Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust has been fined a record £1.6 million for systemic failures that led to the deaths of three infants shortly after birth.

The trust pleaded guilty to six counts of failing to provide safe care and treatment to mothers and their babies, which included the tragic cases of Adele O'Sullivan, Kahlani Rawson, and Quinn Parker.

District Judge Grace Leong described the circumstances surrounding the deaths as involving serious and systemic failures, emphasizing that these tragedies were entirely avoidable.

The trust's legal counsel expressed profound apologies to the affected families and noted that improvements have been made, including hiring more midwives and enhancing staff training.

An inquiry initiated by former health secretary Sajid Javid revealed that the number of cases examined grew from 1,500 to 2,000 by the end of 2024 due to uncovered discrepancies.

The Care Quality Commission found that NUH lacked adequate systems for managing risks to the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies, with many procedures not being followed properly.

Victim impact statements from the mothers highlighted profound emotional and physical harm due to the trust's negligence, illustrating delays in care and mismanagement of high-risk pregnancies.

Inquests into the deaths indicated that earlier interventions could have potentially saved the lives of Kahlani and Quinn, leading their families to claim these were preventable tragedies.

Adele O'Sullivan was born at 29 weeks after an emergency caesarean and died shortly after due to severe intrapartum hypoxia, with her mother reporting severe pain and a lack of timely care.

Kahlani Rawson died at four days old from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, attributed to delays in emergency care despite his mother's complaints of abdominal pain.

Quinn Parker's mother experienced significant blood loss prior to his emergency caesarean, and he died from multiple organ failure and lack of oxygen to the brain.

Family members expressed deep grief and frustration, emphasizing a lack of dignity and respect in their treatment by the trust, and called for accountability regarding the care received.