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Mother wins decade-long battle for more than £10m over botched operation on child at NHS hospital

A mother has won a 12-year battle for compensation against an NHS hospital after successfully claiming her child suffered brain damage as a result of a botched surgery.

The toddler, now a teenager, was left wheelchair-bound as a result of the operation in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in 2012, with lawyers claiming the child was starved of oxygen.

A settlement has now been reached between the NHS Litigation Authority, which handles claims against the NHS for negligent care, and the family.

The trust that manages the Liverpool-based hospital has also apologised for the “failings in care”.

The mother said: “Ever since that day, my child has had to go to countless appointments, see countless therapists and doctors and specialists, and will do for the rest of their life. I am traumatised and exhausted, and I am on the defence all the time.

“I can’t cut any of them any slack after what happened 12 years ago. Twelve years is such a painfully long time.”

She also hit out at the process of claiming compensation through medical negligence claims.

She added: “It takes years and this length of time is not good enough. Parents commit suicide, marriages break down, they’re often too frightened to have more children. All because of how long it takes to get justice for your child, and how hard that is to achieve.” 

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Source: The Independent, 25 September 2024

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Mother stays awake for 60 hours as son's care breaks down

Families of people with complex medical needs are warning the NHS system that funds their care at home is struggling to provide sufficient support.

Despite recent significant increases in spending on Continuing Healthcare, experts say staff shortages and rising prices mean families are lacking help.

Some say at times they are so exhausted from providing care, they worry about the safety of their relatives.

The government says it has invested billions into health and social care.

The BBC followed 24-year-old Declan Spencer for 10 months, witnessing how the repeated breakdown of his care has left his mother having to provide it by herself, day and night.

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Source: BBC 7 August 2023

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Mother repeatedly ‘kept in dark’ about reason for baby’s death, inquest told

A grieving mother has told an inquest how secretive, evasive and “patronising” behaviour by NHS staff was “traumatic” and led to her spending years seeking the truth about her daughter’s death.

Jedidajah Otte told how she encountered a “stubborn refusal” by doctors and nurses at St Thomas’ hospital in London to tell her what was happening with three-month-old Aviva’s health.

The hospital insisted for 10 years that Aviva died of natural causes. However, last month it admitted that her death in January 2014 occurred as a result of contaminated feed given to her by staff, which led to her developing a deadly infection.

Otte, who is a Guardian journalist, also accused Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS trust (GSTT), which runs the hospital, of “dishonesty”, a “lack of transparency” and “misleading” her about the outbreak of Bacillus cereus, a food-borne bacteria in the baby feed, which caused Aviva’s death.

Otte also alleged that she was “repeatedly kept in the dark” about why her daughter’s health suddenly collapsed, “discouraged” from making inquiries and “told off” for looking at Aviva’s medical notes in her desire to understand her condition.

GSTT has denied being “dishonest” towards Otte. Two senior doctors from St Thomas’ who treated Aviva have told the inquest there was no “cover-up” of the reasons why she lost her life.

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Source: The Guardian, 5 October 2024

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Mother of suicidal girl held in locked hospital room ‘frightened’ for child’s life

A mother who has seen her suicidal 12-year-old daughter shuttled between placements and then held in a locked and windowless hospital room says she is frightened for her child’s life.

Since going into care in Staffordshire nine months ago, Becky (not her real name) has attempted to take her own life on several occasions. Her case throws fresh light on the chronic nationwide shortage of secure accommodation for vulnerable children.

“I am constantly told there is nowhere for her,” said her mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. “I fear I’ll soon be arranging her funeral due to the systemic failings in health and social care.”

Becky has been alone in a locked hospital room since 27 January. The room has no window or access to the outdoors, no furniture except for a bed, and she is permitted no belongings. All human contact is conducted through a hatch.

The child’s court-appointed guardian told the high court at a hearing to discuss Becky’s case that she considered “the risk to Becky’s life to be catastrophic”.

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Source: The Guardian, 7 February 2023

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Mother may win new hearing into daughter's death

A mother’s claim that a hospital failed to provide suitable experts for a coroner to determine the cause of her daughter’s death could lead to a second inquest.

The attorney-general has acknowledged in a letter to the mother of Gaia Young that although the facts of the case did not suggest that NHS officials had been in contempt of court they “may amount to a reason to seek a fresh inquest”.

