At least seven preventable baby deaths at East Kent hospitals

East Kent Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has acknowledged that at least seven preventable baby deaths may have occurred over the last four years.

The trust, which is made up of five hospitals and community clinics, has apologised, admitting that the correct care has not always been provided.

An inquest into the death of one of the babies, Harry Richford, will conclude tomorrow on Friday 24 January. It is likely the trust will be criticised in relation to the care provided to Harry who was born in November 2017, but died several days later following complications surrounding his delivery and aftercare.

Archie Powell died at just four days old after medics failed to spot he was suffering from group B streptococcus.

Tallulah-Rai Edwards was stillborn after midwives failed to take a suitable cardiotocography (CTG) reading, despite her mother explaining that her baby’s movement had significantly slowed.

Hallie-Rae Leek died at only four days old after midwives struggled to find her heartbeat and failed to deliver her early enough.

Archie Batten died shortly after birth after his mother went into labour and was informed that her closest maternity unit was closed. She was asked to drive 38 miles to a different hospital, but could not and so midwives came to her home. They struggled to deliver Archie and he tragically died in the ambulance on the way to hospital.

In 2016, there were two stillbirths which the trust admitted were both preventable, had the correct care been given.

In 2015, a review into the trust’s maternity care was undertaken by experts from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

They found several consultants to not be following guidelines, not attending CTG training, not carrying out labour ward rounds, reviewing women or attending out of hours when requested.

There was found to be poor teamwork within the unit, with staff believing that maternity services were not a priority and that if they mentioned a concern, no appropriate action would be taken by the trust.

Amanda Cavanagh, a medical negligence specialist at Ashtons Legal, says: “This must be the most heart-breaking situation for any parent, especially when the deaths could have been avoided. It is not good enough to keep apologising, this trust and others need to address the systemic problems within their hospitals to prevent unavoidable baby deaths.  The government must stick to their pledge and plough investment into the NHS whether that be more incentives for students to study, more training or more staff. We have a wealth of talent available, but people will not embark on training if they will not be properly compensated or if they end up in debt as a result.”