After “wholly avoidable death” of week-old baby
EAST Kent hospitals trust admits failing to provide safe care for Harry Richford and his mother
Denis Campbell Health policy editor The Guardian
Mon 19 Apr 2021 18.25 BST
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.
In the first prosecution of its kind East Kent hospitals university trust admitted that it failed to provide safe care and treatment for Harry Richford and his mother, Sarah, during his birth in November 2017 at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital in Margate, Kent.
It pleaded guilty at a hearing at Folkestone magistrates court on Monday and could face a large fine when sentencing takes place on 18 June. It had been charged by the Care Quality Commission with exposing both Harry and Sarah Richford to a significant risk of avoidable harm.
The CQC charged the trust with a breach of regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, which obliges trusts to provide safe care and treatment.