NHS trusts across Kent and Medway paid out £76 million in negligence claims for childbirth and maternity failings, new figures reveal.

Over the last five years, the four NHS trusts in Kent have made large payouts, as a result of 93 claims.

The figures were revealed following an investigation by law firm Legal Expert.

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust forked out £24.9m in damages, the highest amount of all NHS trusts in Kent, for 15 claims.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust paid out the second highest amount with £20.2m for 21 claims, and Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust paid out £20.1m for 21 claims.

East Kent Hospitals University Trust paid out the least amount of money, but had the highest number of claims across Kent.

The trust, which is one of the largest in England, paid £14m in compensation for 36 claims. East Kent Hospitals runs The William Harvey in Ashford, The Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in Margate and smaller hospitals in Folkestone, Dover and Canterbury.

All the figures above do not include legal costs.

The research was conducted in the wake of the UK’s first-ever parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma earlier this year which heard evidence from 1,300 women across the country.

Some said they were left in blood-soaked sheets while others said their children had suffered life-changing injuries due to medical negligence.

Information obtained via Freedom of Information Requests revealed that a total of 165 childbirth and maternity clinical negligence claims and incidents were reported against the four Kent and Medway trusts to NHS Resolution, which handles negligence cases on behalf of the health service.

Obstetric figures show that a total of 93 claims have been closed or settled by the trusts between 2019 and 2020 and 2022 to 2023.

They paid paid a combined total of £76,608,222 in compensation alone.

Clinical negligence claims and incidents across all NHS Trusts in the last five years include 484 relating to babies with brain damage, 471 stillbirths and 342 mother or baby deaths.

Of those claims settled, £980m was spent on compensation for cerebral palsy-related claims and a further £600m was paid out for claims pertaining to brain damage caused by obstetric negligence.

The leading cause of negligence according to the incidents reported to NHS Resolution during this time include delays in treatment and diagnosis as well as staff failing to respond to abnormal fetal heart rate.

Earlier this year, former Conservative MP, Theo Clarke and Canterbury’s Labour MP, Rosie Duffield co-chaired the UK’s first-ever parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, calling for an overhaul of maternity and postnatal care after finding poor care is “all-too-frequently tolerated as normal.”

A key recommendation in its report was for a new maternity commissioner who would report directly to the Prime Minister, along with ensuring safe levels of staffing.

Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said in response to the findings: “The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will commission new research into the economic impact of birth trauma.

However she added that there is “much work to do to deliver on the findings of the report.”

In a joint statement in response to the figures from Legal Expert, the NHS trusts across Kent and Medway said: “We recognise the immeasurable impact on families when mistakes are made.

“The impact of these outcomes can never be altered and for this we are truly sorry.

“We would always encourage any families who have any ongoing concerns to contact us.

“We are dedicated to improving safety for parents and their babies to ensure standards of NHS maternity and neonatal care are of the highest quality.”