Stillbirth parents are being met with a ‘wall of silence’

A quarter of parents who suffer the tragedy of a stillbirth are not told that the hospital has launched an investigation, a damning report reveals.

National rules mean hospitals have to investigate every stillbirth, death to the newborn, or serious injury of babies during labour.

But 56 per cent of these investigations are ‘inadequate’, according to a report by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

In 27 per cent of cases they provide ‘poor quality’ information – and in another 29 per cent they contain no plans to make improvements.

National rules mean hospitals have to investigate every stillbirth, death to the newborn, or serious injury of babies during labour

External investigators are involved in only 7 per cent of cases, opening hospitals to the charge of bias.

Shockingly, in one in four incidents the parents are never told that an investigation has been launched, and never given the findings.

Experts warned that hospitals are not learning from their mistakes.

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Health Minister Ben Gummer said that the findings were ‘unacceptable’ – adding that the NHS is expected to learn from every case.

The report comes after England’s health ombudsman last year warned that grieving families face a ‘wall of silence’ when they complain about bad care in the NHS.

Dame Julie Mellor’s report in December said that relatives often are left with no explanation as to why a loved-one has died, and instead are fobbed off with opaque reports absolving the NHS of blame.

Yesterday’s report is the first in a series from data collected as part of RCOG’s Each Baby Counts initiative, which aims to halve the number of stillbirths, neonatal deaths and severe brain injury by 2020.

The document provides interim data on these incidents from 2015.

Across the UK there were 921 cases, reported including 654 severe brain injuries, 147 cases when a baby had died in the first week of life – and 119 stillbirths.

Shockingly, in one in four incidents the parents are never told that an investigation has been launched, and never given the findings

Nicky Lyon, co-founder of the Campaign for Safer Births, said: ‘Our son Harry suffered profound brain damage during term labour.

‘After a difficult life of tube feeding, constant sickness, fits and discomfort, our son died of a chest infection aged 18 months. 

‘As a family we have been left devastated at the loss of our beautiful boy.

‘In the days following Harry’s birth we asked what had gone wrong, but we were ignored. 

‘It was only after submitting a formal complaint that we learnt that an investigation was already underway.

‘It’s hard to describe how upset, confused and angry we were – the poor communication and secrecy made a terrible situation so much worse.’

Judith Abela, acting chief executive of the stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands, said: ‘Parents’ perspective of what happened is critical to understanding how care can be improved and they must be given the opportunity to be involved, with open, respectful and sensitive support provided throughout.’

Professor Alan Cameron, RCOG’s vice president for clinical quality and co-author of the report, added: ‘Stillbirth rates in the UK remain high and our current data indicate that nearly 1,000 babies a year die or are left severely disabled because of potentially avoidable harm in labour.

‘When the outcome for parents is the devastating loss of a baby, or a baby born with a severe brain injury, there can be little justification for the poor quality of reviews.’

Louise Silverton, director for midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives, added: ‘Each one of these statistics is a tragic event, and means terrible loss and suffering for the parents. 

‘Improvements are needed as a matter of urgency.’