MARTIN MCQUADE / BBCThe deaths of at least 56 babies, and two mothers, at an NHS trust over the past five years may have been prevented, the BBC has found.The two maternity units at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals (LTH) NHS Trust are rated “good” by England’s healthcare regulator, but two whistleblowers have told the BBC they believe the units are unsafe.Separate data shows Leeds has the highest neonatal mortality rate in the UK.Bereaved parents say they are concerned that the trust’s chief executive during the period most of the deaths occurred is now leading the regulator, saying this could affect its independence in investigating LTH Trust.In a statement, the trust told the BBC the vast majority of births at Leeds were safe, and deaths of mothers and babies were fortunately very rare.It added that Leeds cares for a higher volume of babies with complex conditions as it is one of a “handful of specialist centres” in the UK.The trust’s maternity units are at Leeds General Infirmary and St James’s University Hospital.MARTIN MCQUADE / BBCThe families describe a “tick box” and “wait and see” culture at the trust, plus a lack of compassionate care.This has been echoed by whistleblower Lisa Elliott, who worked at the two sites in 2023. Describing the care as “appalling”, she highlighted a failure to listen to patients. “That’s when disasters happen, and a lot of them can be avoided,” she said.The families are calling for an independent review into LTH Trust to ensure issues are identified and lessons learned. They also want an independent, judge-led public inquiry to help improve maternity safety across England because of wider concerns about the standard of care.MARTIN MCQUADE / BBCThe BBC obtained data from the trust showing potentially preventable baby deaths through a Freedom of Information request.This revealed at least 56 cases from January 2019 to July 2024, made up of 27 stillbirths and 29 neonatal deaths – which is a death within 28 days after birth.In each case, a trust review group had identified care issues it considered may have made a difference to the outcome for babies.The trust-led reviews were conducted by multidisciplinary teams which regularly included people who did not work for the trust.The trust also recorded two possibly preventable maternal deaths in the same period.It did not give any personal details about the 58 deaths, so we do not know whether they include the families we have spoken to.The deaths reviewed by the trust included babies with congenital abnormalities, and newborns and mothers transferred after birth from other units because they required specialist care.The trust said the number of neonatal deaths it had recorded as potentially avoidable was “very small”.LTH had the highest neonatal mortality rate in the UK of 4.46 per 1,000 live births in 2022, according to the latest report by MBRRACE-UK – which reviews stillbirths and neonatal deaths but does not analyse if any of these are potentially preventable.BBC analysis of this data, which was made public last July, shows this increased from 3.30 per 1,000 live births in 2017. The LTH 2022 figure is 70% higher than the average rate for comparable NHS trusts.MBRRACE-UK grouped Leeds with 25 other trusts which it says provide a similar level of care. Specifically, they all have a level three (the highest level) neonatal intensive care unit and perform neonatal surgery. The group is complex, with different specialisms.LTH told the BBC there are an increasing number of complex pregnancies and births in the region – including an increase in babies born with severe cardiac conditions – leading to an increase in the neonatal mortality rate.Winser-Ramm familyFiona Winser-Ramm and Dan Ramm’s first baby, Aliona Grace, died at Leeds General Infirmary in January 2020, 27 minutes after she was born.There had been delays admitting Fiona after her waters broke and a delay by midwives to escalate concerns with Aliona’s heart rate during labour.There had been a “number of gross failures of the most basic nature that directly contributed to Aliona’s death”, an inquest in 2023 found.”Leeds say they’ve learned lessons, it won’t happen again. But it does, and babies keep dying, or being seriously injured, for similar reasons,” says Dan.The couple, who connected with other bereaved parents after setting up a Facebook group, believe there are many more affected.Fiona and Dan also believe the regulator – the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has failed to hold the trust accountable, despite other preventable baby deaths.The CQC inspects the quality of services across health and adult social care in England and can prosecute providers who fail to provide safe care.The couple first raised their safety concerns with the body in …
