, who is a maternity specialist, was commissioned by the government in 2017 to conduct the review and plans to release interim findings later this year. She has written to the families involved to reassure them that the police investigation should not hamper the progress of her review. She said: “We will be working closely with West Mercia Police as well as with NHS Improvement and NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that families’ voices continue to be heard.” She added: “In the weeks ahead we will be in continued discussions with West Mercia Police with a view to identifying cases that may be relevant to the police investigation. In due course we will write to those families whose cases may be relevant to the police investigation to gain their consent to share contact details with the police.” It is understood the scale of the problems at the trust and repeated failures over many years prompted the police to intervene. In a statement the police urged anyone with information to contact the police, if they have not already been in contact with Ockenden’s review. Hayley Matthews from Telford, who lost her baby son Jack 11 hours after he was born in March 2015 at the Princess Royal hospital, welcomed the police investigation. She said: “It’s about time. I’ve [been] waiting five years. It should have happened years ago and if it had happened earlier it would have saved more lives. It’s an absolute disgrace how everyone has been treated.” Louise Barnett, chief executive at the trust, said it would cooperate fully with the investigation. “We are aware that a police investigation will be conducted by West Mercia Police to explore whether there is evidence to support a criminal case either against the trust or any individuals involved, following complaints made against the Trust in relation to maternity services and provision.” She added: “I would like to reassure all families affected that we are listening and acting on feedback. We are not able to comment further to avoid prejudicing the investigation.”