Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust fined for exposing babies to 'serious harm'

A hospital trust has been fined £200,000 for putting four babies at "serious risk"of harm.

Staff at Rotherham Hospital failed to spot non-accidental injuries during admissions, Sheffield Magistrates' Court heard.

District Judge Naomi Redhouse criticised failures in the hospital's systems and processes.

Health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), had earlier highlighted problems with safeguarding training at the trust prior to the babies' admissions between January 2019 and February 2020.

The court was told how one eight-day-old baby was brought into the hospital on 23 December 2019 suffering from breathing difficulties and bleeding from the nose and mouth.

It was only on the child's fifth visit to hospital - after a GP raised concerns - that a child safety examination took place, revealing rib and leg fractures that were deemed non-accidental.

Ms Redhouse also heard how a month-old baby brought in with a mouth injury on 20 January 2019 was on a child protection plan but this was not spotted by the paediatric nurse who examined the baby.

This child was twice released from hospital, with no safeguarding concerns, before a scan and other examinations revealed multiple fractures, the court heard.

Prosecutor Ryan Donohue said failings had been identified in areas including policy implementation, training, reporting, auditing and governance.

Eleanor Sanderson, mitigating for the trust, said: "The trust wishes to express to the court its deep regret for the circumstances which gave rise to these offences and the risk posed to those who required safeguarding."

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Source: BBC News, 26 October 2022