The NHS Early Notification Scheme (ENS) started in April 2017. Its purpose is to help speed up the investigation process for families if their child is born with potentially severe brain injuries.
The criteria and procedure for reporting incidents which could lead to potentially severe brain injuries in babies has changed since 2017, to take account of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of another body, the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB), which took over the investigation of these cases in April 2020.
From 1 April 2022, a hospital needs to report all births that could leave a child with a brain injury to their legal department within 72 hours of the birth or incident. You may have already been asked about consenting to an investigation and this can be confusing during what is already an enormously stressful period.
The hospital’s legal department must notify HSIB within 72 hours of the birth occurring. HSIB will then consider whether the case meets the criteria for investigation and if it accepts the case, the Trust must then notify NHS Resolution directly.
NHS Resolution will investigate what happened. If the injury was because of negligent medical care, a written apology will be provided as well as financial support and practical advice on how to access support in caring for your child.
A brain injury can leave your child with complex medical and care needs for the rest of their life. The ENS can help you get the advice, financial support, and medical care you need as soon as possible. It can also give you answers about what happened, and a written apology from those responsible.
Medical negligence investigations are complex, especially when dealing with brain injuries in young children. The investigation is often the most time-consuming part of a compensation claim.
Yes. Even if the ENS investigates your case, you can still get independent legal advice. This can be very helpful to explain how a birth injury investigation works and how compensation is calculated.
While your ENS investigation is happening, our lawyers will work with you to investigate that all aspects of your child’s injury and its consequences. This includes how your child’s brain injury could affect their future development so that this is considered when calculating how much compensation you should get.
Find out how we can help you by filling out our online form, we’ll then call you back for a confidential chat about your situation.
Birth injuries are complex and it’s helpful to have someone by your side to explain the ENS process. Our lawyers can represent you from beginning to end and make sure the investigation considers all your child’s needs.
By choosing us, you can also access a range of other services that can support you and your family. This includes your own support and rehabilitation coordinators. Our support and rehabilitation coordinators are clinical specialists and understand how medical care and rehabilitation can make all the difference to your child’s life. They’ll connect you with the right type of support groups that can help your child while they grow up.
If you do get compensation through the ENS, we can help you manage it so it lasts. Our Asset Management team can help you set up a personal injury trust that will protect your compensation. We can also act as trustees of your trust, together with you. This way we can always be on hand to advise on the best way to spend your compensation for your child.
Our solicitors understand how devastating it can be to deal with a serious birth injury to your child at what should be a happy time. You can rest assured that we’ll do everything we can to make sure your child is looked after and gets the right amount of support.
Contact our medical negligence team to talk about how we can help you.
