A National Health Service (NHS) trust was fined £800,000 after admitting failings in the care of a woman and her newborn, who died 23 minutes after birth.
Wynter Sophia Andrews passed away on September 15, 2019 in the arms of her parents, Sarah and Gary Andrews, owing to a lack of oxygen to the brain, shortly after an emergency caesarean section.
At a hearing in Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, the Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, which operates the hospitals, pleaded guilty to two charges relating to Wynter and Mrs Andrews of failing to provide care or treatment in a safe manner, resulting in harm or loss. This is the first time the trust has been criminally prosecuted.
District Judge Grace Leong said there were “systemic failures” in their care when she imposed a sentence on Friday, which could have included an infinite punishment.
Ms. Andrews began experiencing contractions and pain six days prior to her 14 September admission to the maternity unit at Queen’s Medical Centre.
Sarah and Gary Andrews arrive before the Nottingham Magistrates’ Court after the death of their infant, Wynter.
She stated, “The catalogue of failings and errors exposed Mrs. Andrews and her infant to a significant risk of avoidable harm, and such errors ultimately led to Wynter’s death and post-traumatic stress for Mrs. Andrews and Mr. Andrews.”
“Based on my evaluation, the amount of responsibility for the crimes committed against Wynter and Mrs. Andrews is high.
There were mechanisms in place, but a large number of processes and practices were not followed, adhered to, or executed.
Due to the trust’s early guilty admissions, the total fine, which would have been £1.2 million after a trial, was lowered to £800,000 due to its early guilty pleas.
Wynter Sophia Andrews passed away on September 15, 2019 at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham.
It will also pay prosecution costs of £13,668.65 and a victim surcharge of £181, with mitigation counsel Bernard Thorogood requesting two years to pay the whole.
Mrs. Andrews stated outside the court on Wednesday that her daughter and family had been ‘failed in the cruelest way’ and urged other mothers who may have had similar experiences to participate in the Ockenden Review, a comprehensive investigation into multiple failures in maternity care across the NUH trust.
Several months prior to Wednesday’s court hearing, the trust admitted wrongdoing to the CQC, with chief executive Anthony May renewing its apology.
In a statement, he added, “We are truly sorry for the pain and suffering we caused Mr. and Mrs. Andrews as a result of our inadequate maternity care.”
We let them down at a time in their life that should have been joyful.
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