By Anna Whittaker, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottingham’s hospitals’ trust will not contest a criminal prosecution after the death of baby Wynter Andrews, NHS bosses have confirmed.
The healthcare watchdog announced earlier this month it will prosecute Nottingham University Hospitals following an investigation which looked into the care of baby Wynter and her mum Sarah Andrews at the Queen’s Medical Centre.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will take the rare step of criminally prosecuting NUH after the case was described by a coroner as “a clear and obvious case of neglect”.
The inquest heard that Mrs Andrews had been admitted to hospital in September 2019, six days after initially suffering contractions. She had a caesarean section and Wynter died 23 minutes after she was born.
In a document seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the trust, which runs the QMC and City Hospital, said it will “accept whatever outcome the court sees fit, with a sincere apology and a commitment to ongoing improvement”.
The document added that NUH “do not intend to contest this prosecution”.
Keith Girling, Medical Director, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service after the trust’s board meeting on July 28: “We accept the findings of the CQC in relation to Wynter Andrews.
“It’s an awful case for which we are very sorry. We let the Andrews family down and we didn’t give the care that we should’ve done. We recognise that the things the CQC found were right and we accept.”
Chair of the board Nick Carver said during the meeting: “The trust has made it clear it does not dispute the facts of the case. It has been made clear to our solicitors, we do not intend to increase the stress of the family any more than they have already been stressed.
“We issue our deep and profound apologies and our absolute determination to improve in the future.
“Sadly we can’t change the situation. What we can do is be absolutely committed to making change as soon as possible.”
The CQC can prosecute using Regulation 12 “if a failure to meet the regulation results in avoidable harm to a person using the service or if a person using the service is exposed to significant risk of harm”.
The law allows for breaches which are proven in court to be punished with a fine as decided by a court judge.
Last year, East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust was fined a record £761,000 by the CQC over its failure to protect baby Harry Richford and his mum Sarah.
NUH, where maternity units are rated inadequate, is also facing a wider inquiry by experienced midwife Donna Ockenden, who will start her work in the city in September.
A previous review was scrapped halfway through, after around 100 families who had been harmed by incidents in the trust’s maternity units called for Ms Ockenden to take over.
Mr Carver said he and the incoming Chief Executive Anthony May, who is due to start in September, have written to Ms Ockenden “assuring her of our full support”.
Mr Carver added: “We are keen that we learn from past experiences and improve services for women of the future.”
The board also discussed the wider Maternity Improvement Plan, in place, which has 271 actions.
Of these, 66 are embedded, 107 are complete, 14 are on track, and 84 are declared off track.
Board papers also reveal there were 11 serious incidents declared in NUH’s maternity units between May and June 2022.
But Mr Girling said: “This is a very different profile of incidents compared to 18 months ago.
“18 months ago the CQC had concerns around the monitoring of women in labour, risk assessments and postnatal care of women after labour.
“Those were things we were seeing very much at the heart of our serious incidents at the time. Those have not been seen in the last two months of serious incident reporting.
“Every unit would report some serious incidents.”
It was also announced during the meeting that Acting Chief Executive Rupert Egginton will be retiring at the end of the year after supporting the new Chief Executive Anthony May, who starts his role in September.
Mr Carver said: “He is highly respected as a man of integrity in the organisation.”
The next board meeting will be held on September 26.