The dispute centres on the circumstances of the death of Gaia Young, 25, who died at University College Hospital, London, in 2021 after being admitted for a sudden headache and vomiting, having spent the day cycling.

At her inquest in February 2022 the coroner gave a narrative ruling, stating that “a missed chance” by doctors when she arrived at the hospital led to her death, concluding that the cause of death was unclear. Her mother, Lady Dorit Young, has argued that doctors misread her daughter’s condition and failed to treat her appropriately as she deteriorated. Young told the inquest that the hospital sent a doctor to the hearing to give evidence who was insufficiently skilled to assist the coroner, and that the hospital had more suitably qualified experts available.

In the letter, Young said a court had ordered the hospital to “ensure the attendance at the inquest of such medical witness or witnesses to give oral evidence as are best able to assist [the coroner] with the likely cause of the deceased’s cerebral oedema and thus her death”. Lady Young believes that her daughter died from a metabolic encephalopathy — a brain injury — and asked for a neurological specialist to attend the inquest. She said the expert who attended was “not appropriately qualified or experienced” and that the inquest “was uninformed and uninformative: a waste of time and money”.

Truth For Gaia provides open access to coroner’s inquest papers, transcript, medical records and post-mortem reports.

Source: The Times, 16 November 2023

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Mother hopes Martha’s rule will ‘upend hierarchy’ on hospital wards

The mother of a 13-year-old girl who died of sepsis has said she hopes Martha’s rule, which gives patients and their families the right to a second medical opinion, will “upend” the “hierarchy” on hospital wards.

Merope Mills, who campaigned with her husband, Paul Laity, to give families more say regarding care following the death of their daughter Martha, also called for a “mutual respect” between patients and doctors.

More than 140 NHS sites in England have agreed to implement Martha’s rule, a patient safety initiative that will give patients and their families round-the-clock access to a rapid review by an independent critical care team from elsewhere in the hospital if they feel their health, or that of a family member, is deteriorating and they are not being listened to.

Speaking at NHS ConfedExpo on Wednesday, Mills, an executive editor at the Guardian, said: “My big thing is, I think we need to be more equal.

“It’s a very unequal place, a hospital ward, and there’s hierarchy and it’s very steep and it’s very strict. And, you know, when I first started talking about that, I sort of thought the nurses were at the bottom of the hierarchy.

“And I refer to that because they didn’t feel that ability to speak up in Martha’s case. But I’ve actually come to realise that the people at the bottom of the hierarchy are the patients.

“They are the ones with the least power and I just would like to upend that and just have a sense of mutual respect between doctor and patient.”

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Source: The Guardian, 14 June 2024

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Mother given wrong antibiotics died from sepsis

A young mother died from sepsis contributed to by NHS neglect after she was given the wrong antibiotics, a coroner has ruled.

Aleisha Rochester, 33, a bank cashier from Croydon, south London, died two weeks after undergoing a routine procedure to remove an abscess from her left armpit.

She had sought medical help several times for her worsening condition and been prescribed antibiotics - but not ones that could tackle the bacteria causing her infection.

Staff at St Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals also did not follow the NHS trust's own guidelines on administering antibiotics, assistant coroner Sian Reeves said. 

During an inquest in December, Reeves ruled that Rochester's death had been contributed to by neglect and she would most likely have lived if given the right antibiotics in time.

Rochester had undergone a routine day procedure at St Thomas' Hospital on 5 August 2023 to remove abscesses from her left armpit and groin but she became unwell and the wound to her left armpit became infected after 10 August, the coroner said.

After multiple GP and hospital visits, on 15 August antibiotics were prescribed "but not in line with St Helier Hospital's antimicrobial guidelines," the coroner wrote.

She added that the drugs did not provide effective coverage against a Gram-positive organism, which was the most likely pathogen causing the infection.

"Prior to selecting this combination of antibiotics, the surgical team did not consult with the hospital's microbiology team for advice."

The coroner ruled that, on 15 August, Rochester "should have been, but was not prescribed" the right antibiotics and if she had, she most likely would have survived. "Her death was contributed to by neglect," she said.

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Source: BBC News, 11 March 2026

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Mother given substantial damages over baby's care

A mother from County Down will receive "substantial" undisclosed damages over alleged hospital treatment failures and care given to her daughter.

