THE father of a baby who died at Furness General Hospital following an "unnoticed" infection says he feels vindicated now the "appalling truth" of failings of care, cover-up and denial is in the open.

Speaking after the publication of the "shocking" report into the deaths at the Barrow hospital - which included his own son Joshua in 2008 - James Titcombe said he had "mixed emotions".

"I'm really sad because this report lays out so many missed opportunities so clearly which would have made a difference to Joshua and to other families," said Mr Titcombe, 36, of Dalton. "There's anger there over the way people behaved but I'm feeling very relieved and vindicated because I think this report finally gives us the truth that we (the families of those who died) have been fighting for."

Baby Joshua Titcombe died in the care of UHMBT at FGH on November 5, 2008, at just nine days old.

An inquest into his death in June, 2011, ruled he died of natural causes but concluded midwives repeatedly missed opportunities to spot and treat a serious infection.

The then coroner for South Cumbria, Ian Smith, accused ten staff at FGH of ‘collaborating’ to shield each other from criticism - something the report confirmed.

"From the moment Joshua collapsed at FGH at 24-hours-of age I realised that something catastrophic had gone wrong," he said. "After Joshua died we hoped the the trust would support us and help us to understand what happened but medical records went missing and we were told dishonest things. We felt his life was swept under the carpet."

What made it worse for the Dalton man, he said, was discovering similar situations had occurred with other families - something the bereaved parents could not "possibly come to terms with that without seeking to find a resolution".

For Mr Titcombe, the publication of the findings of the investigation has marked a "huge turning point".

"It sets out in no uncertain terms what happened," he said. "Now we need to see the words and recommendations turned into meaningful actions and that would be the full implementation of the recommendations."

Since the death of his son, Mr Titcombe has dedicated his life to improving patient safety.

After working at Sellafield, where he said there was a "safety focused culture", he said his role within the CQC now means he can continue his campaign to change the culture in health care.

"That kind of perspective made me think why is it a baby can die from preventable reasons and it's not even significant enough for them to investigate it," he said. "I'm passionate that I want to see the same kind of culture in health care that I saw at Sellafield."

And though he said he could understand that mistakes inevitably happen, there has to be openness and honesty as a result.

"The priority has to be to learn and if we can push the culture of the NHS to make sure that happens every time then inquiries like this should never happen," he said. "All I want to know is that a proper process has been followed.

"People's lives are too precious and that kind of culture won't hammer staff, that kind of culture would support them."