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New fears were raised today over the state of maternity care in London, as the NHS faces soaring numbers of complaints and crippling bills for negligence.
Legal action launched by families over maternity unit deaths or poor care has increased by up to a quarter in a year.
The increase was revealed as it emerged that poor maternity care in London is costing the health service £41 million a year in compensation, including cases where children have been left with brain damage, cerebral palsy or developmental delay.
The obstetrics payouts account for almost half of the total NHS compensation bill for the capital, which was £85 million in the year to the end of April last year.
Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association campaign group, said: "NHS leaders need to acknowledge these complaints, take them seriously and work to improve these failings.
"If it's a systems failure then something needs to be done about it, but if it's because of staff shortages then this is incredibly worrying, especially as the NHS is facing making huge savings."
Figures obtained by the Evening Standard show almost 300 legal cases were launched against the maternity units of over two thirds of London NHS trusts in 2009/10, with a 24 per cent rise in the number of actions brought against half of those trusts.
Over three quarters of hospital trusts were shown to have received 1,440 complaints, where legal action was not threatened, over the same period. Those cases spiralled by over a fifth during 2009 and 2010.
The number of cases brought against Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust rose by a third over the two years. A third of all lawsuits filed against London maternity units last year involved the trust, which runs Queen's Hospital in Romford and King George in Ilford.
The trust is at the centre of a new probe by the Care Quality Commission NHS watchdog, after serious concerns were raised. Five women have died in its maternity units in the last 18 months.
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs St Mary's in Paddington, paid out the most in maternity-related settlements, totalling £7.3 million in 2009/10.
Labour MP Margaret Hodge said that under the Government's health reforms, hospitals like Queen's could be allowed to fail. "The Government's focus should be on improving care rather than letting hospitals sink or swim. These are shocking figures. NHS London, the Department of Health and the hospitals concerned must take responsibility and act."
NHS London said: "More than 130,000 babies were born in London last year, up 16 per cent over the past five years. The vast majority of births in London are happy, healthy occasions and we are working hard to tackle the small number of incidents where this is not the case."
Complaint: mother left in agony
Mother Anna-Marie Pitton has lodged a formal complaint about her experience at Queen's Hospital, where she was admitted in agony after going into labour with her second child.
The barrister, 29, says midwives ignored her repeated requests for help and left her alone - even though doctors had classified her as "high-risk".
Mrs Pitton, whose first baby was delivered by Caesarean section, had suspected macrosomia - or big baby syndrome - which means she should have been monitored regularly.
Instead, following her arrival at the hospital after midnight on April 22, she says she was left alone for an hour and half without pain relief or medical assistance.
When the midwives did check on her, she says they were "rude, uncaring and had no compassion".
Her banker husband Antoine, 32, went looking for help several times. When a midwife eventually came his wife was fully dilated and because of her complications was rushed into theatre where, through assisted delivery, she gave birth to son Theodore, pictured with her.
"When I arrived at Queen's I was in absolute agony," said Mrs Pitton, from Gants Hill. "The midwife told me I wasn't in labour, though I knew I was ready to go.
"I kept asking for an epidural but they refused to give me one, saying it was too early. I rang the bell several times but nobody came. Even when my husband went looking for help they ignored us."
Mrs Pitton, who has also has a 22-month-old son Maximilien, added: "I was terrified. There was no compassion and I felt no dignity there for women in labour.
"I feel I was let down by the NHS in my hour of need. It left me feeling so depressed later. I really fear for more vulnerable women going into labour at that hospital."
A spokeswoman for Barking, Havering and Redbridge, said: "The Trust has one of the largest maternity units in the whole country.
"We would therefore expect to have a relatively high number of claims. It is disappointing that the number of claims is rising, but this is mirrored across the country."
Reader views (9)
There is an alternative on the horizon. Instead of overworked, stressed nhs midwives not being able to provide better care because of a failing system suffering from cuts- midwives who are currently working privately in order to provide the kind of individualised care that evidently works should be able to contract in the nhs, making money no longer a factor in determining a good birth for the mother and baby. A woman gets to know her midwife over the course of the pregnancy, she can CHOOSE whether to stay at home or go to hospital, where drugs and doctors too eagerly act as though pregnancy is an illness to be treated rather than an natural process womens bodies are very capable of carrying out- i mean how long have they been doing it? With the right environment around them- calming, safe, comfortable- and with a midwife who they actually know beside them, women are able to give birth with confidence, leading to a positive and empowering experience.
- Sarah, London, 07/07/2011 15:09
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A big thank you to Mrs Pitton for raising awareness of this issue, by putting her own situation in the spotlight. I'm a solicitor who regularly works with families in these situations, and recently the publicity over reducing costs to the NHS has meant that the stories of such families have not received the emphasis they should.
I very much wish that I less work on cases like this, however unfortunately I continue to hear of situations like that of Mrs Pittons.
I would very much like to see a focus on creating 24 hour availability of consultants in obstetric units, as I really think that this would avoid many babies being injured in this way. This would then reduce the amount of money that the NHS has to pay to families in compensation, who have to pay for expensive care to be provided often for the rest of that child's life.
- Suzanne Trask, London, 07/07/2011 12:27
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@ Simon clavian - you didnt actually say how much it cost you to go private? I suspect somewhere in the region of the equivalent of a years salary for an average fast food / pub chain worker. Thats why people are wedded to the NHS!
- Nathan Smith, London, 07/07/2011 11:03
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If you can afford it, the only option is to go private for birth. We have, twice, and worth every penny and superb levels of dedicated care that the NBA can o my dream of. Shame that the general population is wedded to the state run, monolithic, inefficient beast that is the Nhs. No other country in the world thinks that great health care can be delivers by government on the scale of the Nhs. This article is just one more example of how our £110 billion a year gets often very poor results compared to what we could have ....
- Simon clavian, United Kingdom london, 06/07/2011 18:13
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I have a severely disable child as a result of extremely poor maternity care. I had no compensation either! midwives/nurses were more interested and laughing at other women 'screams' giving birth. No one came and my son now needs 24 hour care thanks to the NHS.
- whyme:, London, 06/07/2011 16:15
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"...is the result of trying to cover a growing population with the same resources.- Grafter, London"
It certainly goes hand in hand with those poor devils who are living in garden sheds, provided at very high cost, by slum landlords, in Southall and in Slough.
- John Smith, London, EUSSR, 06/07/2011 15:31
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Although I do agree with John London,
-isn't it amazing that it takes an affluent and articulate woman like Mrs Pitton to expose the abject failures in NHS maternity care.
This lady, I would guess, could well have afforded to go into a private hospital, but chose to entrust her and her babies welfare to the NHS.
Thousands of other less well informed mothers are probably being told "take it or leave it"- and they probably do just that, -uncomplainingly.(If that's a word)
Thank God we have people like Mrs Pitton prepared and able to speak up for all the other mothers who have been badly let down by some of those employed by our NHS.
- Huggy, Cumbernauld Scotland, 06/07/2011 15:09
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This is as John says ,is the result of trying to cover a growing population with the same resources.
- Grafter, London, 06/07/2011 14:45
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OVERPOPULATION = OVER STRETCHED MATERNITY WARDS
25% PLUS NEW BABIES TO NEWLY ARRIVED
NO MONEY FOR NEW HOSPITALS ETC
Those responsible for open doors should be ashamed of their efforts to destroy a great country .
- john, london, 06/07/2011 13:39
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