Campaigning for:
A public inquiry into NHS maternity.
National guidelines on telephone triage.
Recognition of secondary victims in maternity medical negligence.
Our story and our call for a national public enquiry into failing maternity services in England. We need to get to the root of the problems faced by trusts across the country and make real positive steps for change. Midwives are under extraordinary pressures and need support.
“We weren’t listened to”
Katie Fowler and Robert Miller lost their daughter at two days old due to failings at a maternity unit, according to a coroner.
They are calling for a national public inquiry into the standards of care across the UK.
#Newsnight
This is unbelievable behaviour from a midwive at Worthing Hospital. Let it be clear what this midwife calls 'utter professionalism' was deemed neglect by the Coroner. Until attitudes like this are changed there is no hope of maternity units learning, changing and improving.
Imagine finding that the midwives spoke about the night you almost died and your son died like this on social media.. this was a post from the labour ward co ordinator the next day. My son was born dead at 2.37am and was being revived for 20 mins and I was being put into a coma.
Following the
@UKSupremeCourt
ruling last week that there can be no secondary victim claims in medical negligence cases, my solicitor has just confirmed I can't claim for the psychological harm and treatment I've been receiving, which means I may have to stop the treatment. 1/5
The secondary victim claim would make it possible to continue the treatment as long as necessary. I don't understand the ruling of Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. Should both parents be primary victims in cases involving babies? Fathers mental health is being ignored. 5/5
@photog_al
I understand that people who witness trauma regularly through their job use dark humour to cope and I'll admit it's not something I'm familiar with. However, I think what's missing here is the moment of reflection. The team leader advocating dark humour certainly doesn't help.
Yesterday I learnt from parents who have been failed by maternity services that they can't have an inquest because their babies died before they took a first breath. How do these parents get honest answers to their questions? The only way for them to be heard is a public inquiry!
The letter I have sent to my MP explaining the impact the recent Supreme Court judgement on secondary victim medical negligence claims has had on me (and no doubt people in a similar situation). This is purely my understanding I'm not a legal professional.
Tonight's Panorama raises issues with another NHS Trust's maternity services. How many more need to be highlighted before the Government does the right thing and holds a national public inquiry?
Serious concerns about maternity services at an NHS trust have been revealed by BBC Panorama
Midwives under Pressure is on
@BBCiPlayer
now and
@BBCOne
at 8pm
We only managed to piece together the answers at the inquest nearly 2 years after Abigail died. A public inquiry is the only way England will get to the root of the problems faced by maternity services so positive change can be made.
#MaternityInquiry
It's a week since we went public with our story about how our baby girl Abigail was failed by Royal Sussex County Hospital. I have learnt a lot about the state of our maternity services in England this week and am committed to fighting for positive change.
#MaternityInquiry
1/3
An inquest today concluded baby Zac died of neglect from the maternity services in Derby that should have been there to help him. The coroner will be writing a prevention of future deaths report. There are maternity failings nationwide. We need a national public enquiry!
Make no mistake NHS maternity failures are happening across the country. Parents deserve more. There must be a complete review into maternity services nationally.
‘There was no care package when we left hospital, and we didn’t have a single night of care assistance until he was a year old’
Sian Channon describes the lack of support provided when her son Gethin was born with serious brain damage
#Newsnight
The harmful natural/normal mindset above any medical intervention must end in NHS maternity services.
@catherineroyuk
sets out some clear reasons this may be a contributing factor into many maternity failures in the UK.
🧵 .
@gloshospitals
maternity is looking more and more like a stronghold of natural, also called normal, childbirth.
Natural childbirth is an anti-medical movement which promotes non-intervention in pregnancy & childbirth, particularly from doctors.
1/
To add to this, our baby Abigail was in NICU having taken 40 mins to resuscitate & stabilise & Katie needed further life saving operations during the night. Abigail sadly passed away at 2 days old. After about 6 months I started suffering PTSD symptoms. 3/5
This is about our baby girl Abigail. If any other parents have suffered similar outcomes due to failures in care at Royal Sussex, Worthing, Princess Royal or St Richards Hospitals in Sussex please feel free to get in touch to share your story. You are not alone.