Christina Campbell from Ballygowan brought medical negligence lawsuits over treatment she received at the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald after her daughter, Jessica, died in 2017 with a rare genetic disorder.

The claim said that failure to test Ms Campbell during her pregnancy meant the condition went undetected. Damages were also sought for an alleged "ineffective" end of life care plan for the four month old.

Jessica was diagnosed with trisomy 13 shortly after her birth in December 2016. She experienced feeding and respiratory difficulties, as well as a congenital heart defect and a bilateral cleft lip and palate.

She was discharged from hospital with a home-based end-of-life care plan, including community and respite referral to the hospice, but a few months later.

The claims said a failure to provide Ms Campbell with a amniocentesis test, which checks for genetic or chromosomal conditions, meant Jessica's condition was not discovered sooner.

The lawsuit also highlighted concerns about Jessica's hospice treatment. It includes alleged uncertainty about the provision of humidified oxygen, a defective feeding pump and delays in a specific feeding plan and saline nebuliser being provided for the family.

The family's solicitor said the awarding of damages "signifies the importance of lessons learned" as a result of Ms Campbell's campaign.

"It is hoped that lessons can now be learned to ensure no other family has to go through a similar experience," he said.

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Source: BBC News, 29 September 2022

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Mother faces terminal cancer after years of misdiagnosis by the NHS

A woman is battling a terminal cervical cancer diagnosis after an NHS trust misdiagnosed her test results as constipation several times.

Sarah Roch, a 43-year-old mother of two from Plymouth, faced nine years of missed opportunities from 2010 by Derriford Hospital and only discovered she had cervical cancer after a voluntary hysterectomy in 2019.

By the time she was diagnosed - which occurred by accident following her hysterectomy - Ms Roch was told she had late-stage cervical cancer.

Ms Roch, who worked at the same hospital which misdiagnosed her, has had to give up her job to have chemotherapy three times a week.

She is now calling for greater awareness of cervical cancer symptoms and has urged women to seek a second opinion if they feel something isn’t right.

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Source: The Independent, 17 June 2024

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Mother calls for stillbirth inquest law change

"You hear his heartbeat and the next thing you know, you've got nothing."

A woman whose son was stillborn has said she wants to change the law to enable an inquest to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.

Katie Wood's son Oscar was stillborn on 29 March 2015, but under law in England and Wales, inquests for stillborn babies cannot take place.

A consultation was put out by the UK government in March 2019, but the findings have yet to be published. The UK government said it would set out its response in due course, but this delay was criticised by the House of Commons justice committee in September.

Katie and her family said they have never received satisfactory answers about why Oscar died.

Her pregnancy, while challenging, had not given any serious cause for concern.

An investigation by the Aneurin Bevan health board found a number of failings in Katie's care.

A post-mortem examination suggested a condition known as shoulder dystocia, where the baby's shoulder becomes stuck during birth, may have contributed, but this is rarely fatal.

The health board said it conducted a serious incident investigation into Oscar's death and added: "Whilst we seek to find answers during any investigation, in some cases, a full understanding around the cause of death may not always be achieved and we accept the unavoidable distress this may pose for families."

Clinical negligence and medical law specialist, Mari Rosser, says allowing coroners to look into the reasons for a baby's death is long overdue.

"Currently parents who suffer a still birth can have the circumstances investigated, but the circumstances are investigated by the health board and of course that's less independent," she said.

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Source: BBC News, 9 December 2021

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Mother blames scandal-hit hospital for daughter’s death after eating disorder struggles

A young woman “traumatised” by a stay in a scandal-hit hospital as a teenager died after trying to take her own life years later, an inquest has heard.

Melissa Parrish was admitted to Huntercombe Hospital in Maidenhead in 2009 for an eating disorder when she was 15 years old, but the experience left her terrified of being admitted to hospital.

In 2018, aged 24, she was admitted to Vincent Square Eating Disorder Service (VSEDS), run by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, after struggling with her mental health. Four hours later she tried to take her own life; the failed attempt left her in a vegetative state for three years until she died of pneumonia in July 2021.

The inquest held this week was not directed to examine her stay at the Huntercombe Hospital and did not link her death with the 2009 admission.

However, Melissa’s mother Melanie told The Independent, after the jury returned its verdict on Thursday, that she thought her daughter’s 18-month experience at the Huntercombe Hospital had “destroyed” her.

