Trusts paid £34m in maternity damages
FIGURES SHOW COST OF NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS OVER DECADE
HULL hospital trusts paid out more than £34m in damages for maternity negligence in the last decade, NHS figures show.
Seven claims made from the 2011-12 financial year to March related to births that left babies with cerebral palsy or brain damage. Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust paid out for five claims due to deaths and another five for stillbirths.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust (HUTH) paid out more than £19.8m for 19 claims and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust paid out more than £14.2m for 76 claims.
A HUTH spokesperson said changes were made to stop future problems and claimed majority of patients were happy with services.
The trusts paid more than £1.5m combined in their legal costs over the last decade. They also paid more than £5.4m in claimants’ legal costs.
The combined amount of claims settled by the trusts was less than the 72 average for England. The total paid in damages was also below the average of £44.2m.
Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust closed the highest number of claims during the last decade, a total of 147. Barts Health NHS Trust paid the highest amount in damages, more than £108.9m, while the highest amount overall was paid by the Department of Health, almost £130m.
Maternity services at Women and Children’s Hospital, based at Hull Royal Infirmary, were rated Good by the Care Quality Commission during their latest inspection in June 2018. HUTH’S spokesperson said they always supported affected families through the claims process.
The spokesperson said: “We set very high standards of care for our patients and the 4,500 babies delivered at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital every year. Extensive and continual feedback confirms the majority of parents are happy with the care delivered by our committed and dedicated staff.
“On the rare occasions when care falls below the high standards we expect, we attempt to settle any subsequent legal action as quickly as possible using the correct procedures followed by all NHS organisations.
“We also conduct full and detailed investigations, reporting back to families where appropriate, to make necessary adjustments and changes to help prevent a repeat of problems in the future.”