Government forced to provide report following “inadequate” maternity services

Further to the concerns raised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors earlier in the year, who found the Nottingham University Hospital’s maternity services to be inadequate, the Health and Social Care Committee have released a report outlining the steps which must be taken to improve these services across England.

Our Freeths clinical negligence team have had a number of women contact us with concerns over the care they received, particularly in relation to the services in Nottingham, resulting in us acting for a number of clients who have suffered due to the Trust’s significant failings. In particular, we have seen an increase in claims relating to failures to intervene earlier in labour and failures to respond promptly to warning signs that should have been apparent by proper monitoring of the baby’s condition.

As highlighted in the report released today, 6^th July 2021, the failings appear to stem from poor staffing levels and a “defensive” culture which has resulted in an inability to learn lessons from the errors which have been made. These are all concerns which were raised in relation to the Nottingham maternity services within the CQC report last year.

There have been a number of highly publicised cases of deaths and injuries during childbirth across England, including prominent cases at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. The Health and Social Care Committee’s report and the additional funding which is being provided to improve these services is an important step forward for these families, but in our experience in acting for parents of children affected, they want to see proof that lessons have been learnt and put into practice now to prevent any more cases arising.

Jane Williams, Head of Freeths Nottingham Clinical Negligence Team commented, “Learning lessons and improving patient safety in the country’s largest maternity unit now has to be a top priority for the Trust in order to restore patient confidence and avoid other families having to suffer the heartache and pain our clients have sadly gone through.”

If you or a loved one have concerns about the maternity care received from one of the Nottingham University Hospital’s maternity units, please contact one of our team for a free, confidential discussion:

Phone Jane Williams on: 0345 272 5724 or email jane.williams@freeths.co.uk 

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Alternatively, please contact:

Paul Balen: 0115 936 9388 / paul.balen@freeths.co.uk

Gemma Bedford: 0115 935 0367 / gemma.bedford@freeths.co.uk

Jessica Atkin: 0115 985 3367 / jessica.atkin@freeths.co.uk

Adrian Denton: 0115 985 3335 / adrian.denton@freeths.co.uk

Phillip McGough: 0345 050 3290 / phillip.mcgough@freeths.co.uk