New Cross admits baby death blunders
16/06/2004
I would like to thank you again for the speedy and sensitive way in which you have dealt with this matter. I would have no hesitation in recommending your firm to anyone in the future.
Pamela, Castleford
Three healthy babies died at New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, within months of each other due to a catalogue of staff blunders, bosses admitted today.
The revelation comes as a damning investigation into the standards of maternity care at the under-fire unit reveals the shocking truth behind the tragedies.
Health watchdogs probing a string of suspicious baby deaths at New Cross last year today finally released their scathing report.
The disturbing findings point to serious failures on a delivery suite responsible for 3,500 babies a year and highlight 36 areas for improvement.
To add to the scandal, a separate probe by West Midlands Perinatal Institute into around 20 random baby deaths from 2000-2003 found that more than half the infants could have survived had there been different management.
Sparked by the death of Trinity Reynolds, who suffocated in her mother's womb following mistakes by medics, the Healthcare Commission investigation slates the poor care on the labour wards at the time and a dire shortage of staff.
Worryingly, it also uncovers rifts between top professionals overseeing births and under-pressure staff working with useless equipment on the wards.
Today New Cross chief executive Mark Hackett apologised to the families of the dead babies and reassured pregnant women that problems were being addressed.
But the findings of the Healthcare Commission suggest a deep-seated crisis on maternity last year resulting at times in what one couple described as "a Third World service" for patients.
Among the main concerns highlighted are:
* A lack of team work resulting from long-standing difficulties among consultants and midwives.
* Weak management and inconsistent leadership with blurred roles and responsibilities.
* Mothers not being listened to leading to a lack of confidence in the quality of care.
* Some equipment poorly chosen and used.
* A failure by the hospital to comply with more than half of national guidelines relating to maternity services.
Taken from the Express and Star
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