The Guardian has reported that the NHS has spent £4.1bn over the last 11 year settling claims involving babies who suffered brain damage when they were born, raising concerns that maternity units are not implementing changes to prevent mistakes from repeating.

Compensation payments for claims involving cerebral palsy or other forms of brain injury are particularly high because of the massive impact that they have on the individuals concerned, causing serious cognitive and physical disabilities, often leading to a lifelong requirement for care and assistance, accommodation, aids and equipment and adaptive technology.

There have been a number of reports into the standard of maternity services across the country, with the Care Quality Commission concluding that maternity care overall is getting worse. Reports of such significant damages payments strongly suggests that lessons are not being learnt.

Compounding the issue is that endeavours to investigate and acknowledge mistakes have largely stalled meaning the cases take longer to conclude, leading to increased legal costs for all parties.

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Source: Brain damage to babies in birth has cost NHS in England £4.1bn in lawsuits | NHS | The Guardian