An investigation into maternity care at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has uncovered repeated examples of negligent care during the past decade.
The Independent and Channel 4 News investigation has revealed that dozens of babies have died or been left brain damaged following errors during birth, with managers failing to properly investigate concerns into the maternity unit.
The Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is currently facing at least a dozen clinical negligence claims by bereaved families fighting to find out the truth about what happened to their children.
Data obtained by The Independent show 201 medical negligence claims against the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust’s maternity services since 2010, with almost half lodged in the last four years.
Two fifths (84) of the cases are now closed, with the NHS paying out £79.3 million in compensation with a further £12.3 million in legal costs. However, this value is likely to be significantly higher as the data excludes any future payments to support the lives of disabled children.
Among the 201 medical negligence claims, there were 15 deaths, 19 stillbirths, 46 cases of brain damage, and 18 cerebral palsy cases.
A total of 25 cases were caused by delays in treatment, another 15 by a failure to respond to an abnormal foetal heart rate and 13 attributed to complications not being recognised.
There were also 12 delays or failures to diagnose conditions, 10 cases of inadequate nursing care, and a total of 16 cases involving staff who failed to monitor the second stage of labour when women were actively giving birth. This latter category alone cost the NHS £16 million.
One Nottingham trust manager said: “The signs were there, along with not just poor-quality investigations and things that just remained unanswered, but some inappropriate behaviours in maternity care as well.
“I think the board didn’t piece together several things soon enough to realise the scale of the problem.”
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.