In a report leaked to The Independent, it emerged that dozens of mothers and babies died due to serious failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. The failings at the Trust date back 40 years, resulting in mothers and babies suffering from preventable death.
The failings at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust are being described as the largest maternity scandal in NHS history.
The cases in this maternity scandal include, 50 children deprived of oxygen during birth resulting in them being left with permanent brain damage or cerebral palsy, 22 stillbirths, three deaths during pregnancy, 17 deaths of babies following delivery, three deaths of mothers and 47 cases of insufficient care.
An interim report, written by Ms Ockenden for NHS Improvement and the Trust shows that babies delivered at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust were born brain damaged due to medical staff failing to recognise babies being in distress and labour going wrong and failing to monitor babies’ heartbeats adequately.
Babies were also left brain-damaged from group B strep or meningitis that can usually be treated by antibiotics.
Staff members regularly dismissed parents' worries, were unkind, got deceased babies' names wrong and, in one case, referred to a baby who had sadly passed away as "it".
The report revealed that staff members did not share learning, resulting in repeated mistakes being made and serious clinical failures.
The scandal shows the systemic problems within some NHS Maternity departments and how serious changes need to be made to avoid such tragedies.
Author Saniya Taqi is a trainee solicitor in the Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence department at Duncan Lewis Solicitors and works under the supervision of Director, Rebecca Thomas.
To contact Saniya, please call 020 3114 1168 or email saniyat@duncanlewis.com
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