Family of girl left brain-damaged at birth accept £28m NHS payout The family of a six-year-old girl, left brain-damaged due to errors during her birth at Queen’s hospital, has accepted a £28 million damages settlement from the NHS trust involved. The trust failed to monitor the baby’s heart rate or consult an obstetrician, leading to severe hypoxia-ischaemia. The girl requires lifelong care for her disabilities, and her mother is calling for significant reforms in maternity services.

• A family has accepted £28 million in damages from an NHS trust after mistakes during childbirth led to their daughter suffering severe brain damage.
• The Barking, Havering and Redbridge university hospitals NHS trust admitted failure to monitor the baby’s heart rate and consult an obstetrician during labor.
• The six-year-old girl, born in July 2019, has epilepsy, experiences seizures, and will require lifelong care and supervision due to cognitive and language impairments and lack of danger awareness.
• The settlement reflects the high costs of lifelong care and the girl’s expected lifespan.
• The girl’s mother has demanded urgent action from ministers and NHS bosses to overhaul maternity care, citing repeated scandals and promises of reviews.
• Maternity blunders constitute 11% of NHS medical negligence claims but 53% of their value due to the severe, life-changing injuries involved.
• The £28m payout is not the largest, with a £37m settlement in 2020 for a similar case.
• The NHS trust has apologized, stating they have made significant changes and improved their maternity care since 2019, receiving a ‘good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission.