Scandal at NHS Hospital: Baby Deaths, Overworked Midwives, and Shocking Treatment of Mothers Revealed

BABY deaths were “common” at an NHS trust where nurses were too busy buying handbags online, according to a bombshell investigation.

Pregnant women were also reportedly given sick labels such as “F*** Off Home” by midwives at the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH).

Despite raising concerns to staff, expecting mum Sarah was repeatedly told things were ‘fine’ Credit: BBC Some 2,500 cases of families who were looked after at Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre are now being probed Credit: Alamy

Staff at hospitals run by the NUH were also allegedly told to stop being “too kind” in order to prevent women coming back to the ward.

Roughly 2,500 cases of families who were looked after at Nottingham City Hospital and Queen’s Medical Centre are now being probed.

It marks the largest maternity inquiry in NHS history, with an investigation launched into stillbirths, neonatal deaths and injuries to babies and mums.

The shocking allegations are laid bare in BBC Panorama’s Maternity Failures: The Fight for Justice , which is due to air at 8pm tonight.

Midwives were unaware baby Wynter was “stuck” and missed “clear signs” of infection Credit: BBC Sue Brydon, an ex-senior midwife at the trust, described the staff as ‘depleted’ and ‘tired out’ Credit: BBC

Sarah Andrews said she had been having a “textbook pregnancy”, until she started having continuous contractions a few weeks before her due date.

Despite raising concerns to staff, the expecting mum was repeatedly told things were “fine” and was advised to stay at home.

Sarah was eventually admitted to the Queen’s Medical Centre after “vomiting in pain”, but claims staff were “very dismissive” towards her.

She was moved to a Labour suite almost a day later, when she was finally connected to a heart rate monitor.

It was only then staff were alerted to baby Wynter’s dropping heart rate – but midwives’ concerns were reportedly ignored by doctors.

Nurses were also unaware Wynter was “stuck” and missed “clear signs” of infection, it is alleged.

Sarah was sent for an emergency C-section and Wynter was delivered alive, but required immediate aid due to the infection.

And just 20 minutes after her birth, Wynter was tragically declared dead.

Sarah said: “We felt like everybody was doing their best for us… Now looking back on it, we realise for wrong it all was.

“I felt like I’d be better off dead than in the situation I was left in.”

Her husband Gary added: “I felt moments away from meeting my daughter”.

Former employees at the trust have also slammed conditions, describing the staff as “depleted” and “tired out”.

Sue Brydon, a former senior midwife at the trust, claimed midwives were even pulled out of training to cover shortages.

It was also alleged nurses were “busy shopping for handbags” while desperate patients called out for help.

One midwife told Panorama: “(A patient) was ignored when she buzzed.

“The co-ordinator and her cronies were busy shopping for handbags online.”

Other personnel described the hospitals as a “frightening place to work”, with little empathy and often a lack of experience among staff.

NUH Chief Executive, Anthony May, apologised to families that had been “failed” and vowed to make changes in the trust.

He wrote: “The Panorama documentary again highlights the real impact that failings in our maternity services and hospitals have had on affected families.

“Families who put their trust in us to look after them and their babies. We failed them, and for that I am sincerely sorry.

“I speak with affected families regularly; I see the pain and suffering that we have caused and I know how relentlessly they have campaigned for change and improvement.

“It takes strength to share their stories. I am thankful to the many families I have met for offering me the opportunity to understand better what happened to them.

“I have learned a lot from both the families and the work of Donna Ockenden’s review, and all of this is helping us improve.

“I know also that we let our staff down. They work in a challenging environment every day and under a great deal of scrutiny.

“I recognise that we must do all we can to support them and I am committed to that. I am grateful for their dedication and compassion.

“Like me, they are committed to making changes in our services and to providing the best care possible.”   

NHS England told Panorama: “A number of new initiatives have been introduced to make care safer, including new clinical standards for every maternity service in England to prevent maternal deaths and harm.”

The Department of Health and Social Care said: “Our thoughts are with the families in Nottingham who have been failed so badly.

“We are already making progress on maternity – recruiting 2,000 more midwives, investing £149m to improve the safety of maternity and neonatal care facilities.”