Maternity concerns following tragic stillbirth of baby boy

The death of a baby boy at the Royal Lancaster Hospital, part of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust, has triggered new concerns into maternity care at the Trust.

The NHS Trust faced an independent investigation into its maternity and new born services back in 2015 which found a series of failures at nearly every level; from the maternity unit right up to the very senior staff responsible for regulating and monitoring the Trust.  More problems have since emerged.

Ms Feasey’s son, Toby, was sadly stillborn at Royal Lancaster Hospital in January 2017 after mistakes were made by medical staff who did not act upon signs that Ms Feasey had pre-eclampsia.       

Pre-eclampsia can cause a marked increase in blood pressure to a mother during pregnancy which can then cause damage to a mother’s internal organs (and potentially the baby) if not promptly treated.

The NHS Trust has subsequently admitted that baby Toby’s death would have been avoided if a routine lab test had been requested by a midwife after other routine maternal tests at 35 weeks identified Ms Feasey had raised protein levels in her urine, a symptom of pre-eclampsia.  Ms Feasey also suffered with high blood pressure, headaches, visual problems and bleeding during her pregnancy.

Toby’s parents are now bravely calling for other NHS maternity units to learn from what has happened to them and to make sure that no other baby is unnecessarily harmed as a result of sub-standard care.  

Claiming compensation

If you or your child have suffered a birth related injury as a result of suspected negligent maternity care, our team of top ranked solicitors can help.  Our medical negligence lawyers specialise in birth injury cases and we have a proven record of securing much needed compensation to help children and their families.    

For further information about making a claim, visit our birth injury compensation claims page or read some of our Case Studies to find out more about how we can help you.

We recognise that this is a very difficult situation.  Our clinical negligence team offer empathetic, clear and practical support to help you pursue answers under the most challenging of circumstances.

Read more about why our clients choose us to help them and how we can help you.

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This blog was written by Guy Pomphrey and Emily Underwood.