We believe more babies will die unless there is an intervention

Grieving parents speak out after 'repeat errors' in trust maternity care

- MARTIN BAGOT

FAMILIES of nine babies who died at a hospital trust are calling for a national public inquiry into NHS maternity services.

They also warn a separate inquiry is needed to prevent more "unnecessary deaths" at the trust, where nine babies died and four mothers barely survived between 2021 and 2023.

Now families have come forward with fresh allegations of failings at two hospitals run by the scandal-hit University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.

They wrote: "All our babies were otherwise healthy and would have grown up if not for the failings in care and the dismissal of our concerns.

"Our children lost an entire life; they never got a chance to grow up, to learn to walk and speak, to make friends, to witness the awe and beauty of our planet.

"Though our babies left their mark on this world in many meaningful ways, they had so much more to give. This is a loss to us as parents, to our families and to society as a whole."

They continued: "With the volume and repetition of errors in maternity care by the trust, we believe that babies and potentially mothers will continue to unnecessarily die under the trust's care unless there is additional intervention."

The group includes the parents of five babies who died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital and four who died at Worthing Hospital between 2021 and 2023.