I sought specialist psychotherapy to help, which it has, the symptoms have reduced but some days are still better than others, it's hard work. Without this specialist support I don't think I'd be functioning. But I can't afford it forever. 4/5
@hypnobirthing
@drruthannharpur
@catherineroyuk
In the inquest for Abigail the midwife on the triage telephone gave a reason for not inviting Katie into MAU as not wanting to burst the oxytocin bubble. What's worse, a burst oxytocin bubble OR Katie having a cardiac arrest & Abigail not coming home? Your comments are harmful.
Another family under the care of
@UHSussex
Worthing Hospital have been failed by its maternity services. This was only 1 month after we lost Abigail at the same trust. How did they miss 10 opportunities to save Esme?
@VictoriaAtkins
this dark corner needs investigating ASAP.
Following established failings of midwives on telephone triage to invite my wife Katie to MAU during labour, experiencing her go into cardiac arrest in the taxi, the 20 mins resuscitation, peri mortem C-section (in a reception) & 1.5 days in a coma on ITU, I have struggled. 2/5
@JamesTitcombe
@Tim_TaylorSmith
@EmilyJBarley
I went to an inquest recently where the parents had no legal representatives but the trust had a legal team and three midwives also had a separate legal team. 2 Vs 0 😥 so unfair. There should be legal support available for all families at inquests.
Since Abigail's story has been made public we are now in touch with 8 other families who have also sadly lost their babies whilst in the care of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundations Trust 2021-23. Their stories are heartbreaking & many of them are also seeking answers. 3/3
@EmilyJBarley
There will still need to be accountability so that learning from failures and harm can be made. Families will still need a route to find out the truth of what happened. If they're thinking they can just pay parents off to go away quietly then this will be a big step backwards.
Our first proper Christmas without Abigail (last year we went away to hide from it all) & it's really hard. We don't have any decorations up, no tree, but I've just finished wrapping family presents and I feel like that's my limit for today. Wishing everyone a peaceful Christmas.
The Paul
@UKSupremeCourt
judgement in January 2024 has silenced many parents considering a secondary victim claim in birth trauma cases. I have talked about how this has affected me.
There will also be a story on
@bbcsoutheast
this evening at 6:30pm.
The current inquest into the death of baby Orlando is the 2nd inquest in as many months involving the maternity unit at Worthing Hospital and the 3rd since November last year involving UHSx Trust. There were no press present at the inquest in February 2024. 1/8
A good discussion on the impact & context surrounding the
@UKSupremeCourt
judgement on the secondary victim med neg claims in Jan24 in this article by
@ShaunLintern
in
@thetimes
today.
@ReynoldsLynda
I would go as far to say the Paul judgement has silenced the voices of fathers/non primary parents who have suffered trauma during labour due to NHS failures. We have been abandoned by the UK legal system with no formal route of recognition for the harm caused.
Katie (my wife) puts this so well. There was very little interest in the Lords in talking about the difficult subjects of baby loss, mothers dying and untold trauma suffered by all involved.
I'm really sick of seeing conversations about maternity care (such as the debate in the House of Lords today) that skirt around the issue & talk about "outcomes" rather than calling it what it is: dead babies & mothers.
The Supreme Court judgement has had a major effect on parents (mothers and fathers) of babies who die after birth due to medical negligence. The impact of this decision needs to be reviewed by the government.
I have spoken to 3 families this week. Their claims are now limited to bereavement award, no matter what the financial impact of losing your child and being unable to work.
@HughJamesLegal
are still committed to helping these families through the inquest process.
@HJInquests
@catherineroyuk
@Katieabcgirl
Wow, a litany of failures. NHS trusts must start openly acknowledging mistakes in care, how else can real action plans for improvement be made.
