Legal News

A freedom of information request made by the BBC has revealed that 305,019 adverse incidents were recorded in 81 of England’s NHS maternity units between 2013 and 2016.

These figures revealed that there have been at least 259 avoidable baby deaths in the past three years. Moreover, one third of hospitals failed to provide data, suggesting that the figures could be even higher.

These adverse incidents refer to when unexpected harm, injury or death has occurred, and over 1,400 mistakes a week were recorded. Mistakes have reportedly included failure to monitor the foetus’ heartbeat or performing Caesarean sections too late.

One couple, Adam Asquith and Sarah Ellis, spoke out on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme about the death of their first child in 2014. Sarah attended Calderdale Royal Hospital (CRH) when she went into labour, however she was told there was no bed for her, and sent home because her labour was not in an advanced stage. However when Sarah could no longer feel her baby moving, she returned to (CRH) where, despite expressing her concerns to staff, she was subject to a six hour wait on the busy maternity ward. After six hours Sarah was seen by a consultant and underwent an emergency caesarean section.

Shortly after the birth of the baby boy – Gino – Adam was told that his son was in a bad condition and would be brain damaged if he were to pull through. After three days on life support, Gino’s parents were advised to withdraw treatment, and he died on 12 November 2014. An inquest into Gino’s death showed firstly that Sarah should have had an emergency Caesarean section hours before she did, secondly that medical staff failed to act on warning signs, and finally that the baby had been severely starved of oxygen. The coroner stated that the Calderdale Royal Hospital missed four opportunities to save the baby’s life.

Following the series of mistakes leading to Gino’s death, Adam and Sarah took legal action and were paid compensation, and it has been reported that hospital chiefs in Huddersfield and Calderdale paid out the highest amount for compensation for maternity care failures during 2014/2015.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has spoken out about the pressure that maternity services are under. Cathy Warwick, chief executive of the RCM commented: “The simple truth is we do not have enough midwives working in them right now, we are also seeing more leaving the profession because of stress and a slight reduction in the number of student midwives training.” Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) said that adequately resourced maternity units “should be an urgent priority for the NHS.”

Divya Anand, Clinical Negligence Solicitor at Duncan Lewis states the following:

“It is disappointing to see that yet again, there is an article related to avoidable injuries and fatalities due to failures in our NHS. The figures reported above in respect of there being at least 259 avoidable baby deaths in the past three years is shocking. We understand mistakes can occur but a recording of 1,400 a week is unacceptable. We can only hope that these incidents are investigated thoroughly with a view to improving the care provided.”

Divya Anand is a solicitor in the Clinical Negligence Department at Duncan Lewis. Divya is able to assist those who have suffered a serious and debilitating injury as a result of substandard care provided by a GP, doctor, or other medical staff.

Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence Solicitors

The Duncan Lewis Clinical Negligence team has significant experience acting in a vast array of claims including birth injuries, cerebral palsy claims, accident and emergency failures, GP negligence claims, misdiagnosed fractures and other medical conditions and wrongful death claims. They also act for children and adults who have suffered profound and permanent brain, spinal or neurological injuries and associated disabilities as a consequence of failings in medical care in both NHS and private hospitals.

If you believe your doctor has made a mistake or you waited too long in a maternity ward and wish to claim compensation or have any questions about treatment you have received, please do not hesitate to contact our team of specialist clinical negligence solicitors on 0333 772 0409.