Deaths of 56 babies at Leeds hospitals may have been preventable, BBC told

The deaths of astatine slightest 56 babies, and 2 mothers, astatine an NHS spot implicit the past 5 years whitethorn person been prevented, the BBC has found.

The 2 maternity units astatine the Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTH) NHS Trust are rated "good" by England's healthcare regulator, but 2 whistleblowers person told the BBC they judge the units are unsafe.

Separate information shows Leeds has the highest neonatal mortality complaint successful the UK.

Bereaved parents accidental they are acrophobic that the trust's main enforcement during the play astir of the deaths occurred is present starring the regulator, saying this could impact its independency successful investigating LTH Trust.

In a statement, the spot told the BBC the immense bulk of births astatine Leeds were safe, and deaths of mothers and babies were fortunately precise rare.

It added that Leeds cares for a higher measurement of babies with analyzable conditions arsenic it is 1 of a "handful of specializer centres" successful the UK.

The trust's maternity units are astatine Leeds General Infirmary and St James's University Hospital.

The families picture a "tick box" and "wait and see" civilization astatine the trust, positive a deficiency of compassionate care.

This has been echoed by whistleblower Lisa Elliott, who worked astatine the 2 sites successful 2023. Describing the attraction arsenic "appalling", she highlighted a nonaccomplishment to perceive to patients. "That's erstwhile disasters happen, and a batch of them tin beryllium avoided," she said.

The families are calling for an autarkic reappraisal into LTH Trust to guarantee issues are identified and lessons learned. They besides privation an independent, judge-led nationalist enquiry to assistance amended maternity information crossed England due to the fact that of wider concerns astir the modular of care.

The BBC obtained information from the spot showing perchance preventable babe deaths done a Freedom of Information request.

This revealed astatine slightest 56 cases from January 2019 to July 2024, made up of 27 stillbirths and 29 neonatal deaths - which is simply a decease wrong 28 days aft birth.

In each case, a spot reappraisal radical had identified attraction issues it considered whitethorn person made a quality to the result for babies.

The trust-led reviews were conducted by multidisciplinary teams which regularly included radical who did not enactment for the trust.

The spot besides recorded 2 perchance preventable maternal deaths successful the aforesaid period.

It did not springiness immoderate idiosyncratic details astir the 58 deaths, truthful we bash not cognize whether they see the families we person spoken to.

The deaths reviewed by the spot included babies with congenital abnormalities, and newborns and mothers transferred aft commencement from different units due to the fact that they required specializer care.

The spot said the fig of neonatal deaths it had recorded arsenic perchance avoidable was "very small".

LTH had the highest neonatal mortality complaint successful the UK of 4.46 per 1,000 unrecorded births successful 2022, according to the latest study by MBRRACE-UK - which reviews stillbirths and neonatal deaths but does not analyse if immoderate of these are perchance preventable.

BBC investigation of this data, which was made nationalist past July, shows this accrued from 3.30 per 1,000 unrecorded births successful 2017.

The LTH 2022 fig is 70% higher than the mean complaint for comparable NHS trusts.

MBRRACE-UK grouped Leeds with 25 different trusts which it says supply a akin level of care. Specifically, they each person a level 3 (the highest level) neonatal intensive attraction portion and execute neonatal surgery. The radical is complex, with antithetic specialisms.

LTH told the BBC determination are an expanding fig of analyzable pregnancies and births successful the portion - including an summation successful babies calved with terrible cardiac conditions - starring to an summation successful the neonatal mortality rate.

Fiona Winser-Ramm and Dan Ramm's archetypal baby, Aliona Grace, died astatine Leeds General Infirmary successful January 2020, 27 minutes aft she was born.

There had been delays admitting Fiona aft her waters broke and a hold by midwives to escalate concerns with Aliona's bosom complaint during labour.

There had been a "number of gross failures of the astir basal quality that straight contributed to Aliona's death", an inquest successful 2023 found.

"Leeds accidental they've learned lessons, it won't hap again. But it does, and babies support dying, oregon being earnestly injured, for akin reasons," says Dan.

The couple, who connected with different bereaved parents aft mounting up a Facebook group, judge determination are galore much affected.

Fiona and Dan besides judge the regulator - the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has failed to clasp the spot accountable, contempt different preventable babe deaths.

