Scandal in Britain: Dozens of deaths of babies and mothers in maternity hospitals due to lack of care – What a new expert report reveals

Dozens of newborns dead because they did not receive adequate care, a “culture of denial” in maternity clinics and indifference to the concerns of new mothers: a new scandal, the second since the beginning of the year in England, exposes the inadequacies of some maternity hospitals in the United Kingdom.

Seven months after the West of England hospital survey was published, Dr Bill Kercup and other experts presented their findings on the cases of 202 people – mothers or babies born between 2009-2020 – at two major maternity hospitals in south-east Kent. England.

Of the 65 infant deaths, 45 could have been avoided.

“What happened in east Kent is sad and painful,” Kerkapp told a news conference.

“Deaths, injuries and other harm could have had a different outcome if care had been given according to national standards,” he added.

The inquiry was launched following the death in November 2017 of Harry Richford, seven days after he was born by caesarean section. A death that, according to experts, is due to a series of “weaknesses” of the system: from the way the “inexperienced” doctor did the delivery, to the delay in cardiorespiratory resuscitation of the baby.

Of the 17 cases of brain injuries, 12 would not have occurred if proper treatment had been administered. 23 maternal deaths or injuries, out of a total of 32, would also have been avoided.

Bill Kerkup condemned what he called the “culture of denial” in public hospitals. One issue was raised repeatedly by many of the victims: the failure of hospital staff to take mothers into account when they expressed their concerns, when they questioned their treatments and the decisions made about them.

Experts found “gross weaknesses in teamwork” in maternity wards, a “lack of mutual trust”, the “huge egos” of some obstetricians and the “clique behaviour” of some midwives.

Jeremy Hunt, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer who was Health Secretary between 2012-18, spoke of a “horrific scandal” on Twitter, thanking Bill Kerkapp for his “new report”.

Whilst I have one or two other things in my in-tray today, it’s important to reflect on the horrific report on failings in maternity care at East Kent hospital.

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) October 19, 2022

Patient safety remains my passion & priority and the Health Sec has my full support in transforming the culture in maternity care and learning all the lessons from this awful scandal.

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) October 19, 2022

This is the second investigation, the conclusions of which have been made public. The previous one, in March, concerned maternity hospitals in the west of England and the government of Boris Johnson at the time was forced to apologize for what was being reported. According to that first report, more than 200 infant deaths over 20 years would have been avoided had it not been for doctors’ persistent refusal to perform caesarean sections and had the appropriate treatments been given.

Donna Ockenden, who carried out the first investigation, undertook another one in May, this time in the Nottingham area in central England, following complaints from several families.

In 2015, an investigation into maternity hospitals in the north of England was released which also concluded that many baby deaths could have been avoided. Bill Kerkup was its editor at the time as well. “When I was writing that report (…) I never imagined for a minute that I would be here again seven years later (…) to talk about the same issue,” he said. “This can’t go on (…) We just can’t pretend this is the last time something like this happens,” he added.

Tracey Fletcher, the head of the hospital group targeted in the investigation, apologized, as did Health Secretary Caroline Johnson.

“I’ll never be able to forgive,” Bex Walton, whose son Tommy died in 2020, told the BBC.

“What they are doing now is not enough because my son will never be with me again,” she said.

RES-EMP

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