Some Trusts 'Have High Death Rates'

A clinical negligence expert at Irwin Mitchell has demanded that action is taken to improve maternity services at NHS Trusts found to have increasingly poor records in the area.

According to a report by the Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries, 14 unnamed Trusts are thought to have high baby death rates, with wide variations seen across a number of regions.

The Independent also reports that concerns have also been raised about standards of care for mothers, with a number who died from pre-eclampsia apparently receiving a poor level of care.

Irwin Mitchell has represented a number of families devastated by pregnancy and birth injury claims and is supporting Birth Trauma Awareness Week over the course of the next seven days.

Organised by the Birth Trauma Association, the campaign is calling for the NHS to focus its efforts on cutting the number of serious incidents which happen on maternity wards in the UK.

Commenting on the mortality rate reports, Alison Eddy, a clinical negligence expert at Irwin Mitchell’s London office, said: “This news today ties into our support of Birth Trauma Awareness Week and demonstrates the serious need for maternity services to be improved in a number of areas.

“Pregnancy and birth injuries can have a massive psychological and physical impact on victims, but it is clear that efforts should be made to prevent such problems from occurring in the first place.

“I hope the NHS is able to react to this study and recognise the major importance of this issue.”