The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is to make a £37m payout to the parents of a baby boy who was left severely brain-damaged after mistakes by staff on a maternity ward. Brinkwire reports that Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has admitted it was at fault in the care of the child. The amount is thought to be one of the largest payouts in the history of the health service.
The report says in the maternity negligence case at the High Court the NHS trust conceded that mistakes with the boy’s care left him severely disabled and needing round-the-clock care for the rest of his life. When the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was born in 2013 midwives did not spot he was in the breech position before his mother went in to labour.
The report says while the trust admitted liability early on, the legal settlement was only finalised in November last year when the boy had grown enough to allow his long-term needs to be assessed.
Suzanne White, head of clinical negligence at Leigh Day, who handled the case, said what had happened to the boy was an “absolute tragedy”. She added: “The sum of compensation paid is one of the largest of its kind and reflects the complex needs which have resulted from the injuries sustained at the time of his birth and the fact that he will require specialist round-the-clock care for the rest of his life.”
Campaigners said the boy’s case showed the need for an urgent inquiry in to the state of maternity care across the nation after scandals at other NHS trusts. A spokesperson for the trust is quoted in the report as saying: “We are very sorry that the care provided to the family during the birth of their child fell short of the high standards we aim to provide to all our patients.”
[link url="https://en.brinkwire.com/news/parents-of-baby-left-brain-damaged-after-mistakes-on-nhs-maternity-ward-to-get-37million-payout/"]Full Brinkwire report[/link]