Warrington and Halton Hospital flagged for infant mortality levels

Almost a fifth of NHS trusts in the country received the same rating following a report shared by The Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audit and Confidential Enquiries which revealed they had been flagged for perinatal mortality.

Published last month, the report looked at data for 2020.

Trusts with mortality rates more than five per cent higher than an average of peer group providers are given a red rating.

Out of the 23 flagged across the country, for 17 of them their mortality rates were not high enough on one of the stillbirth or neonatal measures to be red-rated, but sufficiently high enough on both indicators to tip their overall extended overall perinatal rating into the red.

During 2020, Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Trust (WHH) reported 13 stillbirths and three neonatal deaths.

Of the 13 stillbirths reported:

• Two were instances where women did not book or receive antenatal care with the trust, and sadly presented for the first time with stillbirths

• One woman presented at 23+6 gestation and so the loss occurred before viability. However, the baby was delivered the following day at 24 weeks and so was reported as a stillbirth.

Of the three neonatal deaths reported:

• One baby had a congenital anomaly and should have been reported as such and excluded from these figures

• One baby died at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and should have been included in their figures, however Warrington conducted the review and reported.

Kimberley Salmon-Jamieson, chief nurse, and deputy chief executive at WHH, said: “The loss of a baby under any circumstance is a tragedy and our heartfelt condolences remain with the families concerned.

“The safe, high-quality care of mother and baby is our absolute priority.

“Our maternity services have been rated ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission and we are committed to continuously improving the care we provide in partnership with women and their families.

“Any maternity-related incident undergoes rapid investigation, is rigorously scrutinised by a panel of clinicians and any significant findings influence change and improvement in practice where required.

“We conduct the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit’s Perinatal Mortality Review Toolkit for each case, with external representation from obstetricians, midwives, and neonatologists as necessary.

“We encourage families, who are supported by our bereavement midwives, to ask questions about their care and share the reports with them, and all cases are presented to our Trust Board of Directors.”

WHH has since reported lower figures relating to births in 2021.

Halton General Hospital

The overall number of red-rated providers for perinatal mortality was up from 14 in the previous 2019 audit.

Trusts with mortality rates in the red band are expected to carry out detailed local reviews to see if any of the deaths were avoidable or find out any local factors that might explain the high rate.

The Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audit and Confidential Enquiries report uses stabilised and adjusted mortality rates that account for key risk factors, including deprivation and the baby’s ethnicity.