Latest news with #CountessofChesterHospital
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NHS Scheme to cut childbirth brain injuries extended
An NHS scheme to reduce brain injuries in childbirth will be rolled out nationally after a pilot across nine hospitals including six in the North West. The Department of Health said the scheme would help maternity staff "respond more effectively" in labour emergencies, including when a baby's head becomes lodged deep during a caesarean birth. Since October, hundreds of maternity staff across north-west England and London have been involved in developing the programme, which could prevent conditions like cerebral palsy. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "All expectant mothers giving birth in an NHS hospital should have peace of mind that they are in safe hands." He said the Avoiding Brain Injuries in Childbirth (ABC) scheme would "give staff across the country the right tools and training to deliver better care to women and their babies". It is hoped it will improve maternity staff's identification of when a baby is in distress during labour, leading to medics providing a quicker response. The six North West hospitals where the scheme was piloted included Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust and the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. A Department of Health spokesperson said it wanted to "reduce unacceptable inequalities in maternity outcomes across England – so that most maternity units achieve outcomes comparable to the highest-performing 20% of trusts". In 2024, an inquiry into traumatic childbirths called for an overhaul after finding poor care is "all-too-frequently tolerated as normal". Mr Streeting said the government was "supporting trusts to make rapid improvements and training thousands more midwives – but I know more needs to be done". "We will put women's voices right at the heart of our reforms as we work to improve care." The government said it was also "dedicated" to improving maternity services as well as "setting an explicit target to close the Black and Asian maternal mortality gap". Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, added: "The ABC programme supports multidisciplinary maternity teams to deliver safer, more personalised care. "We have heard what a difference it makes, supporting teams to work effectively together in time-sensitive and high-pressure situations. Gill Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said the "key to the success" was "based on the voices of women, families and maternity staff". "Every midwife, maternity support worker, obstetrician, anaesthetist and sonographer wants to provide good, safe care – and the best way to do that is by working and training together." Read more stories from Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X.
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Scheme to cut brain injuries during birth to launch across England
An NHS scheme to reduce brain injuries in childbirth will be rolled out nationally after a pilot across nine hospitals including six in the North Department of Health said the scheme would help maternity staff "respond more effectively" in labour emergencies, including when a baby's head becomes lodged deep during a caesarean October, hundreds of maternity staff across north-west England and London have been involved in developing the programme, which could prevent conditions like cerebral palsy. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "All expectant mothers giving birth in an NHS hospital should have peace of mind that they are in safe hands." He said the Avoiding Brain Injuries in Childbirth (ABC) scheme would "give staff across the country the right tools and training to deliver better care to women and their babies".It is hoped it will improve maternity staff's identification of when a baby is in distress during labour, leading to medics providing a quicker six North West hospitals where the scheme was piloted included Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust and the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.A Department of Health spokesperson said it wanted to "reduce unacceptable inequalities in maternity outcomes across England – so that most maternity units achieve outcomes comparable to the highest-performing 20% of trusts". In 2024, an inquiry into traumatic childbirths called for an overhaul after finding poor care is "all-too-frequently tolerated as normal". Mr Streeting said the government was "supporting trusts to make rapid improvements and training thousands more midwives – but I know more needs to be done"."We will put women's voices right at the heart of our reforms as we work to improve care."The government said it was also "dedicated" to improving maternity services as well as "setting an explicit target to close the Black and Asian maternal mortality gap". 'Time-sensitive situation' Ranee Thakar, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, added: "The ABC programme supports multidisciplinary maternity teams to deliver safer, more personalised care."We have heard what a difference it makes, supporting teams to work effectively together in time-sensitive and high-pressure Walton, chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, said the "key to the success" was "based on the voices of women, families and maternity staff"."Every midwife, maternity support worker, obstetrician, anaesthetist and sonographer wants to provide good, safe care – and the best way to do that is by working and training together." Read more stories from Cheshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC North West on X.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Hospital bosses say new evidence casts doubt on UK nurse Letby's baby murder convictions
By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - A public inquiry examining how British nurse Lucy Letby was able to murder babies in her care should be suspended because new evidence casts real doubt on her convictions, the lawyer for the hospital's senior managers said on Tuesday. Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder eight more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital (COCH) in northern England, making her Britain's most prolific serial child killer of modern times. But medical experts have since publicly challenged the evidence on which she was convicted, casting doubt on whether the babies were murdered. Letby's lawyer has applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which examines potential miscarriages of justice, to have her convictions re-examined. "There now appears to be a real likelihood that there are alternative explanations for these deaths and unexplained collapses, namely poor clinical management and care and natural causes," Kate Blackwell, lawyer for the senior managers at the COCH, said in written submissions to the inquiry, set up to determine how the killings went undetected. She asked for the inquiry to be paused until there was clarity as to Letby's involvement in the deaths, as determined by a proper appeals process. "If there is evidence to indicate that there are alternative explanations, then it would be wrong for the inquiry to ignore it because it is inconvenient." On Monday, the inquiry chair Kathryn Thirlwall said at the start of closing submissions she would hear arguments why the inquiry should be paused after the managers, a senior lawmaker and Letby's own lawyer asked for a suspension. Amidst the doubts voiced about Letby's guilt, police are still investigating whether she murdered other babies, and have expanded their inquiry into possible corporate manslaughter at the COCH, which is focused on the hospital's senior leadership, to also consider gross negligence manslaughter by individuals. Blackwell said senior managers accepted they had got things wrong, but hoped the evidence to the inquiry had shown their actions were made in good faith. The lawyer said the managers vociferously denied accusations they "deliberately and knowingly" protected a murderer. She said if Thirlwall did not have the power to pause the inquiry, she should ask the health minister to do so.
Reuters
18-03-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Hospital bosses say new evidence casts doubt on UK nurse Letby's baby murder convictions
LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - A public inquiry examining how British nurse Lucy Letby was able to murder babies in her care should be suspended because new evidence casts real doubt on her convictions, the lawyer for the hospital's senior managers said on Tuesday. Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder eight more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital (COCH) in northern England, making her Britain's most prolific serial child killer of modern times. But medical experts have since publicly challenged the evidence on which she was convicted, casting doubt on whether the babies were murdered. Letby's lawyer has applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which examines potential miscarriages of justice, to have her convictions re-examined. "There now appears to be a real likelihood that there are alternative explanations for these deaths and unexplained collapses, namely poor clinical management and care and natural causes," Kate Blackwell, lawyer for the senior managers at the COCH, said in written submissions to the inquiry, set up to determine how the killings went undetected. She asked for the inquiry to be paused until there was clarity as to Letby's involvement in the deaths, as determined by a proper appeals process. "If there is evidence to indicate that there are alternative explanations, then it would be wrong for the inquiry to ignore it because it is inconvenient." On Monday, the inquiry chair Kathryn Thirlwall said at the start of closing submissions she would hear arguments why the inquiry should be paused after the managers, a senior lawmaker and Letby's own lawyer asked for a suspension. Amidst the doubts voiced about Letby's guilt, police are still investigating whether she murdered other babies, and have expanded their inquiry into possible corporate manslaughter at the COCH, which is focused on the hospital's senior leadership, to also consider gross negligence manslaughter by individuals. Blackwell said senior managers accepted they had got things wrong, but hoped the evidence to the inquiry had shown their actions were made in good faith. The lawyer said the managers vociferously denied accusations they "deliberately and knowingly" protected a murderer. She said if Thirlwall did not have the power to pause the inquiry, she should ask the health minister to do so.
