A joint consultation from the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Health and Social Care will run for 12 weeks with the view to ascertaining if coroners in England and Wales may be given new powers to investigate stillbirths.
One in every 225 babies are stillborn in the UK and whilst rates have been going down in many cases, doctors are unable to tell parents why their baby died.
The Government is consulting on the proposed changes to coroner powers to help bereaved parents gain answers as to how and why their baby died, information of which will also assist in preventing future baby deaths.
Current Laws
Under current laws, the role of the coroner is to determine:
- How, when and where someone died;
- If the death was violent or unnatural;
- If its cause is unknown; or
- Where the deceased died whilst in custody or under state detention.
The coroner’s duty is in relation to adults, children and babies who were born alive, but not stillbirths.
Coroners can only hold inquests for babies who have shown signs of life after being born.
If there is any doubt whether a baby was born alive, a coroner can undertake enquiries as to whether there is a duty to investigate, but they will not investigate further if they conclude that it was a stillbirth.
When a baby dies, whilst certain investigations are undertaken, some parents have raised concerns about the inconsistencies of the investigations.
Investigating Stillbirths – Proposed New System
The proposed system would mean that coroners in England and Wales would be able to do the following:
- Have powers to investigate all full-term stillbirths, occurring from 37 weeks pregnancy;
- Not have to gain consent or permission from any third party in exercising this power; and
- Consider whether any lessons could be learned.
Their investigations would not replace current investigations by the hospital or NHS agencies.
Health Minister, Jackie Doyle-Price, said:
“We want to do everything we can to make pregnancy safer, by continually learning to improve the care on offer so fewer people have to experience the terrible tragedy of losing a child and those who do get the answers and support they deserve.”
The consultation process will include obtaining views from bereaved parents and health professionals, along with organisations that support bereaved families. The consultation will close on 18th June 2019.
Kate Mulley, Director of Research, Education and Policy at Sands, commented:
“At Sands bereaved parents often tell us how vitally important it is to understand why their baby died and that the best legacy for their baby is to ensure that lessons are learned to prevent future deaths.”
How Nelsons Can Help
Our expert team of lawyers in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham are specialists in medical negligence matters and will guide you through the process of bringing a claim.
If you have been affected by any of the points raised in this blog, please contact us on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.