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compensation following an accident
illness or injury - nationwide
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Between November 2003 and June 2006, 60,000 maternity care mistakes occurred under the NHS. These figures are based on a study by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA), a body set up to evaluate and make progress in practice after NHS medical errors.
The report revealed 246 cases where pregnant patients died in maternity care, and 1,000 cases of "serious harm" to patients, including perforated bowels after surgery that may have required patients to have a temporary colostomy.
There were 10,000 cases rated as "low harm" injuries, but as this level of birth injury could include a perforated bowel repaired during birth, the rating of "low" may seem inappropriate. According to The Independent Newspaper in 2007, maternity care mistakes were the highest contributor to medical negligence compensation awards.
Reports from the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), which investigates every case where a mother has died, reveal a steady rise in maternal deaths over the fifteen years to 2007. It was concluded that "major substandard care" was attributable in nearly half of the deaths; a further 20% of patients' deaths, caused by pre-existing conditions complicated by pregnancy, resulted directly from substandard care.
The latest CEMACH report, "Saving Mothers' Lives", published in December 2007 for the 2003-05 period, showed no increase in the cases of maternal death associated with sub-standard care or factors that could have been avoided, but it identified that a number of health care workers were unable to recognise and manage medical conditions or potential emergencies that were not part of their relevant medical expertise. Particularly notable was a lack of resuscitation techniques.
In February 2008, it was widely reported that increased UK birth rates indicated serious understaffing of NHS labour wards and the Royal College of Midwives called for 5,000 more staff. The Health Secretary said, "The number of births in England is rising. To keep pace with this increase and to improve the quality of care to mothers, we will recruit an additional 1,000 midwives on our wards and in our communities by 2009, rising to around 4,000 by 2012."
Birth injury and YouClaim personal injury compensation
We understand the pain and distress of birth injury claims; our medical negligence solicitors are amongst the most experienced in the country and are governed by the strict regulations of the Law Society. Our specialised medical negligence personal injury solicitors offer thorough knowledge and sensitivity at this difficult time.
Whilst the complexities of birth injury medical negligence claims preclude us from stating that you will not be charged any legal fees, we assure you that we will advise you of any charges before you commit to them and in a won case we will always reimburse you.
If you wish to discuss a birth injury compensation claim, please call our free and confidential UK helpline now on 0800 10 757 95 or you can request a more convenient time when we can call you back. Alternatively, fill in the online claim form and we will look into your compensation claim for birth injury before we call you to discuss it further. Above all, at YouClaim we are here to help.
