Essex NHS paid out £63m for medical negligence including baby who suffered brain damage at birth

A family who claimed their child suffered brain damage around the time of birth are among the dozens of people to receive a share of £63 million in childbirth and maternity medical negligence claims in the last five years. The eye-watering sum is the amount of compensation alone the Mid and South Essex NHS Trust has forked out for a total of 78 claims lodged against it since 2019.

Information obtained by Legal Expert revealed that the trust, which runs hospitals in Chelmsford, Basildon and Southend, has paid out more than any other NHS Trust in England. It had the second-highest number of childbirth and maternity clinical negligence claims lodged against it, with 124 such claims and incidents reported to NHS Resolution which handles negligence cases on behalf of the health service.

As recently as December 2023, the Trust agreed to a settlement with a mum who claimed her child suffered brain damage around the time of her birth at Southend University Hospital 20 years ago. The trust agreed a settlement and accepted 90 per cent liability.

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Clinical negligence claims and incidents across all NHS Trusts in the last five years include 484 relating to babies with brain damage, 471 stillbirths and 342 mother or baby deaths. Of those claims settled, £980 million was spent on compensation for cerebral palsy-related claims and a further £600 million was paid out for claims pertaining to brain damage caused by obstetric negligence.

The most recent inspection of Mid and South Essex NHS Trust by the CQC found they "did not have enough maternity staff with the right qualifications, skills, training and experience to keep women safe from avoidable harm and to provide the right care and treatment". They did, however, provide care and treatment based on national guidance and evidence-based practice.

Nicki Abbott, interim managing director for Women's and Children's at Mid and South Essex NHS said: "Giving families the best possible birth experience is our absolute priority. We run the third-largest maternity unit in England and support 12,500 births a year across our hospitals and are continuing to make improvements and bring about positive change.

"We’re doing this by improving the quality of our service having recruited extra midwives and doctors, and working closely with local, regional and national experts and of course people who have used our maternity services including our Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership. We also work with the newly appointed Maternity and Neonatal Independent Advocate to provide another route where patients can raise any concerns."

At the time of the CQC report, acting Chief Executive Hannah Coffey said they had taken "great strides" to improve staffing levels with 52 newly qualified nurses starting and more on the way. They added: "We know there is work to be done and this report is helpful in assuring us that we are focusing our efforts in the right areas.

"We have made great strides in improving maternity staffing since the CQC visited us. I am delighted that all of the student midwives who trained with us have applied to work here, so we have 52 enthusiastic newly qualified midwives in our departments."

Have you been treated in maternity care at Mid and South Essex NHS Trust and want to speak to someone about your experience? Let me know by getting in touch by email at matt.lee@reachplc.com or contact me on either Twitter or Facebook.