Failures in NHS maternity wards make mothers afraid to give birth, says couple whose baby died shortly after birth
- A couple lost their son Giles after he was deprived of oxygen for 21 minutes.
Pregnant women are afraid to give birth due to repeated NHS maternity failures, say a couple whose baby died shortly after birth.
Allison and Ruth Cooper-Hall lost their son Giles in 2021 after he was deprived of oxygen for 21 minutes.
An investigation found that inexperienced and ‘distracted’ staff ignored warning signs and failed to properly care for her mother, Ruth. Now the couple are calling for “systemic change” in the health service, as hospitals across England continue to be rocked by maternity scandals.
An investigation at the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust has already found that 300 babies have died or suffered brain damage due to “repeated errors in care”.
Meanwhile, new research at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust will look at 1,700 similar cases.
Allison (right) and Ruth Cooper-Hall (left) lost their son Giles in 2021 after he was deprived of oxygen for 21 minutes.
Pregnant women are afraid to give birth due to repeated NHS maternity failures, say a couple whose baby died shortly after birth (File Image)
Allison Cooper-Hall, a high school teacher, said repeated mistakes in maternity care are “absolutely” making more women worry about their pregnancies.
As his wife prepares to give birth again next month, he told The Times: “The ‘lessons learned’ approach is clearly not working if tragedies are repeated in hospital after hospital.”
“This is not an issue about individual maternity services at certain hospitals, it is a system-wide issue about the safety of the entire maternity system.”
He said he feared that if similar investigations were carried out across all maternity services in England, “the same findings and patterns leading to preventable harm will emerge in a significant percentage.”
Giles Cooper-Hall died of brain injury caused by lack of oxygen at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth in October 2021.
“Ineffective communication during multiple handovers” was a factor in the death, according to a report from the Division of Health Care Security Investigation. The family said they have now received a ‘gold star service’ from Derriford Hospital before the August 8 due date.
Allison Cooper-Hall, a high school teacher, said repeated mistakes in maternity care are “absolutely” making more women worry about their pregnancies.
But Ms Cooper-Hall said it shouldn’t be a tragedy to improve care and called on hospitals to “listen to us as parents”.
A spokesman for NHS England said it was “taking steps to strengthen maternity services, including through the recently published three-year handover plan for maternity and neonatal services.”