“She got trapped,” Ms Parrish explained. “We saw how Melissa disappeared. She stopped having a relationship with us. She started self-harming, and when she was told it would be longer than 12 weeks, she just died. She stopped eating... she was just traumatised.”

Although the remit of the inquest was not to examine Melissa’s care before 2021, doctors who assessed her before her death gave evidence in which they noted that she was terrified of being admitted to hospital.

One doctor’s notes recorded that they believed “the terror of being admitted, which arose from a past admission, increased the risk [of harm]”.

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Source: The Independent, 23 September 2024

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Mother and baby units: 'It's our job to keep them safe'

"Women may be suicidal or want to die. They may have thoughts about harming their baby. It's our job to keep them safe until they can keep themselves safe," says Debbie Sells.

She manages a mother-and-baby unit in Nottingham which supports a small group of new mothers and pregnant women with serious psychological problems.

It's one of 19 units across England which each year treat about 800 women with perinatal mental health problems like psychosis and severe depression.

Clinicians say it is important to keep mothers and babies together to protect their relationship and the infant's development.

Some clinicians fear there may soon be an increased demand for their services due to extra pressures pregnant women are facing during the pandemic.

"We are hearing stories of women delivering on their own and not having the support of their partner, says Debbie.

"A traumatic birth can lead on to other things. Now not only are women becoming seriously unwell with a baby, but it's happening within a pandemic"

NHS England says while it is understandable some women and their families may have felt uneasy about seeking help in the early stages of the outbreak, it is vital they ask for support if it is needed.

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Source: BBC News, 26 October 2020

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Most people in England to be offered flu vaccine

Most people in England, about 30 million, are to be offered a free flu vaccine this year, the government says.

It is to prepare for a winter that could see the annual flu season coincide with a surge in coronavirus.

The traditional flu programme will include all over-50s for the first time, as well anyone on the shielding list and the people they live with.

Also for the first time, children in their first year of secondary school will all be offered the vaccine.

Plans for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have not yet been announced.

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Most NHS users in England affected by dysfunctional admin, report finds

Patients routinely have to chase up test results, receive appointment letters after their appointments and do not know when their treatment will occur because the NHS is so “dysfunctional”.

That is the conclusion of research by two major patients’ organisations and the King’s Fund, which lays bare a host of problems with the way the health service interacts with it users.

Sixty-four percent of people in England who used the NHS or arranged care for someone else over the last year encountered a problem involving its administration or communication.

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Read the report

Source: Guardian, 17 February 2025

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Most NHS staff say they don’t have enough time to spend with patients

Most NHS staff think they have too little time to help patients and the quality of care the service provides is falling, a survey reveals.

Medical and nursing groups said the “very worrying” findings showed that hard-pressed staff cannot give patients as much attention as they would like because they are so busy.

In polling YouGov carried out for the Guardian, 71% of NHS staff who have direct contact with patients said they did not have the amount of time they would like to have to help them. A third (34%) felt they had “somewhat less than enough time” and 37% “far less than enough time” than they wanted. Almost a quarter (23%) felt they had the right amount of time while just 3% said they had “more time” than they wanted.

The survey presents a worrying picture of the intense pressures being felt at the NHS frontline. Those same personnel were asked if they thought the quality of care the service is able to offer has got better or worse over the last five years. Three-quarters (75%) said “worse”, including a third (34%) who answered “much worse”, while 17% said “about the same” and only 6% replied “better”.

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Source: The Guardian, 24 July 2023

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Most NHS maternity units not safe enough, says regulator

England's healthcare regulator has told BBC News that maternity units currently have the poorest safety ratings of any hospital service it inspects.

BBC analysis of Care Quality Commission (CQC) records showed it deemed two-thirds (67%) of them not to be safe enough, up from 55% last autumn.

The "deterioration" follows efforts to improve NHS maternity care, and is blamed partly on a midwife shortage.

The Department for Heath and Social Care (DHSC) said £165m a year was being invested in boosting the maternity workforce, but said "we know there is more to do".

The BBC's analysis also revealed the proportion of maternity units with the poorest safety ranking of "inadequate" - meaning that there is a high risk of avoidable harm to mother or baby - has more than doubled from 7% to 15% since September 2022.

