More than 100 maternity staff sue NHS over gas exposure

More than 100 maternity staff are taking legal action against a hospital trust after being exposed to what they say were "hazardous" levels of nitrous oxide.

The staff, who include midwives and healthcare assistants, all worked at Basildon Hospital in Essex between 2018 and 2023.

Symptoms including fatigue, anxiety, headaches and "brain fog" were reported.

The trust that runs the hospital has said it "should have acted faster to address the issues".

The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has already paid out £89,000 in settlements over claims staff were exposed to "excessive and foreseeably dangerous" levels of Entonox, which is often called gas and air.

A total of 141 claims have been received, according to the NHS.

Entonox is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen that is used as pain relief for women giving birth.

According to the claimants, levels of nitrous oxide can build up quickly in maternity units with poor ventilation. The gas enters the atmosphere when birthing mothers exhale, when gas lines are leaky, and when cannisters of nitrous oxide are opened and connected to equipment.

Maternity staff were exposed to gas levels up to 30 times higher than the legal workplace exposure limit, an internal hospital report found.

For people giving birth, the NHS says gas and air is "generally very safe", and side effects are not expected until after patients have used it for longer than six hours.

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Source: BBC News, 18 May 2026