More Families Contacting Irwin Mitchell With Concerns Over Maternity Care

A mum has instructed specialist lawyers to investigate after her son, who was born at Shrewsbury Hospital two weeks after her waters broke, was diagnosed with disabilities.

Kate-Anne Wilds is among a growing number of people to instruct Irwin Mitchell’s group actions team to investigate the care she and her son received under Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust. The Trust is at the centre of an investigation into reported failings in maternity services over many decades.

Kate sought medical help after her waters broke and she started leaking amniotic fluid, which is designed to protect the baby and aid their development.

Following a community midwife and hospital appointment – including an ultrasound which highlighted her amniotic fluid had almost gone - staff decided to induce Kate.

Morgan, who was stuck in the birth canal, was born after a 14 hour labour.

Kate, who now lives in Chesterfield, has instructed medical negligence experts at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care she and her son received and whether more should have been done to deliver Morgan at an earlier date.

It comes after an interim investigation report into maternity services at the Trust found 270 cases - investigating stillbirths, deaths during pregnancy, death of newborns as well as birth injury cases - found a “toxic” atmosphere at the Trust. 

Irwin Mitchell’s specialist medical negligence group actions team is working with 21 people who say they have suffered as a result of failings in maternity care at the Trust.

Expert Opinion

“Sadly through our work we see the consequences that families can be left to face through failings in maternity care and delays in delivering babies.

“As more detail continues to emerge about maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals the more concern there is among patients.

“What happened to Kate-Anne and Morgan is one of a number of first-hand accounts we are continuing to hear from families.

“We are now investigating these concerns and are determined to establish answers for the families, including Kate-Anne and Morgan, as quickly as possible.

“We once again reiterate the need for lessons to be learned from the wider failings already identified in maternity services at the Trust.” Tim Annett - Partner

Find out more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in handling medical negligence cases 

Kate-Anne fell pregnant with Morgan – her first child and only in 2003.

She reported having a problem free pregnancy up until around two weeks before Morgan’s birth. She sought medical advice when she noticed fluid leaking, as she was concerned her waters had broken.

Kate-Anne called Shrewsbury Hospital when she started experiencing abdominal pains, and was asked to come in for an examination. It was found that her amniotic fluid had almost gone.

Over the coming three to four days she stayed stuck at two centimetres dilated and underwent a number of sweeps. After Kate-Anne pleaded with staff, she was induced on 6 January, 2004.

In the early hours of 7 January, Staff subsequently decided to take her to surgery. Morgan was delivered with forceps approximately 14 hours after Kate-Anne was induced.

Now aged 15, Morgan has a range of disabilities including autism, dyspraxia as well as other learning difficulties and a stutter. He also suffers from behavioural problems, mobility, co-ordination and balance issues, he frequently falls and has hypermobility syndrome in both ankles and feet – meaning his joints are too flexible.

Morgan receives specialist support from a hospital in Chesterfield.

Kate-Anne, 40, said: “Morgan is the most wonderful, loving and affectionate boy I could have ever wished for.

“Morgan still struggles greatly to come to terms with his neurological difficulties and other problems. He fears becoming an adult and being unable to cope with even the simplest of everyday tasks and demands.

“As a family we are trying to support him the best that we can, in the hope that we can equip him with some basic life skills at the very least, as he moves through to adulthood. However, in realistic terms we know that the prospect of Morgan becoming a fully independent adult is very unlikely.

“I have always been angry by what happened around Morgan’s birth but we just tried to get on with things the best way we can. I thought that my concerns would not be listened to. It’s only now with all the other issues at the hospitals emerging that you realise the extent of the problems and there are others with similar concerns. 

“Hearing the findings of the report and that issues have been going on for years but nothing appears to have improved is worrying.

“Nothing can make up for what happened, especially to Morgan, but we deserve to know whether more should have been done to help us and if so if the conditions Morgan now has were the result of his birth.”

Following the publication of the leaked report, it has also been revealed that the NHS has identified 326 cases of possible poor care following a trawl of the Trust’s medical records as part of a move to identify potential further patients affected.

Find out more about Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust Claims