The Furness General Hospital scandal involved an investigation by Cumbria Constabulary and other government and public bodies into the deaths of several mothers and newborn babies at the hospital. Cases dated back to 2004, with a number of major incidents occurring in 2008. The death of Joshua Titcombe and a suppressed report by the Morecambe Bay NHS Trust brought the spotlight onto the hospital in 2011 when investigations began. Claims of medical records being intentionally destroyed alongside the discovery of major wrongdoing on behalf of midwives led to threats of closure to the maternity ward.