The CQC, which also inspects core services such as emergency care and critical care, said the situation was "unacceptable" and "disappointing".

"We've seen this deterioration, and action needs to happen now, so that women can have the assurance they need that they're going to get that high-quality care in any maternity setting across England," said Kate Terroni, the CQC's deputy chief executive.

The regulator has been conducting focused inspections because of concerns about maternity care. These findings are "the poorest they have been" since it started recording the data in this way in 2018, Ms Terroni said.

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Source: BBC News, 16 November 2023

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Most new mums say NHS six-week checks fail to focus on their health

Six out of seven new mothers in England are not getting a checkup of their health six weeks after giving birth, despite such appointments becoming a new duty on the NHS last year.

Just 15% of women who have recently had a child are having a dedicated consultation with a GP to discuss their physical and mental health, according to a survey by the parenting charity National Childbirth Trust (NCT).

The requirement was introduced last year to boost maternal health and especially to try to identify women having psychological problems linked to childbirth such as postnatal depression. The appointments are separate to the established six-week check of a baby’s progress.

However, 85% of the 893 mothers in England whom Survation interviewed last month for NCT said their appointments were mainly or equally about the baby’s health and they did not get the chance to talk to the GP about their mental wellbeing.

“It is extremely disappointing to find that only 15% of new mothers are getting an appointment focused on their wellbeing and a quarter of mums are not being asked about their mental health at all,” said NCT’s chief executive, Angela McConville.

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Source: The Guardian, 22 April 2021

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Most health claims on formula milk ‘not backed by evidence’

Most health claims on formula milk products have little or no supporting evidence, researchers have said, prompting calls for stricter marketing rules to be introduced worldwide.

Millions of parents use formula milk in what has become a multibillion-dollar global industry. But a study published in the BMJ has found most health and nutritional claims about the products appear to be backed by little or no high-quality scientific evidence.

“The wide range of health and nutrition claims made by infant formula products are often not backed by scientific references,” said Dr Ka Yan Cheung and Loukia Petrou, the joint first co-authors of the study. “When they are, the evidence is often weak and biased.”

Dr Daniel Munblit and Dr Robert Boyle, senior co-authors for the study, added: “There is a clear need for greater regulation and oversight to ensure that these claims are supported by sound scientific evidence and to protect the health and wellbeing of our youngest and most vulnerable populations.”

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Source: The Guardian, 15 February 2023

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Most foreign doctors in NHS face ‘racist microaggressions’, survey shows

Three in five foreign doctors in the NHS face “racist microaggressions” at work, such as patients refusing to be treated by them or having their abilities doubted because of their skin colour.

The widespread “thinly veiled, everyday instances of racism at work” experienced by medics trained overseas has been uncovered by a survey of more than 2,000 UK doctors and dentists.

Almost three in five (58%) said they had encountered such behaviour, from colleagues as well as patients, although most did not report it because they thought that no action would be taken. Doctors affected can feel upset, humiliated, marginalised and not taken seriously as a result.

The findings have raised fears that international medical graduates may choose not to work in the NHS, which is increasingly reliant on their skills given the service’s shortage of doctors.

Dr Naeem Nazem, the head of medical at the medical defence organisation MDDUS, which acts for doctors accused of wrongdoing, said: “These findings show us that a worryingly large number of overseas-trained doctors working in the NHS face racist microaggressions in the course of their work, from both patients and colleagues, and that many do so regularly.”

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Source: The Guardian, 8 November 2023

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Most doctors think ministers want to destroy NHS, BMA boss says

Most frontline medics believe ministers are seeking to “destroy the NHS” because they have starved it of cash and mistreated its staff, the leader of Britain’s doctors has said.

Prof Philip Banfield also warned that the health service, which on Wednesday will mark the 75th anniversary of its creation, is so fragile that it may not survive until its 80th.

Banfield, the British Medical Association’s chair of council, mounted an unusually strong attack on the government’s handling of the NHS in an interview with the Guardian.

“This government has to demonstrate that it is not setting out to destroy the NHS, which it is failing to do at this point in time,” he said. “It is a very common comment that I hear, from both doctors and patients, that this government is consciously running the NHS down. [And] if you run it down far enough, it’s going to lead to destruction.

“You’ll struggle to find someone [among doctors] on the frontline who thinks otherwise, because that’s what it feels like.”

