UK – The British government has apologized for the deaths of more than 200 children at NHS clinics

Born in England Image: AFP

More than 200 babies have died at birth or shortly thereafter due to inadequate maternity care in hospitals in central England. British Health Secretary Sajid Javed on Wednesday apologized for corruption in NHS clinics. Outside Parliament in London he addressed ‘all the families affected so badly’. ‘Sorry,’ said Javed.

More than 200 babies have died at birth or shortly thereafter due to inadequate maternity care in hospitals in central England. British Health Secretary Sajid Javed on Wednesday apologized for corruption in NHS clinics. He addressed “all the families affected so badly” before Parliament in London. “I’m sorry,” said Javed.

A 250-page investigation report into abuses at clinics run by Operator Shrewsbury and the Delft Hospital NHS Trust was previously released. Thus, 201 infants who survived with proper care within two decades died in those facilities. Other newborns have been reported to have skull fractures, other fractures and brain damage due to lack of oxygen at birth.

Nine mothers have died, possibly due to improper treatment. According to the report, caesarean section was clinically indicated for pregnant women in hospitals who were forced to repeat the delivery naturally. As an indicator of good obstetrics, the hospital wanted to keep its caesarean rate as low as possible. Many women were affected by childbirth.

The study was commissioned in 2017 and was released on Wednesday. 1592 incidents affecting 1486 families were investigated. Most of the incidents occurred between 2000 and 2019.

Donna Okenton, who led the investigation, criticized at a press conference that the hospital team did not learn a lesson from their mistakes. Of the 40 percent of children who died, no internal investigation was initiated. The hospital administrator “believed his maternity ward was fine. He made a mistake.”

However, his report shows that a quarter of the 498 dead children tested had “significant or major” medical errors, Okenton stressed. No incidents were reported. With this, the “true scale of serious incidents” remained undetected for a very long time, the head of the investigation said.

Addressing the victims, Health Minister Javed said, “The investigation clearly shows that you are disappointed with a service designed to help you and your loved ones bring life into this world.” Both Javed and the hospital administrator agreed to implement the report’s dozens of recommendations. The health minister said those responsible for “serious and recurring errors” would be held accountable.

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