22/11/2016 Scotland 2016

BBC Scotland investigation reveals thousands of so-called "adverse

The incidents uncovered range from minor mistakes to major errors

leading to the deaths of mothers or their babies.

And in other news, what will be in the Chancellor's Autumn

And charities say people with disabilities are STILL facing

A BBC Scotland Investigation has found that, since 2011,

three women and more than 100 babies have died as a result

of what are described as "adverse events" in maternity wards.

The Scottish Government says the safety of mothers and babies

is paramount and that it's vital that lessons are learnt.

In a moment, an MSP tells me about he and his wife's

own experience of losing a child, and what he thinks should be done.

Elsa, a typical 20-month-old child, full of curiosity.

Today, she should be playing with her twin brother Aaron,

They monitored the baby's heartbeat and they were not

There was a shift change of midwives and that is when things

Soon after that we were rushed through for a Caesarean section.

The hospital's on report suggests certain procedures were not followed

and delays in conducting her Caesarean section

and problems in the monitoring of Aaron's heartrate.

I should have both of them with me, and I think if things were acted

on sooner I should have him with Elsa and the family

NHS Fife said they are unable to comment on individual cases

but there were significant events they do learn lessons.

A BBC investigation found there has been more than 25,000 so-called

adverse events in maternity wards in Scotland since 2011.

Many were minor or unavoidable, but they also included

serious incidents that led to the deaths of three mothers.

79 stillborn babies and 26 babies who died just after birth.

At the Victoria Hospital where Aaron was born there were almost 4000

adverse events including very minor incidents.

But also delays in treatment and errors in medication.

Some of these incidents were avoidable, a new project

It discovered about 100 babies suffered avoidable harm in Scotland

The reviews are not done to a consistently high standard.

I think the problem really there is due to their not

being adequate tools out there to help health service staff,

be it midwives, paediatricians, or obstetricians to do

Almost 500 of the incidents recorded in the BBC's investigation

And with a number of experienced midwives due to retire

there as concerns about the safety of new mothers and their babies.

If we don't get the staffing levels right and the right number

of midwives to deliver on the care that women and their babies need,

then we could be in danger of not providing a safe service.

The Scottish Government says they are working

Through the patient safety programme we do have the lowest level

of stillborn babies that we've ever had on record, we have a reducing

number of neonatal deaths and reducing number of maternal

deaths but there is no complacency whatsoever.

If there is more we can do we will take further action.

For Aaron's parents and others the most important thing

Some babies don't survive for medical reasons,

but experts say we need to focus on whether babies like Aaron

are dying due to human error exactly when they need help the most.

A review of baby deaths at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock

was announced yesterday after a BBC Scotland investigation

revealed that there had been six so-called "unnecessary" deaths

But the MSP Kenneth Gibson has urged the Health Secretary

I've been speaking to him - and a warning that his story

contains details some viewers might find distressing.

