Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has commissioned NHS England and NHS Improvement to carry out an investigation into the deaths of a number of babies at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust between September 2014 and May 2016.

BBC News reported that seven deaths were considered to have been avoidable if there had been better care and management. According to the local Coroner the failure to appropriately monitor and analyse foetal heart rates contributed to five of the seven deaths.

Foetal heart rate monitoring is a crucial method of checking the wellbeing of a baby during labour and delivery by using specialist equipment. Changes in the foetal heart rate can indicate problems with the birth. By monitoring the foetal heart rate, the midwife and doctors will be alerted to a potential problem with the birth and can then take timely action to manage the problem, before it becomes more serious and any damage becomes irreversible.

Failure to appropriately monitor and analyse the foetal heart rate can have devastating consequences, including leading to avoidable deaths or catastrophic brain injuries.

Negligence claims for birth injuries, where the child is born with severe disabilities, are often among the largest awards and settlements. One of the main reasons for this is that in cases involving severe mental and/or physical injuries, the child may require care for the rest of their life, as well as specially adapted accommodation and equipment.

Moosa-Duke Solicitors are specialists in all aspects of clinical negligence matters and have a wealth of specialist experience in dealing with claims relating to mismanagement of labour and birth injuries. If you have concerns regarding the care or treatment that you have received, please contact us on 0116 254 7456 for a no obligation conversation.