There were at least 56 cases of stillbirths or neonatal deaths as well as two maternity deaths between January 2019 and July 2024.
A report from the BBC has raised concerns around the standard of maternity services at two maternity units in in Leeds.
The freedom of information request obtained by the BBC revealed at least 56 cases from January 2019 to July 2024 where there had been a combination of stillbirths and neonatal deaths. In each case, the Trust’s review had identified care outcomes which might have made a difference to the outcome for babies. Two potentially preventable maternity deaths were also recorded.
Families are calling for an independent review into Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, specifically for an independent, judge-led enquiry to help improve maternity safety.
Failures in maternity care
“The overall themes we keep seeing are failures in maternity care and an apparent failure to listen to patients and to learn from mistakes,” says Anita Jewitt, medical negligence solicitor and head of the clinical negligence department at law firm Stewarts.
Medical negligence law firm Irwin Mitchell is representing a number of families who were all under the care of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust when issues in their maternity care arose.
“While we recognise maternity services in Leeds have been rated as a good by the Care Quality Commission, our clients remain concerned about the actual care families are receiving,” says Katie Warner, specialist maternity safety lawyer at Irwin Mitchell’s Leeds office.
“They believe while paperwork is in place, these tick boxes for when inspectors visit and care on the ground is different. Our families’ concerns include staff communication with families and not listening to mums’ concerns,” she continues.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust had the highest neo-natal mortality rate in the UK of 4.46 per 1,000 live births in 2022. This is based on data from MBRRACE-UK – which reviews stillbirths and neonatal deaths but does not analyse if any of these are potentially preventable.
