Basildon Hospital has apologised to staff after an independent review criticised the "unacceptable delay" and bosses failure to act after a gas leak on the maternity ward.

Mid and South Essex NHS Trust commissioned an independent review after it came to light that it had failed to act on the findings of a routine air quality test.

The air quality test found there were potentially high levels of nitrous oxide – or Entonox – in the air at Basildon Hospital’s maternity unit.

The inquiry found that as an employer, the trust did not fulfil its responsibilities in relation to a duty of care to staff in a timely manner.

It stated that it was evident that the levels of nitrous oxide needed to be treated as a significant risk to health in July 2021, but this was not done until October 2022.

The report concluded that "as a result of this failure to act on a known risk, midwives and staff members on the maternity unit were exposed to unnecessary risk or potential harm",

While higher levels of Entonox are safe in the short term – so people giving birth in the unit were never at risk – prolonged exposure can lead to health issues

Bosses say immediate changes should have made to ensure that staff were safe.

Matthew Hopkins, chief executive at the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, said: “While we now have robust systems in place and are confident that nitrous oxide levels are well within the safe limits, it is simply not acceptable that we took so long to act.

“We committed to commissioning an independent investigation to fully understand what went wrong and how we could ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Good Governance Improvement carried out this review and the Trust has now received the report.

Mr Hopkins added: “It confirmed that the main cause of the failure to act on the initial air quality report was weak governance processes and they have recommended that we carry out a full governance review.

“That has now been commissioned.”

Other findings included problems with the management of medical gases, a lack of stability in leadership, lack of openness and honesty when it came to the review itself, and a need for more resources in occupational health.

The Trust say it is now developing a detailed action plan that addresses all of the recommendations made in the report and will regularly update on progress.

Mr Hopkins added: “I would like to sincerely apologise to the staff in the unit and thank them for their patience and their unwavering commitment to the families who use our maternity service.”

The inquiry did highlight that when the Trust did act, "they responded quickly".