NHS failings at labour wards linked to 27 baby deaths

TWO maternity units have been put into special measures after the discovery of serious failings prompted an inquiry into 43 pregnancies – including 27 babies who died.

An investigation into services at Cwm Taf University Health Board, which runs two hospitals in South Wales, found ‘significant concerns’ about staffing and culture. It said failings compromised care at Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant and Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil.

Vaughan Gething, the minister in charge of the Labour-run Welsh NHS, yesterday apologised to the families affected.

The 43 incidents included 22 stillbirths and five neonatal deaths as well as 16 complications in labour between January 2016 and September 2018 that should have been reported.

The review by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives said staff on the labour wards worked under ‘sub-optimal’ clinical and managerial leadership.

Opposition party Plaid Cymru called on Mr Gething to resign, saying it was the latest in a series of health failings in Wales.