A girl starved of oxygen at birth has been awarded a £5.6 million compensation payout.
According to the BBC, Buckinghamshire hospitals NHS trust admitted responsibility for Alice Joyce’s disabilities.
Alice suffered severe brain damage as a result of oxygen starvation during her mother’s labour at Wycombe General Hospital in High Wycombe, in March 1996. As a result of the incident, Alice was diagnosed as suffering spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and delayed mental development.
The huge payout will allow for around the clock care for Alice, paying for vital equipment, therapy and also accommodation and any necessary modifications which need to be made therein.
The NHS Trust admitted liability at the High Court and apologised for the standard of care provided to both Alice and her mother, Mrs Carolyn Joyce, during the birth.
The circumstances of Alice’s injury were that Mrs Joyce had undertaken a caesarean section delivery with her first child and was not warned of the risk of rupture to the womb should she have a normal delivery with her second child. As a result of her having a normal delivery, Mrs Joyce suffered a massive haemorrhage and had to be resuscitated, while Alice was born in very poor condition and not breathing. The court heard that, had she been appropriately advised of this risk, then Mrs Joyce would have had a further caesarean and avoided the risks associated with the labour.
The NHS Trust’s chief nurse and director of patient care standards, Sarah Watson-Fisher, expressed “sincere apologies to Alice and her family”.
Circumstances such as this are truly tragic and no amount of compensation can make up for the hurt and suffering that Alice and her family must have gone through as a result of the mistakes of the NHS. Because of their error, Alice will not have a normal life and will require care and assistance for the rest of her years. This is by no means the first time the NHS has had to pay out a considerable sum after such an incident and begs the question what are they doing to change the way they operate to prevent such incidents happening. Simple mistakes such as this one can cause untold harm and medical staff need to be more vigilant and take greater care to consider medical histories before patients undergo procedures.
