NHS hospitals in Greater Manchester have paid out more than £181 million in damages for cerebral palsy claims over the past 11 years. The figures come as one of the region’s hospital trusts will pay almost £30m after “accepting in court last week that its negligence caused a girl to suffer catastrophic injuries”, according to lawyers for one family.
The £30 million case against Stockport NHS Foundation Trust is claimed to be “the second largest settlement the NHS has ever made in a medical negligence case”. The girl was born “apparently healthy,” the legal representatives said, but “shortly after her birth there were signs that she was in danger.”
Due to a “series of negligent omissions in her postnatal care and, ultimately, a delay in performing surgery, she suffered catastrophic, life-changing injuries in the form of cerebral palsy,” the girl’s legal representatives and her family claim. family. The hospital has expressed its “sincere apologies” to her family.
READ MORE: Greater Manchester hospital trust to pay almost £30m to baby’s family after ‘negligence’ caused ‘life-changing injuries’
Without a cure, cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that affects movement and coordination. Those living with this condition may face movement, walking and speech difficulties, learning problems, cognitive impairment, hearing or vision loss, epilepsy, spinal deformities and joint problems, requiring physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational and continuous medication.
Neil Clayton, medical negligence partner at Lime Solicitors, said: “One of the main causes of cerebral palsy is hypoxic brain injury during birth, which is when the baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen. Sometimes this cannot be prevented or it is impossible to determine the cause of the child’s injuries. However, negligent errors by healthcare professionals can cause a child to suffer a hypoxic brain injury.
“Mistakes can include delayed birth, birth injuries, not responding to the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s neck, and missing signs of fetal distress, such as meconium. The regularity of maternity ward scandals in the press is alarming, although not at all surprising; Negligent injuries that result in cerebral palsy should not happen and we know the lessons that should have been learned, but unfortunately, time and time again, the same mistakes are made.”
Freedom of information request data has shown that five NHS trusts, which operate hospitals across Greater Manchester, settled a total of 80 clinical negligence claims relating to cerebral palsy. Greater Manchester trusts have paid £181,383,412 in damages, an average of £2.2m per case, and £29.5m in legal fees over the past 11 years.
Nationally, trusts across the country paid a total of £3.5bn in damages in 1,307 clinical negligence cases and £490m in legal fees between 2012/13 and 2022/23.
Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, paid £16.2 million in damages over eight cases. Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the Royal Bolton Hospital, paid £24.6m across 12 claims.
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust paid nine claims between 2012/13 and 2022/23, totaling £35.6 million in damages. Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Rochdale Infirmary, Salford Royal, Fairfield General and Royal Oldham hospitals, paid out £41.9m across 19 cases.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) operates North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Trafford General Hospital and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, as well as Saint Mary’s Hospital. Saint Mary’s Hospital is a specialist maternity hospital which, along with its capacity for more routine pregnancies, treats the most complex and risky pregnancies and births across the North West. MFT paid £62.9m in damages in 32 cases over 11 years. It is the sixth highest figure for any trust in the country, with the largest amount of damages paid by Barts Health NHS Trust, which runs five hospitals in London, which paid out £117 million in 36 cases.
Mandy Philbin, director of nursing at NHS Greater Manchester, said: “Patient safety and maintaining the highest quality of care is the top priority for both NHS Greater Manchester and hospital trusts.
“Any time a patient experiences harm is cause for deep concern. We know we must do more collaboratively to improve care before, during and after birth to prevent injuries from occurring.
“Over recent years we have made significant progress in improving safety and reducing the number of babies born with brain injuries, working hard with our maternity providers to implement the Saving Babies’ Lives national care package.
“The package aims to make care safer for birthing women and babies through six key areas to reduce risks during pregnancy and birth, including better fetal monitoring during labour. and raising awareness about reduced fetal movement.
NHS Greater Manchester explains that the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle is a series of measures designed to reduce smoking in pregnancy and increase the chances of a healthy pregnancy and birth, closely monitoring those at high risk of driving problems to fetal death, raise awareness about fetal risk reduction. movement, effective fetal monitoring during labour, reduction of preterm births and management of pre-existing diabetes.
Since the introduction of the Saving Babies’ Lives Care Bundle in 2015, the number of babies born with brain injuries has fallen from 45 in 2015 to 19 in 2023, the region’s NHS body added.
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital, will pay £29.3m, after a settlement was approved at the High Court in London last week. Payment will be made in a lump sum with annual payments for all care and case management costs.
The trust “admitted breach of duty and causation, which together amount to a full admission of liability”, say Nockolds Solicitors and lawyers at Exchange Chambers, who represented the girl and her family. The trust has expressed its “sincere apologies to the family”, adding that “in the years since this occurred, (they) have made many improvements to ensure the best care is provided to everyone.”
The impact on the entire family has been “devastating” among the “irreversible damages,” according to the legal team acting on behalf of the baby and her family, since “the young woman’s life has changed forever.” “They waited several years for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust to admit liability and faced the prospect of a court trial before we finally settled,” a lawyer added.
The precise terms of the agreement are subject to an anonymity order. A spokesperson for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust responded to the claims and settlement, saying the trust does not dispute the information shared by legal representatives.
The trust said: “We are pleased that the court has reached and approved this settlement. We once again express our sincere apologies to the family and wish them the best for the future. Good patient care and safety is our top priority, and in the years since this occurred, we have made many improvements to ensure the highest quality care is provided to everyone.
“We hope the settlement gives the family some comfort and peace of mind for the future and helps them with the care and other support they need.”
The girl and her family were represented by solicitor Yasmin Ameer of Nockolds Solicitors and solicitors Bill Braithwaite KC, who said: “This young woman’s life has been changed forever and the impact on the whole family has been devastating. They waited several years for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust to admit liability and faced the prospect of a court trial before we finally settled. “Now justice has been served and they can finally look to the future knowing that their lifelong needs are met.”
