The maternity services in Nottingham, delivered at the Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen’s Medical Centre, are subject to a high profile independent review.
Run by Donna Ockenden who previously led the maternity review in Shropshire, the investigation involves 1,800 families at the time of writing.
What is happening at the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust run maternity services?
It was recently published that the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust had paid more than £100 million in birth injury compensation between 2006 and 2023.
The claims ranged from brain injury cases to stillbirths, serious incidents caused or contributed to by inadequate medical care.
Maternity units affected
Serious failings in patient care are being highlighted by the review into maternity services delivered at the Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital.
Nottingham is sadly not unique. Inadequate care leading to avoidable incidents causing irreversible brain damage or the loss of a baby either to stillbirth or shortly after they are born, is a problem across England and Wales.
Many of the families who have lost a baby, or whose child is permanently and severely disabled due to preventable incidents are calling for a national review into maternity care.
Nottingham brain damage
The biggest birth injury compensation payouts over a 17 year period from 2006 in Nottingham related to brain injury cases.
An irreversible brain injury can be suffered before, during or just after a baby is born. This could be a result of missed signs that the baby is in distress and failing to provide a timely medical response, to inappropriate intervention.
For some parents this could be that a mother is advised to continue with a vaginal birth when a c-section may have been the safest option to avoid serious harm caused by a period of the baby not receiving enough oxygen for example.
Brain injury compensation
A permanent brain injury, likely to be caused as a result of a failure to provide timely and appropriate medical intervention, is life changing for the baby and their family.
The subsequent complex and lifelong disabilities including cerebral palsy, cannot be reversed.
The compensation that a child is entitled to following an avoidable brain injury covers the holistic cost of their care needs from birth, and for the rest of their life.
Ongoing therapies to help with speech, mobility and other difficulties, equipment such as adapted baths and wheelchairs and carers are just some of the costs to consider.
This means that brain injury claims often run into millions of pounds.
Improving maternity services
The review being conducted at the Nottingham University Hospitals will conclude with recommendations for improvements.
Taking the suggestions on board and implementing the necessary changes is not guaranteed with some affected families in areas such as Shropshire and Morecambe reporting that there has not been enough change.
Baby deaths due to poor NHS trust maternity services
Both the parents who have suffered the loss of their baby because of a hospital’s failure to provide proper medical care, and those whose child is permanently disabled due to preventable harm, will grieve the loss of the healthy child they should have had.
A meeting for the families impacted in Nottingham to share injuries experience recently took place with more than 100 people attending, more are expected to join future events.
An important element of self care for parents in these tragic situations is to reach out to other families who have been through the same ordeal.
Properly investigate a brain injury
Telltale signs that serious harm has been suffered are often spotted soon after a baby is born. They may be floppy at birth, have discoloured skin, or they may make grunting noises.
Some harmed babies require resuscitation to save their life immediately after they are born. As they develop, other telling red flags are missed developmental milestones.
Negligence claims are hard fought and must prove that medical errors contributed to or caused a catastrophic brain injury in order to access much needed compensation.
Birth injury suffered in the Nottingham area
A child that has been catastrophically injured in the Nottingham area when it is believed that the hospital involved is responsible, can instruct specialist solicitors anywhere in England and Wales to represent them in their negligence claim.
It is strongly advised that true legal experts in this complex area of law are instructed when a family decides to take the legal route to find answers and obtain the required compensation to meet their child’s needs.
The negligence claims process is not easy and families may spend years getting nowhere with the wrong solicitor.
Obtaining the best outcome following negligence
Whether the permanent birth injury took place in the Nottingham area or another part of the country, securing the best outcome very much depends on instructing the right law firm.
Brain injury claims worth millions of pounds are not won by lawyers alone. The right brain injury legal specialists will have long established relationships with expert barristers and independent medical professionals with years’ of experience in this specific field.
Cases can be dropped by law firms several years after the process is started because they are unable to find sufficient evidence to strengthen the claim.
These families are let down not because clinical errors were not responsible for the serious harm experienced by their child, but because their chosen solicitor may not have relationships with leading independent medical experts.
How many families have suffered a birth injury in Nottingham?
The review into serious incidents in Nottingham is believed to involve 1,800 cases so far. This number may grow as the investigation led by Donna Ockenden develops.
For these families, and others around the country, finding out whether their child’s injuries could have been avoided, will be a tough but necessary journey.
Contact leading expert Diane Rostron for brain injury claims
Diane Rostron and her team offer in excess of 30 years’ specialist complex birth injuries expertise. Working with a leading team of independent medical experts and barristers, they fight for families and win.
Whether your child has suffered serious harm such as brain injury at birth in a Nottingham hospital or another part of England and Wales, we can help.