“Serious questions” have been raised after an NHS hospital wrongly declared a newborn baby to be dead.
The baby was found to be alive when she was transferred to the mortuary at the scandal-ridden John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
The hospital is being reviewed under a national inquiry into NHS maternity care, and this case is one of dozens of alleged failures.
An investigation by the New Statesman and Channel 4 News spoke to 24 mothers who were left traumatised by the care they received, or whose babies died or were harmed due to alleged failings by the hospital since 2009.
One such mother, Emma Cox, gave birth prematurely to twin girls, Hope and Lilly, in May 2011.
She said: “At 24 weeks I went into spontaneous labour. They were born. I was told that one of them was stillborn and the other one was taken and resuscitated and taken to the neonatal unit.
“A short time later Lilly was brought back to me and they said the mortuary was unable to take her because she was actually alive.
“She was pink, and she was moving her little hands and her little toes.”
Emma Cox, gave birth prematurely to twin girls Hope and Lilly in May 2011
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Ms Cox said she begged the hospital to take Lilly to be with her sister Hope in the neonatal unit.
However, she claimed the medical staff refused because they said she had been without oxygen too long and therefore nothing could be done.
Nevertheless, Lilly survived for 24 hours without medical intervention, while her sister Hope died just 12 hours after being born.
In 2023, Oxford University Hospitals had the worst stillbirth rate in the UK.
A BROKEN NHS – READ MORE:
In 2023, Oxford University Hospitals had the worst stillbirth rate in the UK
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Oxford Trust had “serious questions to answer, and sunlight is the best disinfectant”.
He added that “a cultural problem in this country” meant “levels of birth injury, trauma and baby loss that other advanced economies with good health systems would never accept as normal” were accepted as normal.
According to the latest data from the Care Quality Commission, half of maternity services do not meet basic safety standards.
Mr Streeting has ordered a national investigation into NHS maternity services, focussing on 12 trusts, including Oxford.
The findings are due to be published next year.
Simon Crowther, the interim chief executive at the trust, said: “At Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, we recognise the profound responsibility entrusted to us in caring for women, babies and families during some of the most significant and vulnerable moments of their lives.
“We extend our heartfelt apologies to any family who has not received the standard of care they deserve, and our condolences to those who tragically have experienced loss.
“We work hard to listen with care and compassion to the concerns that have been raised, and we remain fully committed to learning from them.”
He added: “The trust is participating openly and transparently in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation led by Lady Amos, and we welcome this opportunity to reflect, improve, and ensure that every voice is heard.
“Over recent years, we have taken meaningful steps to strengthen and improve our maternity services. This has included significant investment in our workforce, with the recruitment of 54 additional midwives.
“We have improved clinical training and strengthened leadership across the service. We have also invested in our estates and facilities to improve the environment in which care is delivered.”
Mr Crowther continued: “We have also made improvements to our bereavement services to ensure that families experiencing loss receive compassionate, specialist support.
“However, we recognise that there is much more to do and we remain absolute in our determination to go further.”