The county's NHS Trust has paid out almost £20 million in maternity and childbirth-related compensation claims in four years, according to research.

Data gathered by Legal Expert has found that between 2019 and 2023, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust paid out a total of £19,373,787 in compensation following childbirth and maternity clinical negligence claims and incidents, not including any legal fees.

Sarah Shingler, Chief Nursing Officer at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Any incident which results in an error or poor care is sincerely regrettable.

"Any incident of this type goes against our aim to provide the best and safest care possible for our patients, which we successfully do in the vast majority of cases.

“It is important to note that as well as new settlements, any total figure also relates to on-going liability payouts for historic claims, as well as additional payments into a national Risk Pooling Scheme to provide cover for payouts for Trusts from across the NHS.”

Data sought by Legal Expert through a Freedom of Information request reveals that 53 claims and incidents were reported against the county's NHS Trust between 2019 and 2023, whilst 38 claims were settled during the same period.

These are handled by NHS Resolution which deals with all negligence cases on behalf of the NHS.

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Since 2019, clinical negligence claims and incidents reported to NHS Trusts across the country include 484 related to babies with brain damage, 471 related to stillbirths, and 342 related to mother or baby deaths.

Country-wide compensation claims translated to £600 million worth of settlements related to brain damage caused by negligence during childbirth alone.

In Worcestershire's surrounds, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust received a total of 62 childbirth and maternity-related claims, paying out £3,167,704 in settlements, whilst Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had received 38 related claims since 2019 - paying out £20,848,067 in damages.

The research comes after former Conservative MP, Theo Clarke, and Labour MP, Rosie Duffield, co-chaired the UK's first-ever parliamentary enquiry into birth trauma earlier this year, finding that maternity and post-natal care in the UK required an overhaul.