Police have investigated over 1 000 avoidable baby deaths in NHS England, none in Edinburgh and none in Scotland where ‘maternity failings’ pay-outs are tellingly less than half, per head, those in England

of the UK’s busiest maternity units, claiming staff shortages and a culture of mistrust led to patients being harmed.

Professor John Robertson OBA

BBC Scotland is headlining today: Damning report finds ‘culture of mistrust’ at maternity unit – Staffing shortages and a “culture of mistrust” led to delays and patients being harmed at one of the busiest maternity units in the UK, a review has found.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland‘s report based on a one/two day visit to the maternity unit in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh does say the same things but among more positive statements and nowhere does it quantify it’s essentially anecdotal evidence. We do not hear, within a 41 page report, what percentage of how many staff, reported these concerns and crucially, we do not see any actual figures on patient harm as useful context for these unquantified complaints. We do not even hear how many patients were complimentary and how many were not so. We need at least some indication of the scale of any problem.

For example, where is the reference, even to contest, the facts in my headline, based on published sources?

There is one very telling piece of evidence we do have but it’s never reported in Scotland:

NHS England has to pay out more than twice as much as NHS Scotland for ‘maternity failings’

£1.3 billion was paid out in Scotland in 2024/205 compared to £27 BILLION in England.

Per head, that £1.3 billion becomes £13 billion, less than half the NHS England pay-outs of £27 billion.

Sources:

https://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.scot/publications/media-release-inspection-report-royal-infirmary-of-edinburgh-nhs-lothian/

https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=1983476698260623709

https://www.cwj.co.uk/site/newsandevents/legalnews/costs_of_NHS_maternity_care_claims_revealed.html

5 thoughts on “Police have investigated over 1 000 avoidable baby deaths in NHS England, none in Edinburgh and none in Scotland where ‘maternity failings’ pay-outs are tellingly less than half, per head, those in England”

  1. The bottom of the barrel is never empty for BBC Scotland to rubbish our country,

    A bit O/T but on P/L I know BBC but they were speaking about the Welsh election loss presenter said Labour were in power ages Labour man answer they were starved of money but now lab in power in Westminster things would change so that does not look good for Scotland —- Lab shower

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