£5.7bn in NHS maternity payouts
BLUNDERS in NHS maternity care have cost £5.7billion in compensation payouts over five years.
In total, 434 cases were settled after inadequate obstetrics care between 2016 and 2021 – about £13million per case.
Last year there were 87 cases with a total payout of £1.1billion. A year earlier there were also 87 cases settled for £1.2billion, and for the 2018-19 financial year there were 112 cases with £1.6billion paid out.
In 2017-18 there were 86 cases settled for £1.2billion and for 2016-17 another 62 cases with £561million paid out.
Many lawyers will have sued the NHS because their clients have suffered debilitating brain injuries or cerebral palsy. Much of the compensation has yet to leave the health service, as payments are often staged as the child grows and their needs alter.
The figures were disclosed by NHS Resolution, the body set up to deal with all negligence cases brought against the health service for inadequate hospital care.
In July 2020 it was disclosed the NHS would make a £37million payment to the parents of a baby boy who was left severely brain damaged after mistakes by staff on a maternity ward. The payout, believed to be the biggest in the history of the service, came after Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust admitted it was at fault in the care of the child.
The boy, born by emergency caesarean in 2013, was starved of oxygen and suffered permanent brain damage.
It left him with complex disabilities and requiring two carers day and night.
Peter Walsh, chief executive of Action Against Medical Accidents, said: “The financial cost of poor maternity care is eye-watering but is far outweighed by the human cost.
“Giving birth should be the happiest day of anyone’s life but knowing your child has been brain damaged as a result of substandard treatment is devastating.
“Unfortunately, we are still seeing the sort of errors we saw 20 years ago, which makes this even more unacceptable.
“No one should be under the illusion that the large financial settlements are some kind of windfall for the family. The costs of care for someone who will need specialist care for the rest of their lives is enormous.”
A NHS spokeswoman said: “The NHS is committed to providing safe, compassionate maternity services, and is accelerating action to reduce the number of stillbirths, neonatal mortality and serious brain injuries by 50 per cent by 2025.
“Earlier this month, the NHS committed a further £127million for maternity services across England.”