Mothers and babies died at nhs trust plagued by errors

November 24, 2016

A Pennine Acute Hospital NHS Trust review documented many failings
Chronic staff shortages were blamed for a string of avoidable deaths
Another case revealed a woman died from a ‘catastrophic haemorrhage’ after her symptoms were put down to a mental illness

Stephen Matthews For Mailonline

Published:
19:08 EST, 23 November 2016

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Updated:
04:36 EST, 24 November 2016

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A premature baby was left to die alone in a sluice room rather than in their mother’s arms, a damning report reveals.

Staff members involved in the care of the newborn failed to find a quiet place to sit with her to nurse her as she passed away.

A secret medical review of the Pennine Acute Hospital NHS Trust outlines a string of avoidable deaths and long-term injuries caused by failures over many years.

Chronic staff shortages, clinical errors and bad staff attitude led to ‘high levels of harm for babies in particular’.

While repeated warnings at both North Manchester General and the Royal Oldham hospitals over the years had not led to improvements.

A secret medical review of the Pennine Acute Hospital NHS Trust outlines a string of avoidable deaths and long-term injuries caused by failures over many years

The internal review only came to light following a Freedom of Information request by the Manchester Evening News.

The paper said the trust tried to suppress the report and even claimed it did not exist.

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‘Worrying repetitive themes’ were cited across the hospital, including failures to monitor basic vital signs, poor documentation and a ‘rigid mindset’ among staff.

It also showed a ‘clear evidence of poor decision-making which has resulted in significant harm to women’.

MOTHER DIES WITHIN HOURS OF GIVING BIRTH

A father has been left ‘shocked and devastated’ after his fiancée died within hours of giving birth at North Manchester General Hospital.

Lianne Hindle, 37, died from a cardiac arrest three hours after having Poppy, leaving her partner Cris Barnes, 40, who has cerebral palsy, to look after their four children.

But because Ms Hindle died last December, she fell out of the scope of the Pennine Acute Hospital NHS Trust’s investigation.

Mr Barnes said: ‘Something has to be done. It isn’t right. This is still happening. Maternity units are supposed to be the safest places to have babies.

‘Lianne had always dreamed of a little girl. She was a strong character and loved her family. Her death has shocked and devastated us. It doesn’t seem real that she isn’t here.’

Hospital staff were also responsible for a woman dying of a catastrophic haemorrhage after her symptoms were put down to a mental illness.

Medics believed she had mental health issues and overlooked the fact she showed signs of hypoxia, a condition caused by lack of oxygen.

In a separate case, a baby died because antenatal staff were unable to identify their mother’s rare blood type.

The trust received more legal claims and paid out more in damages than any other between 2010 and 2015.

Nearly half of them relating to mothers and babies – payouts which totaled more than £25million.

Last night the trust said more staff had been taken on and progress was being made to improve care.

Professor Matthew Makin, medical director at the trust, said: ‘The priority is for all of the trust’s services to meet the high standards that patients expect and deserve.

‘We are steadily making the necessary improvements so that patients can receive reliable, high quality care across all of our services.

‘We have fully reviewed our risk and governance arrangements including learning from incidents and complaints, and are making progress in improving the way we listen and involve our staff to address the long standing problems and challenges facing our teams.’

He added that 31 new midwives have started working across their two maternity units to help deal with the staffing shortage.