BBC investigation into baby deaths at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust

Posted: 13/04/2017

Stephanie Code, a partner in Penningtons Manches' clinical negligence team is representing one of the mothers featured in the recent BBC investigation into a ‘cluster’ of baby deaths at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. She commented:

“We have been acting for Tamsin Morris since shortly after her daughter, Ivy, was born in December 2015. Despite a normal pregnancy Ivy sustained very severe brain damage as a result of serious errors in treatment during her delivery. Her parents were seeking an explanation of what happened and funds to support Ivy’s substantial care needs in the future.

"Ivy was only four and a half months old when she passed away and the family have sought to establish what went so badly wrong at the time of her birth both for themselves and so that this would not happen again to any other child or parent. It became clear early on that there had been significant errors including fundamental errors in monitoring Ivy’s heart rate which should not have happened. This was confirmed in the trusts own internal enquiry and at an inquest. Despite this it was not until November 2016 that the trust formally admitted it had been negligent in its care and that this had led to Ivy’s injury and death. The fact that other babies had been injured before Ivy and that, apparently, lessons had not been learnt previously has left the family and others wondering if real changes have been made. In the circumstances the decision by Jeremy Hunt to order a review is welcomed.”

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