An NHS hospital trust has been fined almost three-quarters of a million pounds for failing to provide safe care and treatment following the death of a baby boy.
The East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust admitted failures in the case of a baby boy named Harry who died seven days after his emergency delivery back in November 2017.
Care for mothers and newborn babies at the trust has been heavily criticised in the past amid reports that at least seven preventable baby deaths may have occurred since 2016.
Harry’s parents have since spent years fighting for answers and better maternity safety.
In April, the East Kent Hospital trust admitted failing to provide safe care and treatment to Harry and his mother under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations.
Philip Cave, Finance Director for the trust and a member of the board, acknowledged a series of failures at East Kent Hospital and apologised to Harry’s parents.
He told the court: “I wish to emphasise that the trust does have insight into the failures that led to baby Harry’s death and the psychological injury caused to his mother.”
The plea followed a prosecution by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The trust was sentenced to pay a total fine of £1.1million, which was reduced to £733,000 because of the guilty plea from the trust.
In handing out the sentence, District Judge Justin Barron said: “The trust fell far short of the appropriate standards of care and treatment in dealing with Harry and his mother and that those failures led to the greatest harm imaginable”.
He added that the trust is “very much under the spotlight” due to the failures and said it was important that it takes action to restore confidence in its standard of care.
The family have now vowed to continue to support future investigations into maternity safety to ensure long-lasting change at local and national levels.
At Knightsbridge Solicitors, we are passionate about helping our clients to get the compensation they deserve following negligent medical treatment.
So, if you think you have suffered due to medical negligence. Please contact a member of our expert team, led by Sadaf Tariq, on 0115 824 1700 for a free discussion regarding making a claim.