£101m paid out by NHS for maternity failings at Nottingham’s hospitals
FOR FAMILIES AFTER BABIES DIED OR WERE INJURED DUE TO MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE
OVER £100 million has been paid out by the NHS due to maternity failings across Nottingham’s hospitals.
More than 1,800 families are part of an ongoing independent review into hundreds of baby deaths and injuries at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) - the biggest in NHS history.
A separate criminal investigation into the trust, which runs the Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital, was announced by Nottinghamshire Police in September. Figures from NHS Resolution show £101.8m was paid out in relation to 134 cases since 2006.
The majority £85m - was in damages for families whose babies either died or were injured due to medical negligence. Claimants’ legal fees totalled £11m, while NUH’S own solicitors cost £5m.
Payouts due to babies being born with cerebral palsy accounted for most of the sums, with £53.1m paid out across 22 cases. Donna Ockenden, the senior midwife who is chairing the Nottingham Maternity Review, said she had met “so many” of those families face-to-face.
“I’ve heard their accounts of providing care 24 hours a day for a very disabled child,” she said. “I’ve heard of houses that need adapting, mothers who’ve given up their jobs to be the prime carer. Dads have told me they are working 12, 14 hours a day to be the main breadwinner.
“I’ve spoken to dads who say ‘I sleep on the sofa every night with the child in a crib by the side of me, just so my wife can try and get some rest.’ No amount of money can put those families’ lives back together again. It can’t turn back the clock, it can’t make them the family that they wanted to be before this terrible injury happened to their baby and my heart goes out to them.” Stillbirth was the second highest payout figure at £4.6m, followed by successful claims of bowel damage (£3.4m), bladder damage (£2.2m) and fatality (£1.9m). Anthony May, chief executive at NUH, said: “I am truly sorry to all those families affected by failures in our maternity services. When tings go wrong, it is important that there are processes in place to examine what happened, to make improvements and to support those affected. While money will never make up for the pain caused, we know how important it is for those who make a claim that we respond properly and in a way that does not cause additional suffering.”
No amount of money can put those families’ lives back together again. It can’t turn back the clock.
Donna Ockenden