Medical negligence and birth injury claims should never have to be a concern for any new parent. Even one incident is too many. Whilst the UK statistically is one of the safest countries in the world to give birth, mistakes are happening, repeatedly, as evidenced in the recent inquiries carried out at Nottingham University Hospitals and Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Trust. Adding further concern to this is the latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) report on maternity care which shows a worrying decrease in positive experiences.
Findings from the survey of more than 20,900 women who gave birth in February 2022 show fewer reporting positively about their experience of maternity care, with a notable decline in the number able to get help from staff when they needed it, compared to five years ago.
Whilst the results show that many respondents were still positive about their interactions with staff, for some women the care they received fell short of expectations and satisfaction levels have fallen in many question areas. The proportion of respondents who said they were given appropriate advice and support when they contacted a midwife or hospital at the start of their labour dropped from 87% in 2017 to 82% in 2022. And in 2022, fewer people surveyed felt they were ‘always’ given the information and explanations they needed while in hospital - 66% in 2017 compared to 59% in 2022.
Availability of staff was also an area where more people expressed concern, and many of the key findings from the survey include a drop in positive interactions with staff and a lack of choices about birth.
In response to the survey findings, National Childbirth Trust Chief Executive, Angela McConville, said: "Maternity services in England are categorically falling short of women’s expectations. A woman who gives birth today may have a worse experience of NHS maternity services than if she gave birth 5 years ago. Time usually leads to progress, but we’re seeing the opposite.”
At UK Claims, we believe one way that could lead to rapid progress is to stop using forceps in deliveries, as skull fracture is a known risk of this procedure. Forceps are used when factors are preventing a natural birth and usually after prolonged labour. By this time there has already been a huge amount of stress on the mother and baby and although intervention is necessary, forceps should be banned in the delivery room to prevent deliberating injuries or at the very least pregnant ladies should be advised of the rarely spoken about injuries associated with forceps. Furthermore, advances in surgery mean that caesareans are now a safer option.
Aside from forceps deliveries, birth injuries can happen in many ways such as a shortage of oxygen during delivery, infection, and a complex delivery. If you have significant concerns about the standard of care received during maternity care, or you or your child has been injured due to negligent care during pregnancy or during or after childbirth, UK Claims can help you find out what has happened and advise whether you have grounds to take legal action.
Contact the UK Claims legal team for a free initial consultation. We work on a No Win No Fee basis, which we believe is the most risk-free and stress-free way of claiming for you.
Get in touch to have your questions answered.