East Kent Maternity death scandal where 45 babies died avoidable deaths due to ‘sub-optimal’ care by the hospital that was supposed to care for them is tragic beyond words. One avoidable baby death is too much so what led to the deaths of 45 babies who would have otherwise survived ?
An independent review chaired by Dr. Kirkup CBE, yes highlighted chronic failures by East Kent Maternity NHS Hospital Trust at two of their hospitals. The highlight of his findings include amongst other factors:
Dr. Kirkup described the cover up of a systemic nature, that in itself speaks volumes, against this what chance did grieving parents have to raise their concerns when they felt something was wrong? The review also indicated there was a tendency for the medical staff to blame the families. As usual following this review, the Hospital Trust has offered an apology but what good is an apology and how does this guarantee that something as horrendous as this will not happen again? The Government is said to be in favour of ensuring improvements in maternity care are made but with the current state of affairs how high is this on their agenda one to as ask. In our work representing clients who are victims of medical negligence, we see this often where the victim is made to feel they are to blame.
Individual families and parents who suffered the loss of their baby have had to fight for years to have their voices heard. One hopes this will be the last of such reviews of poor maternity care in the NHS but only time will tell.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.
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