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Source: The Guardian, 4 July 2023

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Most areas cut eating-disorder help for under-18s

Most areas in England are planning cuts to specialist eating-disorder services for children and young people this year, an analysis shows.

Of the nation's 42 NHS integrated care boards, 24 are due to reduce spending for under-18s in 2024-25, once inflation is taken into account.

Overall spending is due to go up by 2.9%, with budgets rising in the other areas, but the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), which carried out the analysis, said this was too little to cope with increased in demand.

NHS England said improving care was "vital" and more action was being taken in the community to support young people before their condition became a crisis.

Spending had been increasing for a number of years but "more work needs to be done", an official added.

Veronika, 20, has been struggling with an eating disorder for five years.

"Shrugged off" by services in the past, she says cuts could be "catastrophic" for people like her.

"It will have a knock-on impact and people won't want to seek help even from their GP, even for physical-health monitoring," Veronika says.

"It will just spiral on and on.

"It is horrible living day in and day out with it.

"And if you are not seen quick enough, I know myself how quickly things can spiral in a matter of weeks or days.

"It is going to be tragic for some and just long and horrible for others".

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Source: BBC News, 5 March 2025

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Most adolescents dying by suicide or harming themselves known to health services

Around 80% of adolescents who died by suicide or who had self-harmed had consulted with their GP or a practice nurse in the preceding year, shows new research.

The large study of 10 to 19-year-olds between 2003 and 2018, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, also puts forward a series of proposals to deal with the problem.

The study, funded by the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Translational Research Centre (NIHR GM PSTRC), a partnership between The University of Manchester and The Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA).

It showed that 85% who later took their own lives consulted with their GP or a practice nurse at least once in the preceding year; the equivalent figure was 75% for those youngsters who harmed themselves non-fatally.

Lower than expected rates of diagnosis of psychiatric illness, around a third in both groups, were probably down to a lack of contact with mental health services, rather than an absence of psychiatric illness, argue the research team. Depression was by far the commonest of the examined conditions among both groups, accounting for over 54% of all recorded diagnoses.

Also, while suicide was more common in boys, non-fatal self-harm was more common in girls. Two-thirds of adolescents who died by suicide had a history of non-fatal self-harm.

And while self-harm risk rose incrementally with increasing levels of deprivation, suicide risk did not.

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Source: The University of Manchester, 7 December 2021

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Mortuary abuse inquiry suggests contractors’ criminal checks could be shared with trusts

Contractors could be required to provide trusts with the findings of criminal records checks on their employees, an update from Michael inquiry into mortuary security has suggested.

The independent inquiry, chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael, was set up to examine the implications of the sexual assaults on the bodies of women and children in hospital mortuaries by maintenance supervisor and convicted murderer David Fuller.

A progress report published this month by the inquiry highlighted “responsibilities between trusts and contractors” as an area of concern.

The report said expectations around information sharing should be made clear in policy and, if sharing is deemed necessary, consideration should be given to what checks and evidence is needed to show this is taking place.

HSJ understands that Mr Fuller did not declare previous convictions for burglary when he was first employed at the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells in 1989.

Other issues flagged to NHS England by the inquiry included how access to “high-risk areas” is monitored and who requires access to these areas. It added that consideration should be given to monitoring access, involving a review of CCTV and swipe card use.

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Source: HSJ, 20 May 2022

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Mortality rate for Black babies is cut dramatically when they’re delivered by Black doctors, researchers say

Rachel Hardeman has dedicated her career to fighting racism and the harm it has inflicted on the health of Black Americans. As a reproductive health equity researcher, she has been especially disturbed by the disproportionately high mortality rates for Black babies.

In an effort to find some of the reasons behind the high death rates, Hardeman, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and three other researchers combed through the records of 1.8 million Florida hospital births between 1992 and 2015 looking for clues.

They found a tantalising statistic. Although Black newborns are three times as likely to die as White newborns, when Black babies are delivered by Black doctors, their mortality rate is cut in half.

"Strikingly, these effects appear to manifest more strongly in more complicated cases," the researchers wrote, "and when hospitals deliver more Black newborns." They found no similar relationship between White doctors and White births. Nor did they find a difference in maternal death rates when the doctor's race was the same as the patient's.

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Research paper

Source: The Washington Post, 9 January 2021

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