The CQC inspects the prime of services crossed wellness and big societal attraction successful England and tin prosecute providers who neglect to supply harmless care.

The mates archetypal raised their information concerns with the assemblage successful November 2020. They accidental the regulator is not acceptable for purpose.

They are taking ineligible enactment against LTH Trust, but besides privation the CQC to prosecute it for its attraction failures.

Fiona and Dan don't deliberation immoderate aboriginal CQC probe into Leeds could beryllium autarkic with the trust's erstwhile main enforcement successful complaint of the regulator.

Sir Julian Hartley led the spot for 10 years, until January 2023, and was successful station erstwhile Aliona died. He took implicit the CQC successful December 2024.

"There's a immense struggle of interest," says Dan.

We approached the CQC and Sir Julian for remark and the regulator replied connected behalf of some saying it was independent, with "robust policies successful spot to negociate immoderate struggle of interest".

It says determination are presently nary transgression investigations into Leeds maternity services, but it has been successful interaction with families and is looking into 4 incidents for grounds for immoderate aboriginal ineligible action.

Among the bereaved parents are Amarjit Kaur and Mandip Singh Matharoo, who were expecting their archetypal kid to get past February.

When Amarjit was 32 weeks pregnant, she went to Leeds General Infirmary's maternity portion doubly wrong 24 hours with terrible abdominal pain. She says she was told she was experiencing ligament symptom successful her torso and was sent location each clip with paracetamol.

A fewer days later, Amarjit underwent exigency country and she says a monolithic humor clot was found, precisely wherever she had described being successful pain.

Her daughter, Asees, was stillborn connected 6 January 2024. The mates judge she would person survived if her parent had not been sent location earlier.

"It's been the hardest twelvemonth of my life," Amarjit says.

A reappraisal led by the spot of Amarjit's attraction identified issues it considered whitethorn person made a quality to the baby's outcome.

Black mothers are astir 3 times much apt to dice than their achromatic counterparts (35.1 per 100,000 maternities), with Asian women astir doubly arsenic apt (20.16 per 100,000 maternities), latest UK figures from MBRRACE-UK show.

Last year, 15.7% of registrable births astatine LTH were recorded arsenic Asian and 11.8% were black.

Amarjit believes she was treated otherwise due to the fact that of her Indian ethnicity.

During her archetypal visit, she says she overheard a achromatic pistillate being told by midwives that she could "stay arsenic agelong arsenic you want" due to the fact that of her symptom - but Amarjit was sent home.

"The lone quality betwixt maine and her was the colour of my skin," she says. "But I was successful truthful overmuch symptom I couldn't move."

The trust's reappraisal of Amarjit's attraction said "the concerns astir organization racism person been taken seriously" and escalated to elder management.

The 2 whistleblowers person described unsafe attraction portion moving astatine some of the units.

One experienced objective unit member, presently astatine Leeds and who has asked to stay anonymous, told america the work is "completely broken" with chronic understaffing, with the interaction being that "women and babies are not getting the attraction we privation them to get".

These concerns are echoed by a erstwhile impermanent unit member, Lisa Elliott, who says she saw "chaotic" attraction erstwhile she worked astir 40 shifts arsenic a maternity enactment idiosyncratic during 2023. While successful this role, supporting midwives successful their attraction of women, she says she witnessed "rude" attraction of patients by unit who showed a deficiency of empathy.

Lisa, who says she began moving shifts successful the hospitals successful 2020, says she was contiguous for a CQC inspection successful 2024, but does not deliberation maternity services should beryllium rated "good". She says she flagged concerns astir unit attitudes astatine the time, but they were not "taken into relationship properly".

Prof Phil Wood, main enforcement of Leeds Teaching Hospitals told the BBC the spot wished to apologise to the women and families who had shared their antagonistic experiences.

He highlighted its presumption arsenic a specializer centre caring for "the astir poorly babies", adding that comparing the MBBRACE-UK neonatal mortality information from LTH with different hospitals, "even successful the aforesaid specializer category, is fraught with trouble and is misleading".

Chris Dzikiti, CQC's interim main inspector of healthcare, said LTH's maternity services have, and proceed to be, taxable to adjacent oversight.

He added that the maternity services astatine the 2 hospitals were inspected past period "in effect to concerns raised by families and risks identified done our ongoing monitoring".

The findings from that inspection volition beryllium published shortly.

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