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Family Hopes NHS Trust Learns Lessons after Tragic Loss of Baby
Baby Zuzannah tragically died just 36 hours after being born at West Middlesex University Hospital because mistakes were made during the delivery.
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The Health and Social Care Committee have published a report today on the safety of maternity services in England, which outlines concerns about the inconsistencies within maternity care across the country.
Despite efforts to improve the safety of maternity services, the report reveals that the variation in maternity care means that worryingly, not every mother can expect “the safe delivery of a healthy baby”.
This report highlights these inconsistencies across maternity care so that the NHS can learn lessons from them and improve outcomes for mothers and their babies.
Our Medical Negligence Solicitors often help mothers and their babies who haven’t experienced a reasonable level of maternity care, and this report, highlighting the issues, is crucial in making sure that women and their children are given the care they expect when giving birth.
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Staffing and Underfunding
The report highlights that the NHS are one of the safest healthcare services for maternal care in the world, but issues still remain with staffing and underfunding.
8 out of 10 midwives thought there weren’t enough staff on shifts to make sure the safest maternal care could be given and they also said that doctors had gaps in their rotas.
It also highlighted that insufficient staffing is impacting on the ability to have vital training, which is essential for patient safety.
What Happens Next?
The Health and Social Care Committee say that to make sure maternity care is safer in England following the report:
1
Fund the maternity workforce
The Government need to urgently fund the maternity workforce to make sure there are enough staff to deliver safe care to all mothers and babies
2
Review the way HSIB works
There should be a review in the way in which the HSIB works with Trusts to support local learning and development. Staff at all levels ought to be involved in the HSIB investigations
3
Ensure every mother is informed of risks
NHS England should make sure every mother is fully informed of the risks of all birthing options and pain relief options that are available to them during labour
4
Introduce a target
The Government should introduce a target with clear timeframes to reduce the inequality gap in maternal care
We have seen too many of these reports over the years with very little evidence that lessons have been learnt. So we must all demand that both the Government and NHS England take the findings of this report on board and take urgent steps to make sure that maternity services are safer for all mothers and children.
We sincerely hope that the NHS will quickly work towards completely eradicating maternity negligence and birth injuries so that all mothers and babies can give birth safely.
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