Diane Rostron At Addies Solicitors

Preventable birth injuries are devastating for the families affected.
Having the right legal and medical experts on your side can help to get the answers needed. Read our piece on WalesOnline.

A new monitor is being fitted in a hospital in Glasgow to detect the life threatening condition sepsis.
This serious, and fast acting, condition requires timely antibiotics to prevent significant complications such as multiple organ failure.
https://bbc.in/2UmXTKy

Preventable birth injuries are thankfully rare, but families living with the harsh realities that follow an avoidable incident are sadly often further traumatised when they don't receive the answers that they need.
Read more in our latest blog https://bit.ly/2RELMXq

The investigation into maternity care in Shrewsbury has now sadly reached 1,000 cases with reports that more are coming forward.
We hope that the inquiry delivers answers for all the affected families and key learnings to prevent any further incidents.
https://bit.ly/37Kt3iA

There are calls for an independent investigation into the maternity services delivered by the East Kent Hospitals Trust following the death of a one week old baby boy.
A coroner has found that his death was contributed to by neglect.
This was the couple's first child and they had experienced a normal pregnancy until a number of errors during his birth led to his preventable death just a few days later.
... https://bbc.in/2uEq8t6
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Support worker required
As Court of Protection deputy for a male adult client who suffered a significant brain injury at birth, we are currently recruiting for two flexible, part time support workers to assist with his complex range of needs.
Each position will be for a minimum of 16 hours each week and up to 24 hours if and when required to cover staff absences.
... Hours of work will be between 9am – 9pm seven days a week comprising two eight-hour days to be agreed direct with the family to suit our client’s needs which may change.
The position will pay £11 per hour plus mileage.
Candidate criteria:
The right candidate will be local to Cleveleys, Lancashire with access to a car and a clean driver's licence. Computer literacy and access to email is essential.
To apply, candidates should have at least three years' experience of working with people with disabilities and mental health conditions. The candidate should have experience of, and confidence in, dealing with challenging behavioural issues.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential.
Duties will involve assisting with cooking, cleaning and the general running of our client's household.
The successful candidate will demonstrate strong empathy and patience and will be available to accompany our client on social trips both locally and within the region.
Successful candidates will act as strong advocates for our client offering companionship and friendship.
For a full job specification, or to send a CV, please contact us at cop@addies.co.uk before the application closing date on 4th February 2020.
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The significant cost of birth injury compensation claims is regularly reported on.
When a baby suffers a serious avoidable injury at birth, their lifetime care needs are extensive.
Affected families often instruct us to pursue a claim after they have approached their hospital direct for answers and acknowledgment that the injury could have been prevented.
... Often, hospitals are not transparent further adding to the trauma suffered by families.
More NHS funding, regular staff training, greater communication between specialists and robust internal investigations to ensure lessons are learned following these serious incidents is essential to lowering the risk of birth injuries occurring in the first place.
https://bbc.in/30KefhA
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Described as 'Britain's worst maternity scandal', the review into maternity failings in Shrewsbury is now looking at 900 cases - some of which relate to incidents dating back 40 years.
This is a heartbreaking development with the inquiry initially examining 23 cases.
https://bit.ly/2Nxeg2L

Heartbreaking for this family but sadly common failings leading to serious birth injuries - a failure to adequately monitor the baby's heart rate and a failure to carry out a c-section in a timely fashion when there was evidence that the baby was in distress.
https://bit.ly/2sSuNHL

Happy New Year to all our clients, followers and their families. We hope that you had a good break.
Our team of medical and legal birth injury experts are ready to help on 01253 766 559.

According to reports, 82 claims relating to avoidable birth injuries have been made in Shrewsbury - 52 of which have settled to date.
These have included incidents of baby deaths and cases where babies suffered significant injuries including brain damage. https://bit.ly/2tLRe1d

Wishing all our clients, their families and our followers a peaceful Christmas filled with family fun and a Happy New Year.
Please note that our office will close at 4.00pm on Monday 23rd December 2019 and will re-open at 8.30am on Thursday 2nd January 2020.

This four year old boy with spastic dystonic quadriplegic cerebral palsy can walk despite being told that he was unlikely to ever be able to. https://bbc.in/2RZLJGf

A historic report into the safety of patient care delivered in the maternity services in Shropshire has been found to be significantly flawed. https://bit.ly/366xiE9

Cerebral palsy affects one in every 400 babies born in the UK. In some cases, the lifelong condition is due to medical negligence with serious injuries suffered before, during or just after birth.
Read more in our piece on WalesOnline.
https://bit.ly/36aZK81

It has been reported that 800 people have expressed their concerns about the care they received at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust run maternity services.
The investigation is due to conclude at the end of 2020 with affected families encouraged to come forward to be heard.
https://bbc.in/2qf28uV

A survey of 3,000 obstetricians and gynaecologists, carried out by the Imperial College London, has found that 1 in 3 maternity doctors are suffering burnout, potentially putting patient safety at risk. https://dailym.ai/2DjXU87

Following the leaked interim report into maternity failings in Shrewsbury, Bill Kirkup, who led the Morecambe Bay maternity scandal enquiry, commented that the failures highlighted in Shrewsbury echoed those across the NHS maternity services.
He highlights that a lack of communication and collaboration between medical professionals, a failure to investigate incidents and learn from mistakes and "institutional denial" were serious concerns.
https://bit.ly/35eFbaa