TWELVE women or their relatives are taking legal action against a health trust over the care they received at the maternity unit of a local hospital.
The action relates to Queen’s Hospital, in Romford, which is part of the Barking Havering and Redbridge Trust (BHRT).
Among those taking action are the family of Violet Stephens, who died in April this year, and relatives of Sareena Ali and her newborn baby, both of whom died in January.
Details of an independent report into the death of Violet Stephens were revealed in a Channel 4 news report on Wednesday (September 28).
The report was commissioned by BHRT, and has not been released to the public, but it is expected to be included in a report by health watchdogs, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), into standards of care in the trust due to be published next month.
A separate report by the Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP), which examines whether maternity services at King George Hospital in Redbridge should be transferred to Queen’s, is currently with Health Secretary Andrew Lansley.
The Chief Executive of BHRT, Averil Dongworth, yesterday apologised for the standards of care received by both Violet Stephens and Sareena Ali.
She said: “I am so sorry that both Violet Stephens and Sareena Ali did not receive the standard of care they were entitled to expect.
“We commissioned independent investigations into their deaths and have taken decisive action on the findings, to make sure our maternity service is safe and that every woman can have the best possible experience of childbirth.
“We have also put in place a rigorous action plan to improve maternity services. Acting on feedback from the Care Quality Commission we have already recruited 72 new midwives this year, improved staff support and training, and issued new guidelines to safeguard women who need to have their labour induced or who are experiencing complications.
“We now have one of the highest levels of specialist doctor coverage of any maternity unit in the country.“
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