Blunders on maternity wards are costing the NHS £2.3billion in payouts each year, the report revealed. Nearly four in ten maternity services are failing to meet safety standards.
The report by the health and social care select committee found that a 'debilitating culture of blame' had prevented the
NHS from learning lessons from previous tragedies.
It looked at infant mortality rates in the UK, calculating that 'if we had the same rate as Sweden, approximately 1,000 more babies would survive each year'.
Professor Ted Baker, chief inspector at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), told MPs this was 'a reflection of the cultural issues in maternity services nationally'.
This includes a 'defensive culture, dysfunctional teams and safety lessons not learned'.
NHS failure to learn from tragedies led to hundreds of excess maternity unit deaths | Daily Mail Online
This is such an emotive subject (and rightly so) but I always feel there’s some context left out of reports like this.
Of those 1000 extra babies, how many would grow up to adulthood? How many would be able bodied? How many would be neurotypical and able to live independently and work and have a relationship, if they chose?
Miracle premature babies do exist, but statistically they are far, far more likely to live a more difficult and painful life than their full-term peers, with both physical and learning disabilities - often severe in nature.
I am not for one second suggesting these children do not deserve to live, or should ever be denied care. Indeed, some of the greatest humans I’ve ever known fall into this category, thanks to my work.
But when reports speak of “babies”, it’s not quite as simple as the mental picture would create. “Baby” brings to mind a happy, chubby-faced bundle of joy and potential. These are very, very poorly, pre-term infants, whose bodies are not yet prepared to survive in the world.
From what we’ve heard so far of the babies suspected to have been tragically murdered in this case, the same is also true. I’m in no way excusing or apologising for anything but the optimum care for every precious life. But there is a reason we do not intervene to sustain premature births in any species except humans. The truth is, as healthcare professionals we’re still woefully under-qualified to match what a pregnant woman’s body does best.
Pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if this may be a factor in institutional/ cultural differences between the preservation of life in U.K. hospitals and others studied. I know the gestation date cut off varies in different countries, where a child born before that date is simply allowed to die naturally.
It will be interesting to see if this whole issue plays a part in the case or proposed motive of LL, and how it might bring the national conversation on the topic into the light.
