A hospital trust is being prosecuted for its “gross failings” that led to a baby tragically dying only 23 minutes after she had been born.
Wynter Andrews might have survived but for the failings and mistakes of staff supposed to be caring for her at Queen’s Medical Centre, an inquest at Nottingham Coroner’s Court found.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has since announced that Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust would be prosecuted over the incident.
Wynter was pronounced dead only 23 minutes after being born on September 15, 2019.
Specifically it said the legal action would relate to its “failure to provide safe care and treatment,” Nottinghamshire Live reported.
Fiona Allinson, CQC Director of Operations - Midlands Network, said: “We have now concluded our investigation into the care provided to a mother and her baby by Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust.
"As a result of that investigation, we intend to prosecute the trust for its failure to provide safe care and treatment under Regulation 12(1) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (RAR 2014) and will report further as soon as we are able to do so.”
The inquest into little Wynter’s death heard how the trust’s neglect in care contributed to the baby’s death.
Wynter's heartbroken mother Sarah Andrews, a council worker who now lives in Mansfield, said she felt "desperate, forgotten about and abandoned" after she was admitted to the hospital the day before.
The inquest heard how staff failed to recognise that Ms Andrews was in established and not latent labour.
They then failed to act on high blood pressure readings and carried out four “inaccurate and insufficient handovers” as apart of a catalogue of errors that all led up to Wynter’s death.
Midwives at the Queen's Medical Centre told the court they were "overworked and understaffed" and said they didn't feel able to professionally challenge colleagues at the hospital.
This comes as just the latest in a string of failings involving the trust’s maternity services.
But the families affected by the failings said they have been given new hope after meeting the midwife leading a new review.
Donna Ockenden met with parents, some of whom had babies who died or suffered serious injuries, in the city on Monday, July 11.
NUH's scandal-hit maternity services at Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital are rated 'inadequate' by health watchdog the CQC.
Ms Ockenden, who uncovered 200 avoidable baby deaths at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust across two decades, was hired in May to conduct a similar review in Nottingham. It came one month after more than 100 families wrote to former Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
A heavily-criticised initial thematic review was scrapped midway through.
Chief Executive of Nottingham University Hospitals Rupert Egginton said: “We are deeply sorry that we failed this family, and apologise unreservedly for the mistakes we made at the time.
“We have taken action to address the failings that led to this tragic loss and introduced a range of improvements designed to offer the best maternity care to families using our services.
“But we know there is a lot more work to do, and are committed to supporting the work of Donna Ockenden’s review team, which alongside the work of our own improvement team, will ensure we do everything necessary to learn and improve.”
