Record birth blunder payouts and maternal deaths have led to a new call for UK-wide maternity services overhaul. The figures come ahead of a new parliamentary report into birth trauma to be released in May.
And they follow a top level meeting at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London last week (Thursday, March 14) which demanded lessons be learnt from past failings.
Stats collated by the Birth Trauma Association show last year the NHS paid out a record ￡1.1bn for clinical negligence relating to maternity care, a total of 41 percent of the total NHS negligence spend.
The number of claims against the NHS for maternity negligence have risen by a third in three years, reaching a record high. At the same time more than 4,800 babies died during or shortly after labour, according to the latest data.
The number of mothers dying in labour or shortly afterwards is also the highest in 20 years, the figures show.
READ MORE: Maternity funding boost among record numbers of maternal deaths
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Dr Kim Thomas, CEO of the Birth Trauma Association said: “There's a culture of cover-up and blame and not learning from mistakes.”
Rosie Duffield, Labour MP for Canterbury and co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Birth Trauma which is due to findings of its report after easter, said: “We are at the final week of submissions for our inquiry and key themes keep recurring, one of which is the fact that mothers are not being listened to.”
Theo Clarke, Conservative MP for Stafford, who also leads the APPG on Birth Trauma said: “There is a postcode lottery of maternity care. I will be writing to the Prime Minister with recommendations following our inquiry.”
There were a record 1,400 birth injury claims lodged last year - a rise of 37 percent in three years. Baby loss charity SANDS calculate 4,870 babies died during or shortly after labour in 2021 - the equivalent of 7 baby deaths per 1,000 births in the UK - a rise on the previous year when the rate was 6.6 deaths per 1,000 births.
Between 2020 and 2022, a record 272 mothers died during or shortly after pregnancy - 13.41 deaths per 100,000 women. This is the highest figure for 20 years and a sharp rise on the 2017 to 2019 figure of 8.79 deaths per 100,000.
A recent Care Quality Commission report concluded 65 percent of maternity units provide dangerously substandard care - either “inadequate” or “require improvement” - putting mothers and babies at risk – up from 54 percent last year.
“But we are determined to further improve maternity services. That’s why it is prioritised in our Women’s Health Strategy 2024 and why we continue to support NHS England’s Three-Year Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services, backed by ￡186m per year from April. On top of this, as announced at Spring Budget, we will be investing nearly ￡35 million over three years to further improve maternity safety across England.”