The number of stillbirths and neonatal deaths every year in the UK is more than twice the number of deaths on UK roads. While road safety attracts a huge amount of attention, resources and legislation, perinatal mortality still tends to be regarded as an unhappy fact of life about which little can be done.
But [...]
In the guidance for Serious Untoward Incidents (SUI) from different hospital trusts that I’ve seen published on the web, a common example of the kind of adverse event that might start the process off is the death of a baby. Some trusts go as far as suggesting stillbirth - even as far back as [...]
Yet more pressure on NHS Maternity Units today.
This time in Milton Keynes, where the local Coroner reported the Trust involved to the Department of Health, asking for an investigation into why a senior midwife’s views had been disregarded. Apparently, a registrar, after discussion with a consultant on the phone, had ignored the [...]
Coroners are local independent judicial officers, appointed and paid for by the local authorities, who are responsible for investigating violent, unnatural deaths or sudden deaths of unknown cause and deaths in custody that are reported to them. It is in the general interests of the community that these deaths should be investigated and the role [...]
A Serious Untoward Incident (SUI) is the term used in the NHS where loss of life or serious injury has been unexpectedly sustained during care. It kicks off an investigation into what occurred, with the emphasis on learning from mistakes, rather than on apportioning blame. The SUI process is probably your best chance [...]
We’ve had a lot of trouble finding out what actually happened when our baby died. This is despite his death kicking off something called a ‘Serious Untoward Incident’ at the hospital where it occurred. To be honest, we sometimes wonder whether the reason it’s been so difficult to find things out, is because it’s a [...]
