THE NEGLECTED TRAGEDY

One in 200 babies is born dead and the UK ranks second last in 35 rich countries in preventing such deaths.  The failure to track babies’ growth in the womb causes hundreds of lost lives each year.  Mistakes in monitoring babies’ heart rate during labour accounts for a quarter of the maternity negligence bill, which has topped £1 billion a year.

Too many babies are dying because of poor NHS care, the Health Secretary warned, as he pledged to halve stillbirths by 2030.  Jeremy Hunt said it was unacceptable that Britain lags behind other countries in preventing the deaths of babies.  He has promised millions of pounds to equip and train to improve care; specifically, a £2.4 million fund will be provided for better heart monitors and £1 million will be used to provide training to doctors and midwives.  £500,000 will fund a system to investigate the deaths.

The death or injury of a baby is a devastating tragedy for the family and more needs to be done and soon to reduce the death rate and improve safety.  For example, in Scotland the stillbirth rate has been cut by 15% in five years by better monitoring of growth and heart rate and by giving pregnant women better information about worrying signs..

If you think you, or your child, may have suffered an injury as a result of negligent medical treatment and would like to speak with a member of the Lester Morrill clinical negligence team, please call on 0113 245 8549 or contact us by email at help@lmlaw.co.uk .