Research shows rising number of public law cases involving newborn babies, highlights short notice given to most parents – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 8th, 2021 in birth, care orders, children, news, notification, reports, statistics by sally

‘In the majority of public law cases involving newborn babies parents are given very little formal notice that care proceedings have been issued and the case is to be heard in court, research by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (FJO) has shown.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th June 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Newborn care report sparks judicial response – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Judges are to investigate the use of urgent hearings in proceedings involving babies, after a study found that 85% of mothers in cases involving newborns being taken into care were given less than seven days’ formal notice.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 4th June 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Overwhelming and emotionally traumatic’: 1 in 6 new mothers only given a day’s notice of care proceedings, research says – The Independent

‘One in six mothers involved in care proceedings over the last year were given just a day’s notice of a court hearing to decide whether their newborn child would be taken into care, according to research. The vast majority of such women in England and Wales receive less than one week’s notice, new analysis shows.’

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The Independent, 5th June 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘More work to do’ to improve Nottingham maternity units – BBC News

‘More needs to be done to bring maternity units at a city’s two main hospitals up to scratch, inspectors have said.’

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BBC News, 28th May 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hundreds of women forced to ‘wear face masks while giving birth’ – The Independent

‘Hundreds of women were forced to wear face masks while giving birth despite this violating formal rules, a new study has found.’

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The Independent, 14th May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Agoraphobic pregnant woman can be forced into hospital, UK judge rules – The Guardian

‘Judge rules medical staff can use minimum force on woman who has barely left home in four years.’

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The Guardian, 14th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

NHS trust pleads guilty after ‘wholly avoidable’ death of week-old baby – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2021 in birth, hospitals, medical treatment, news, prosecutions by sally

‘A hospital trust has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge brought by the NHS regulator over failings in care that led to the death of a newborn boy at just seven days old.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Hospitals forced to repay millions after falsely claiming their maternity units were safe – The Independent

‘NHS hospitals have been forced to pay millions of pounds to regulators after wrongly claiming their maternity units were among the safest in the country.’

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The Independent, 7th March 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Woman with Covid should be allowed to die weeks after giving birth, judge rules – The Guardian

Posted February 25th, 2021 in birth, consent, coronavirus, families, medical treatment, news by sally

‘A woman in her early 30s, who has Covid and remains in an induced coma after giving birth to a son, should be allowed to die, against the wishes of her family, a judge has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 24th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Family Law Newsletter – Spire Barristers

‘Issue #43 of Spire Barristers’ Family Law Newsletter: edited by Connie Purdy and Taz Irshad; news and Case Reviews by Francesca Massarella. Francesca is due to begin pupillage at Spire Barristers in September 2021.’

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Spire Barristers, 16th February 2021

Source: spirebarristers.co.uk

More deaths, worse care: inquiry opens into NHS maternity ‘systemic racism’ – The Guardian

Posted February 8th, 2021 in birth, equality, hospitals, human rights, inquiries, news, race discrimination, statistics by tracey

‘An urgent inquiry to investigate how alleged systemic racism in the NHS manifests itself in maternity care will be launched on Tuesday with support from the UK charity Birthrights. The inquiry will apply a human- rights lens to examine how claimed racial injustice – from explicit racism to bias – is leading to poorer health outcomes in maternity care for ethnic minority groups.’

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The Guardian, 7th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Bristol: Brain-damaged baby dies after life support ruling – BBC News

Posted February 2nd, 2021 in birth, consent, hospitals, medical treatment, news, parental responsibility, paternity by sally

‘A brain-damaged baby has died days after a judge ruled that doctors could stop providing life-support treatment.’

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BBC News, 1st February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Bedford hospital: ‘Risk of baby abduction’ at ‘inadequate’ maternity unit – BBC News

Posted January 15th, 2021 in birth, children, families, hospitals, kidnapping, news, ombudsmen, whistleblowers by tracey

‘Maternity services at a hospital have been downgraded to “inadequate” after inspectors found a “potential risk for baby abduction”. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected Bedford Hospital’s maternity services in November following “14 whistle-blower inquiries”.’

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BBC News, 15 January 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The right to establish identity: donor offspring — David Gollancz – UK Human Rights Blog

‘This is the second of two posts by David Gollancz, a barrister at Keating Chambers and donor-conceived adult, about the UK system of birth registration and certification. The first post concerned the treatment of transgender parents. This second post deals with the position of the offspring of gamete donation.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th December 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

The right to respect for identity: transgender parents — David Gollancz – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 17th, 2020 in assisted reproduction, birth, birth certificates, news, transgender persons by tracey

‘This is the first of two posts by David Gollancz, a barrister at Keating Chambers and donor-conceived adult, about the UK system of birth registration and certification. This first post concerns the treatment of trans parents. The second post will deal with the position of the offspring of gamete donation.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th December 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Shrewsbury maternity scandal: Ministers told to ‘stamp out’ normal birth ideology in NHS – The Independent

Posted December 11th, 2020 in birth, codes of practice, government departments, health, hospitals, inquiries, news, pregnancy by tracey

‘Ministers have been told they must “stamp out” a “normal” birth ideology in NHS maternity services that puts babies and mothers lives at risk. The call came after an inquiry report into poor care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust found many women were medicated and forced to endure traumatic births with some being denied caesarean sections in order to keep rates low.’

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The Independent, 10th December 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

East Yorkshire hospital trust pays millions over child’s brain damage – BBC News

‘A child who suffered brain damage after a catastrophic fall in blood sugar levels within days of his birth is to get millions of pounds in compensation.’

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BBC News, 3rd December 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Inquiry into failings at south Wales maternity units grows to 160 cases – The Guardian

Posted September 29th, 2020 in birth, complaints, hospitals, news, Wales by sally

‘An independent panel investigating two maternity units in south Wales where a series of failings may have put the lives of mothers and babies at risk is looking into the care given to 150 women, it emerged on Monday.’

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The Guardian, 28th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Shropshire maternity scandal: Hundreds more cases under review – BBC News

Posted July 13th, 2020 in birth, hospitals, inquiries, news, pregnancy, quality assurance, standards by sally

‘Hundreds more cases are to be reviewed by an independent inquiry into maternity care at an NHS trust, BBC News has learned.’

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BBC News, 10th July 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Protected parties, anonymity orders and clinical negligence; PQ (a child by her litigation friend) v Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust [2020] EWHC 1662 (QB) – Parklane Plowden Chambers

‘In PQ (a child, by her litigation friend) v Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, Martin Spencer J was required to rule on an application that the identity of the Claimant and her family be anonymised, for the purposes of a liability-only clinical negligence trial. Although only a short, first-instance decision, the case effectively makes anonymisation orders in such circumstances all but inevitable.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 30th June 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk