
Supporting families following birth negligence
Born in Better Care
Safer maternity care – and reducing the numbers of avoidable injuries and deaths to mothers and babies – has been a major government priority since 2010.
Despite continued medical and technological advances, latest statistics show that on average, 15 babies a day still die within their first four weeks of life in the UK. In addition, on average, one mother a day dies also.
There is also evidence to suggest 76-80% of stillbirths and perinatal deaths investigated by national bodies are reported to have been avoidable with different care.
It is these statistics that led to the UK Government pledging to halve the rate of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths by 2030. Yet today, major maternity care scandals and failings continue to be exposed.
But it is clear that much more needs to be done.
Led by our chief executive Amanda Stevens – herself a former hospital manager before embarking on a legal career which has spanned more than 25 years and largely revolved around birth cases – we are proud of our work supporting initiatives and organisations which are collectively working to drive up standards on wards across the country.
As birth negligence and birth injury claims specialists, our work is mainly focused around supporting families affected by negligent maternity care.
We help many parents find answers which have been unforthcoming from hospital trusts, as well as highlighting errors which have resulted in the loss of life or injuries which require a life-time of physical and financial support.
Amanda Stevens, CEO
A voice for change
In a campaign which is being taken direct to Downing Street, we are supporting the charity Baby Lifeline, which delivered an open letter to Mr Johnson calling for the immediate reinstatement of the Maternity Safety Training Fund in the next Budget. Chief Executive Amanda Stevens is leading with our full support. You too can help by signing the petition to help us make a change
Our Commitment
Our team is passionate about improving maternity care across the UK and helping ensure vital lessons are leaned which can help improve standards and ultimately reduce the number of avoidable deaths and life-changing injuries to mothers and babies.
Together with national charity Baby Lifeline, we are calling for the Government to reinstate the £8.1m Maternity Safety Training Fund which saw 30,000 staff access training to improve maternity care in 2016.
But to meet the targets of halving the rate of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths by 2030, we believe the following must happen;
- The reinstatement of a £8.1m Maternity Safety Training Fund
- Standardised maternity training for all UK Health Trusts
- Investment in improved equipment on maternity wards to ensure staff are able to provide the best care
- Complete transparency over investigations into all avoidable deaths and injuries of mothers and babies
- Greater involvement of parents and families in investigations when things do go wrong
- Quicker admissions of errors causing life-changing injuries and deaths – and faster access to investigation findings and compensation
Working Together
Report Reveals NHS Maternity Trusts are Failing to Train All Staff in Emergency Situations - Amanda Stevens discusses the issues around maternity care.
Read moreWorking together and speaking with one voice - why we are proud to continually support Baby Lifeline and their training programmes for better maternity care.
Read moreShrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust scandal continues to deepen with 900 cases of potential poor care of mothers and babies now being reviewed.
Read more"“Losing a baby because of the mistakes of health professionals is not something anybody should go through.”"
Samantha Gardner, Solicitor, Clinical Negligence
Read MoreSpecialists in Birth Negligence
Our team of highly experienced medical negligence solicitors specialise in birth injury claims and will work with you to gain answers around what went wrong, demanding an apology as well as getting the assurance we need to know that the same mistakes won’t be made again.