I agree with this letter. The parents need answers, to know the truth and want to help to see improvement so that this doesn't happen to others. It is the trusts who put up walls and deny and defend their culpability causing additional harm to families and preventing learning.
Last week,
@lregan7
was interviewed in the
@thetimes
.
@EmilyJBarley
and I responded to some of her comments but our letter wasn't picked. Here is our letter. Our response is also relevant to the proposed 'no blame' compensation scheme.
@Jeremy_Hunt
1/4
Another maternity service rated "inadequate" by the CQC today. There needs to be a positive change to all maternity services across England to reverse the decline. This means proper funding and real support for midwives. It's time for a public inquiry.
#MaternityInquiry
.
@CQCProf
being the Father of another baby whose inquest found her life "would have been significantly prolonged" had failures in care not happened at UHSx Trust, I second
@Robyn_Medhurst
call.
I’m begging you
@CQCProf
please reopen our case and understand neglect is occurring everywhere within this Trust. I am horrified at the staffs lack of accountability and reluctance to change practice, not to mention countless lies. The public are NOT safe
Orlando's inquest has concluded today and the coroner has stated "Orlando's death was contributed to by neglect."
This is not an isolated incident at UHSx Trust or Worthing Hospital.
Sadly our group of parents who have suffered similar outcomes in recent years is only growing.
The current inquest into the death of baby Orlando is the 2nd inquest in as many months involving the maternity unit at Worthing Hospital and the 3rd since November last year involving UHSx Trust. There were no press present at the inquest in February 2024. 1/8
Increased medical negligence claims to the NHS is a symptom of systemic failings, the root causes need to be publicly & openly investigated and rectified. In the meantime surely the humane and compassionate solution is to support all victims through their trauma.
"We also hope to discuss the similarities in our aftercare to those of parents in East Kent, Nottingham and other parts of the country where public inquiries into maternity services have identified failings." 3/3
Our response after the RSCH has finally given a meaningful apology:
"It is regrettable that this meeting wasn't offered to us sooner, but we welcome the opportunity to share our experience and the ways we feel the hospital could better respond to parents in the future... 1/3
In my opinion it is cruel to not allow close family to claim for the cost of mental health support where medical negligence has been established.
If claims to the NHS are going up then we (as a society) need to look at improving the NHS so fewer errors are occurring.
As mentioned on
@BBCNewsnight
yesterday evening, for anyone interested in safety issues or the current investigations at University Hospitals Sussex including the Royal Sussex County Hospital there is a public online (Teams) board meeting today:
@ShaunLintern
I've written a thread on how this has affected me here:
There will be hundreds if not thousands of fathers/parents/partners of mothers and babies, who have suffered failures in care, deeply affected for the rest of their lives by this decision.
Following the
@UKSupremeCourt
ruling last week that there can be no secondary victim claims in medical negligence cases, my solicitor has just confirmed I can't claim for the psychological harm and treatment I've been receiving, which means I may have to stop the treatment. 1/5
We have spoken to Katie and Rob as we have very similar stories and dire outcomes within the same Trust. We are desperate to get a local and national public inquiry to make change. We are also desperate for the Trust to apologise and take accountability for our losses and pain.
"We understand actions to improve some services such as maternity assessment unit telephone triage have been made and look forward to discussing how this will be monitored and audited to ensure an improved standard of care is maintained... 2/3
This is a great plain English article explaining the current secondary victim claims situation. This is really helpful, clear and as concise as a complex legal topic like this can be. Thank you.
Laura Johnson KC (
@laubore
) &
@FrancescaKolar
analyse the current landscape of secondary victim claims, covering clinical and general contexts. Their comprehensive overview outlines legal requirements and practical advice in light of the Paul decision.
