NHS could have saved 800 babies last year

Safety regulator rates half of maternity services as either inadequate or requiring improvement

THE NHS could have prevented more than 800 baby deaths last year, a report has found.

It means that one in five babies who were stillborn or died shortly after birth could have been saved if care had been better, according to hospital data analysed by University of Oxford experts.

Half of maternity services are now rated “inadequate” or “requiring improvement” by the safety regulator, up from 38 per cent the year before, according to the second annual Saving Babies’ Lives report by Sands and Tommy’s, the baby loss charities.

It comes as a Birth Trauma Inquiry report, published yesterday, revealed widespread failings and mistakes at NHS maternity units were leaving mothers and babies with life-changing injuries amid a culture of cover-up.

Since 2018, the perinatal mortality review tool (PMRT) has been used by hospitals to understand why baby deaths occur and “consider whether issues with the provision of care” may have contributed. The number attributed to NHS failings has increased every year since, with 822 of the 4,111 deaths reviewed between March 2022 and February 2023, considered avoidable. Almost all deaths are reviewed.

Robert Wilson, head of the Sands and Tommy’s joint policy unit, said the Government’s “failure to pledge at least enough additional funds to keep pace with inflation is unacceptable and short-sighted”. Yesterday the first parliamentary report into birth trauma was published, with “harrowing” evidence from more than 1,300 women about the “shockingly poor quality” of care.

The cross-party inquiry heard how children had suffered life-changing injuries due to negligence, mothers had been left in blood-soaked sheets, and hospitals had tried to cover up failures. The report said: “In many of these cases, the trauma was caused by mistakes and failures made before and during labour. Frequently, these errors were covered up by hospitals who frustrated parents’ efforts to find answers.”

Amanda Pritchard, the NHS chief executive, said the experiences of women outlined in the report were “simply not good enough”. Victoria Atkins, the Health Secretary, said the findings were “harrowing”.

“I am determined to improve the quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow, and I fully support work to develop a comprehensive national strategy to improve our maternity services,” Ms Atkins said.

The NHS said it was working with leaders at trusts with maternity and neonatal services in England on a programme to create a culture where women are listened to and care is safe.

Ms Pritchard said the NHS was “committed” to working with the Government “so that we can continue to make care safer and more personalised for women and babies”.

‘The failure to pledge at least enough additional funds to keep pace with inflation is unacceptable’