‘Shocking’ UK report links poor care to death of 45 babies

LONDON: A damning report on Wednesday found that 45 babies who died at two British hospitals might have survived if their care had been up to standard, in the latest UK maternity scandal.

Dr Bill Kirkup who led the official independent investigation described his findings as “stark” and “shocking”. “Had care been given to the nationally recognised standards, the outcome could have been different... in 45 of the 65 baby deaths” examined, he told reporters.

Kirkup said there had been “failures of professionalism, of compassion and of kindness” at the hospitals run by East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust in southeast England. The doctor, who seven years ago published similar findings after probing baby deaths at another group of hospitals in northwestern England, said lessons had once again not been learned.