Shropshire hospitals trust pays out £25 million in compensation for maternity errors over 10 years
Almost £25 million has been paid out in compensation and legal fees for maternity errors in the past 10 years at the trust which controls Shropshire’s two main hospitals.
This puts the trust just above the average of £22 million compared to other trusts in the country. The highest recorded was nearly £68 million at another trust, according to official NHS figures.
The trust points out that it can take ‘many years for claims to be brought and resolved’ after the incidents occur.
It comes after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has asked for baby deaths in Shropshire to be investigated, . The investigation was launched amid claims of a ‘cluster’ of nine deaths between September 2014 and May 2016, of which seven were avoidable, according to inquests.
A statement from The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust said: “The trust has previously stated that, whilst we are of course aware that people have lots of questions about matters that will be considered as part of the review, If the trust were to comment now then it could risk prejudicing the review.
“The trust is not prepared to risk such an outcome as it considers the review as an opportunity to carefully consider existing practice and make further improvements to its services where the need for such improvements is identified.
“Due to the nature of claims involving serious injury, it is normally necessary to wait until children are at least six to seven years old in order to assess the impact of their injuries, the care that they will require going forward, the costs of the same and, therefore, the amount of the sums to be paid in each case.
“Claims can be and frequently are brought and resolved many years after incidents occur. Taking this into account, along with the further period taken up by the litigation process itself, which can last a number of years, then sums paid out in recent years offer little insight into the maternity services provided by the trust since 2007.
“Since 2007, NHS Resolution has received 50 claims for compensation relating to maternity on behalf of the trust.
“However, the majority of these claims are in connection with incidents which happened before 2007. In each of the last three years, the total number of claims has fallen and the latest figure was below that which was recorded in 2007.”
