UK’s 10 ‘most dangerous’ hospitals to give birth in after almost £70billion paid out in two years

The NHS paid out nearly £70billion for maternity and neonatal liabilities between 2022 and 2023, according to data that was uncovered by Freedom of Information requests

A shocking new new report has revealed the hospitals in England with the largest number of preventable birth injuries.

Coming out top in this respect as the most dangerous hospital is Manchester University Foundation NHS Trust, which paid compensation to more new mums than any other medical institution in England over the past two years.

The hospital negligence caused harm to 33 women and their babies, according to independent reviewers. Next on the ignominious list is Nottingham University Hospital, which faced one of the UK’s largest ever maternity reviews after hundreds of baby deaths and injuries between 2006 and 2023.

Elsewhere, Barts Health NHS Trust came third on the list after paying out to 27 families across a two-year period. This hospital awarded the most amount of cash to patients – a total of £39.9million between 2022 to 2024, according to figures collected by law firm Been Let Down.

The NHS paid out a total of £69.3billion for maternity and neonatal liabilities between 2022 and 2023. The data, uncovered by Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, revealed ‘unnecessary pain’ to new mums or their babies was the most common birth complication between 2022 and 2024, reports the MailOnline.

Carla Duprey, solicitor at law firm, Been Let Down, said: “A lot of the issues are core problems within the NHS and are not able to be rectified easily. Funding and staff recruitment are major issues.

“However, as many have pointed out in the past, if the NHS developed a system to report and learn from incidents and claims on a regular basis, then I believe this would be a first step to improving the overall service. There also needs to be more emphasis on listening to patient’s concerns.’

A total of 1,503 claims were made to NHS Trusts in England, with brain damage and celebral palsy among the most common, according to the FOI figures. Each one is considered by legal experts to be ‘avoidable’ injuries and judged by independent reviewers as worthy of compensation.

10 NHS Trust hospitals in England with highest number of birth injury claims

1. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (33)

2. Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (28)

3. Barts Health NHS Trust (27)

4. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (26)

5. Liverpool Women’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (25)

6. University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (24)

7. Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (23)

8. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (22)

9. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (21)

10. The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (21)