Report finds two out of five NHS maternity wards are potentially unsafe

The Care Quality Commission health watchdog has reported that two in five maternity wards are potentially unsafe, having found that 80 of 193 NHS maternity wards were inadequate or requiring improving in their most recent inspection.

 

A failure to learn from mistakes was one of the key issues highlighted, as well as short staffing and unhealthy working relationships.

 

Prior to the Ockenden review published last week, the CQC warned that improvements in maternity safety were happening ‘too slow’, adding that ‘safe, high-quality care should be the minimum expectation for women and babies’.

 

This week, it has been revealed that at least five hospital trusts are still promoting the idea of a ‘normal’ birth just days after the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust was criticised for the practice.  This includes local Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, who stated in a recent advert that it wants its new employee to ‘demonstrate their commitment and dedications to women-centred care, promoting the normal birth pathway and reducing interventions’.

 

One of the criticisms put forward by the Ockenden review stated that mothers who should have been offered a caesarean were made to have natural births.  The trust was found to be pushing a culture of ‘natural births’ and that more than 200 babies died as a result of its wider failings.

 

Donna Ockenden in compiling her report, said that an obsession with ‘normal births’ contributed to the biggest maternity scandal in NHS history, and warned that pregnant women will not be safe to give birth until her full raft of recommendations are implemented.

 

Chadwick Lawrence’s team of medical negligence lawyers have years of experience in high value and complex medical negligence compensation claims and have an excellent record.  The team is led by Tony May, a specialist cerebral palsy and birth injury solicitor, who has over 20 years experience in handling cases in which babies have been brain damaged or sustained other injuries as a result of medical negligence.  He and his team continue to represent many cerebral palsy children and young adults in medical negligence claims.  Tony also acts as a Court of Protection Deputy for many of the cerebral palsy and brain damaged clients that he has represented, so we can continue to support you after your case is settled.  Tony can be contacted by email on tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk.  Alternatively, please call and speak to any of Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist medical negligence Legal Aid and no win, no fee solicitors for free legal advice on Freephone 0800 304 7382