One in five NHS trusts rated 'red' for baby deaths

According to a recent report from Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audit and Confidential Enquiries (MBRRACE) one in five NHS trusts have been given a ‘red’ rating for infant mortality rates.

In 2020, a total of 23 trusts were given the rating, meaning the death rate for babies was more than five per cent higher than average. The figure is up 50 per cent on the 14 trusts of 2019.

The latest report looked at stillbirths and deaths within four weeks of birth, whilst another report from the group found the number of mothers who died within six weeks of giving birth had gone up by a quarter over a five year period.

A total of 229 mothers died alongside 27 of their babies between 2018 and 2020, with many of the deaths found to be ‘avoidable'. A further 289 women died between six weeks and a year after birth.

In the MBRRACE audit, six trusts were marked as red for their stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates when they were measured separately. The other 17 trusts were marked red after the two individual measures were combined for an overall rating.

Trusts were compared with providers similar to them – for example, hospitals which have neonatal intensive care units or those that are of a similar size, and rates were adjusted to account for some trusts having a high proportion of mothers at particularly high risk of their baby dying. These include being over 40, being pregnant with twins or triplets, or living in poverty.

The six trusts rated red for both stillbirth and neonatal births were:

• Buckinghamshire Healthcare
• Gloucestershire Hospitals
• University Hospitals Dorset
• Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals
• University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire
• University Hospitals of Leicester

Medical director of University Hospitals of Leicester, Andrew Furlong, told Health Service Journal: “Where learnings have been identified from reviews of care, we have developed robust action plans and strengthened care practice to shape and improve future services.”

Meanwhile, an NHS England spokesman said it was supporting trusts and health systems to improve maternity and neonatal care.

Helen Budge, Senior Solicitor in our Clinical Negligence team, comments:

“These figures suggest a worrying upward trend in rates of infant deaths in NHS Trusts across the country. While maternal mortality rates have improved slightly, there is a continuing and very troubling disparity in maternal mortality rates between women from BAME groups and white women.”

Helen is a Senior Solicitor within the Clinical Negligence team here at Potter Rees Dolan. Should you have any queries about the topics in this article or any other aspect of Clinical Negligence and wish to speak to Helen or any other member of the team, please contact us on 0800 027 2557 or contact Helen directly.

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