
International Women’s Day is not just another event in the calendar. Striving for social equality is a daily mission as we work towards building a society of gender equality.
The report follows a detailed analysis of all stillbirths, neonatal deaths and brain injuries sustained during childbirth across the UK in 2015, tragically 1,136 babies.
The analysis found that with different care, the outcomes might have been different for three-quarters of these babies. Warningly, this figure might be higher, as in over 400 incidents the local hospital investigation was so lacking that they couldn't analyse the care provided sufficiently.
The statement that there might have been ‘a different outcome with different care’ glosses over the gravity of the situation. In other words, if the care provided to over 700 mothers and babies in 2015 was better, those babies would have survived or not suffered a brain injury.
The analysis identified key areas for improvement, including monitoring the baby’s heartbeat during labour even though, the use of a cardiotogography (CTG) machine is standard practice in hospitals and has been for many years. The report makes recommendations regarding the use of this equipment, including to ensure that all relevant staff have annual training regarding monitoring. The co-principal investigator, Professor Zarko Alfirevic, explains
“Problems with accurate assessment of fetal well-being during labour and consistent issues with staff understanding and processing of complex situations, including interpreting fetal heart rate patterns, have been cited as factors in many of the cases we have investigated.”
Sadly, we have seen many cases where babies suffer injury or do not survive because staff missed the warning signs of the baby being distressed during labour, passing the opportunity to deliver before any harm was done.
We have brought many clinical negligence cases against hospitals across the country where errors were made with fetal heartbeat monitoring and CTG recordings. One of our clients brought a case arising from care received during labour at City Hospital in Birmingham. The staff incorrectly assessed the stage of labour the mother was in, which led to insufficient CTG monitoring and a failure to recognise the baby was suffering during protracted labour. Sadly, the baby did not survive.
Another client brought a case relating to care received during labour at, what was then, Dudley Hospital. The midwives failed to recognise the CTG showed the baby was distressed during labour, which meant the opportunity was missed to deliver her quickly. She suffered a brain injury due to lack of oxygen during birth, which led to cerebral palsy.
CTG monitoring is considered to be a critical area where improvements must be made to ensure the lives and wellbeing of mothers and babies in the future. The NHS has been running a national campaign, Saving Babies’ Lives, which mandates that all staff who care for women in labour must have annual training on CTG interpretation.
The campaign found that one in every 200 babies in the UK is stillborn, which is more than double the rate of nations with the lowest rates and that failing to understand CTG monitoring was an important factor in this.
For more information regarding clinical negligence cases arising from inadequate care of babies and mothers during labour, please contact Ann Houghton who will be happy to speak with you on an initial free, no obligation basis.
International Women’s Day is not just another event in the calendar. Striving for social equality is a daily mission as we work towards building a society of gender equality.
Next in our series of ebriefings on the Government’s Green Paper: Transforming public procurement; looking at the Chapter 4 proposal to change the basis of contract awards.
The Academies Financial Handbook is updated annually by the Department for Education and the Education and Skills Funding Agency; it contains a number of governance requirements for academy trusts.
Supreme Court publishes key decision for those working in the UK’s gig economy.
The 'Chocolate Snowman Appeal' is an amazing initiative that Anthony Collins Solicitors' (ACS) employees take part in every year.
The Building Safety Bill (the Bill) is said to be the most significant and wide-ranging change to the regulatory environment for higher risk building (HRBs) for over 45 years.
On 4 November 2020, the Restriction of Public Exit Payments Regulations 2020 (the Regulations) came into force; exit payments for the public sector were capped at £95,000.
The case was brought by the Official Receiver who sought disqualification orders under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA 1986) against the seven trustees of Kids Company and its CEO. It illustrates well the tension between the role of a fulltime paid CEO of a large charity and the role of its board as voluntary trustees/directors.
At the end of 2020, The Charity Governance Code was updated or 'refreshed' as it is termed on its website.
Anthony Collins Solicitors is today (Thursday 11 February) revealing the scale of its social impact during 2020.
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