@Sajhawkins1
@Safe_Maternity
This will be our second year without a Christmas tree, it just doesn't feel right yet. Thanks for sharing, it's good to know we're not alone on this journey. Your bauble for Harriet is lovely. 💔
@ShaunLintern
From other NHS trusts too. I nearly lost my wife due to failings in care and our daughter died. I would like to tell the judges my story. It certainly is comparable to a traumatic 'accident'. How else are fathers meant to afford and receive help for PTSD?
@catherineroyuk
In January I met with the Chief Nurse and Director of Midwifery at UHSx Trust and told them how their lack of sincere apology and accountability had affected my wife and I after we lost our daughter in their care. Apparently they have forgotten this conversation already.
@ahillslegal
@ReynoldsLynda
Thank you for this explanation
@ahillslegal
. There seems to be very little public information out there and not much media coverage. As someone not in a legal profession it's taken a while to get my head around. This has really helped.
@vsmacdonald
I've written a thread on how this has affected me here:
There will be hundreds if not thousands of fathers/parents/partners of mothers and babies, who have suffered failures in care, deeply affected for the rest of their lives by this decision.
Following the
@UKSupremeCourt
ruling last week that there can be no secondary victim claims in medical negligence cases, my solicitor has just confirmed I can't claim for the psychological harm and treatment I've been receiving, which means I may have to stop the treatment. 1/5
@babylossmummy
@ziegesleftfoot
@UKSupremeCourt
I absolutely agree. It's devastating for anyone classed as a secondary victim. In my eyes any parent or partner who suffers from failings in maternity care is a primary victim in my eyes.
@Allyncondon
Very true, I'm starting to realise just how lucky we were to have excellent legal representation and an extremely thorough coroner. I'm learning that sadly not everyone has such a positive experience.
There are 3 more pre inquest reviews for babies listed on the West Sussex Coroners website in the coming weeks and 2 inquests. I don’t know if any of them involve UHSx Trust at the moment but time will tell. 8/8
To respect the privacy of the parents I’m not going to name the baby or exact dates. I’m posting this as I believe there needs to be a public record of this inquest taking place, given it's the same Hospital and Trust currently in the spotlight. 3/8
@MartynPitman
The HSIB investigation found failings that may have impacted on the outcome but even then the trust wouldn't give us the answers we needed. So we spoke to our MP and he was the first person to suggest we seek an Inquest. Only there did the full picture unfold.
.
@OliverDowden
Why don't you grow some and start sticking up for the wonderful cultural assets of the UK? Serious investment is required if you want live music, theatre and festivals to return as we know them.
#LetTheMusicPlay
#WeMakeEvents
Court was told by one of the midwives she would only know about the results if there was a problem. Therefore the default was to assume all OK even if the tests hadn’t been carried out. 6/8
@robertBird5
@CareQualityComm
That's very interesting. Do you know when those statements were made? Or have a link to them? Thank you for your messages.
@kaedequinn
@EmilyJBarley
Kaede I'm so sorry to hear about your baby being stillborn and you not being listened to. Have the hospital carried out any investigations? I'd like to contact you privately via DM. You deserve answers.
The baby died following a birth in 2022 at Worthing Hospital. Although the death was recorded as natural causes the inquest highlighted there are no fail safe procedures for cord blood testing. 5/8
@sillyoldjen
This is the thing Jenny, I think any reasonable assessment of the situation would say I should be allowed to claim. But as the legal position currently stands, I can't. I've asked multiple solicitors the same question, they have all said I now can't.
I’m not a reporter, just a concerned parent whose baby died under the care of the same Trust. This thread is not a full account of the inquest. I won’t be discussing my thoughts on the outcome. 4/8
@robertBird5
@PHSOmbudsman
@CareQualityComm
The trust initially said there was nothing they could have done different for Abigail and Katie. The HSIB report made safety recommendations about the phone triage & still no accountability from the trust or answering of the 'what ifs'. It took the inquest for real answers.
I was the only member of the public present. The parents were on their own, UHSx Trust had a legal team and the 3 Midwives from Worthing Hospital giving evidence also had their own legal team. 2/8