Over the years there have been a number of reviews of the failures in maternity units in England.
Our medical negligence team at TBI has been consulted by many new mothers who feel that they were not listened to during labour. For many of them this is their first child and they feel that they have no choice but to do as they are told. Unfortunately, lack of communication between staff and patients can have devastating consequences. Our team at TBI are often approached by the parents to discuss whether there may be a claim for their child following a traumatic birth.
The Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MNSI) programme is part of a national strategy to improve maternity safety across the NHS in England. All NHS Trusts are required to report certain incidents to them to enable them to carry out an independent investigation, including early neonatal deaths, intrapartum stillbirths and severe brain injury in babies. The purpose of the investigation is not to place blame on individuals but to make recommendations, and the responsibility for putting those recommendations in place lies with the Trust.
Many clients will already have a report from MNSI when they consult our team.
Following the MNSI report NHS Resolution may start their own investigation under the Early Notification Scheme (ENS) to establish whether the trust will be liable in a legal claim for birth injuries arising because of negligent treatment. NHS Resolution usually say the investigation will take 18 months and ask the mother for consent to obtain the records of her and the child. The expert reports they obtain are not shared with the mother.
Often when reading the MNSI report it is clear the mother has suffered birth trauma, which we can investigate and if this is due to negligence, claim compensation on her behalf. Birth trauma can include physical and psychological injuries.
Unfortunately, due to the Supreme Court decision in Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust on 11th January 2024, partners who have suffered psychologically after witnessing the traumatic birth, as “secondary victims” are unable to recover damages. It remains possible however to claim damages for the mother and for the child if injury can be established.
On 9th January 2024 the All-Party Parliamentary Group (PPG) set up an inquiry to investigate the reasons for traumatic birth and to develop policy recommendations to reduce the rate of birth trauma. The Inquiry's Report "All-Party Parliamentary Group Birth Trauma Listen To Mums: Ending The Postcode Lottery On Perinatal Care (2024)" was launched on 13th May 2024.
The APPG heard stories that included failure to listen, lack of informed consent, poor communication and lack of pain relief.
The Inquiry called on the Government to publish a National Maternity Improvement Strategy to include recruit, train and retain staff; provide universal access to specialist maternal mental health services to end the postcode lottery; offer a separate six week check post-delivery with a GP for all mothers, which includes separate questions for mother's physical and mental health to the baby; respect mother's choices about giving birth and access to pain relief; keep mothers together with their baby as much as possible; provide support for fathers and ensure the nominated birth partner is continuously informed and updated during labour and post-delivery.
It is to be hoped that the changes will be made as a result of the inquiry, but in the meantime if you have suffered a traumatic birth or believe that your baby has sustained injury during birth, our expert team are able to assist and can be contacted on 01429 225200 or by completing our online enquiry form.
Call: 01429 225200