You had the worst imaginable experience of maternity care. Talk

me through your experience. Seven years ago, my wife went into

hospital. She was then sent home. She was violently sick. Went back to

the hospital. After 45 minutes of arguing, they finally agreed to

admit her. She was put into a ward where I was not permitted to join

her, given morphine and left overnight. When she woke up in the

morning, the baby had died. She had had pain from head to toe. The

entire body was in agony. Despite the fact the consultant and a junior

doctor examined her, they did not discover she suffered from

pre-eclampsia. After the baby died, they tried to deliver the baby

naturally but her liver ruptured, so she was sectioned and was in

intensive care for 19 days after that. That was the beginning of the

appalling experience we went through. From our perspective, all

we wanted after the event was not to blame anyone but just to find out,

as many parents do, what happened and to have an explanation from the

health board as to what they would do to ensure that what happened to

us would not happen to anyone else. How long did it take to get a

satisfactory answer? Our baby died in October 2009. We finally settled

it six months ago, so six and a half years. After 20 months of being

blanked by the Glasgow health board, we had no option but to take legal

action to get some kind of response, and that is when the legal machine

of the health board went into overdrive. They had an expensive QC

and made it as difficult as possible for us to pursue what was frankly an

open and shut case. I do think it is appalling the grieving parents are

treated like this. I just wonder,... Before I came on, I was speaking to

your technician who had an almost identical process to what we

suffered. I think it is shameful that, instead of facing up the

responsibilities and explaining to people what they would do to improve

things, health boards, not just Glasgow, seem to do all they can to

bury their heads in the sand. It strikes me that if you as an MSP

take years to get answers, what about other peoples who face similar

problems? I actually felt constrained as an MSP. I do not want

anyone to think I was seeking preferential treatment. I did not

white to anyone as an MSP. People are grieving. People have lost their

babies which are very precious. This is not about compensation. What you

actually get in Scotland for the death of the baby in stillbirth is

about 3% of what Charlotte Church allegedly got the having her

telephone packed. It is really time that the Scottish Government stopped

this heavy-handed approach on health boards because many people I am sure

have struggled with the process we have struggled with. All people want

is an explanation of what will be done to try and make the system much

better so other babies do not die unnecessarily. And you do not think

the government's inquiry goes far enough? No, I don't. I think it has

to be deeper and wider and include some of the issues I have been

talking about. What we have to do is look at it from two ways. We have to

reduce the number stillbirths. That is overwhelmingly the most important

thing. Secondly, when people do have a stillbirth, they should be treated

with care and is grieving parents, not people hostile to the health

board and the hospital where they suffered that tragedy. Thank you

very much. There'll be a new man wielding

the red ministerial box on the steps of Downing Street tomorrow -

Philip Hammond, in his first big set piece announcement as Chancellor,

will make his Autumn Statement. Tomorrow is a big day for the UK

Government when we will here for the first time about the spending

priorities of the Theresa May administration. There has been a lot

of focus on improving the economy and helping less well off families

but, with a big budget deficit, there is not enough money to go

around and not everyone will be happy, so where should the spending

priorities lie? We are seeing families literally going without

electricity and gas in order to pay for food, who are not giving their

kids the healthy food they want to. We want to see the Chancellor act of

the government's apparent support for families who are just about

managing. We want to see that concern translated into action and

that means reversing George Osborne's cut the universal credit

as well as ending the freeze on benefits, so starting to operate

family benefits in line with inflation. Unless we see that

action, we will see families who are just about managing now being tipped

over the edge and pushed into even greater hardship in the future. We

really need something that will help people start investing in consumer

spending and getting the investment they need. You get the biggest bang

for your buck if you spent locally. So rather than some of the big grand

designs we have seen floated in the past, real spending on things like

local roads or projects will make things easier. That is exactly where

we will see the big investment. What is important is getting the mobile

phone network right in broadband. Too many places in Scotland are

still struggling with two G. It is what the customers expect and what

you expect is a business person, so the more we can do to express the

funding gaps, the more the we can do. We are a vital part of the UK

economy. We employ thousands of people right across the UK. What we

hope the new Chancellor will continue to show is confidence in

our sector and recognise our capabilities as part of his work

tomorrow in the Autumn Statement. It is vital for us to have fiscal

stability and that we see confidence in our industry, recognising the

capabilities we have to be more competitive, and build on that the

years come. Now, it will be Philip Hammond's

first in the role and the first opportunity to outline his spending

priorities as Britain So what might be the ripple effects

here in Scotland? I'm joined now by our Business

and Economy Editor Douglas Fraser. These things are always much

previewed but already the night, we are getting the details. I am

beginning to wonder if you will have much news to say tomorrow! Quite a

lot of detail has been released by the Treasury for tomorrow's

newspaper headlines. Going beyond what we already heard, which was a

big spend on broadband to get the full fibre, a new generation of

broadband connection and supporting the roll out of five G or hearing

about roads, other infrastructure, smaller projects they can get to

quicker had been talked about. What we also know now is ?1.4 billion is

going into affordable housing in particular. 40,000 new homes. I

would expect a consequence of that would be more money coming to

Holyrood for it to decide how spend that money. And also, on the work

and welfare agenda, the Prime Minister has talked about those who

are just about managing. A number of measures to those people who feel

that life is particularly tough at the moment. They are quite often the

working poor. We are talking about a higher national living wage,

universal credit. John Dickie there was saying there needs to be a

reverse of the point at which people see a tapering away of credit as

they begin to earn more money, so the incentive to earn more money

would be better. And some other measures as well. For instance, the

insurance bill on people's cars to come down as they ban the use of

whiplash claims. Looking at the bigger picture, what is the economic

challenge that Philip Hammond faces? Compared with George Osborne on his

March budget, the context has changed utterly, particularly

because of Brexit. The economy is not doing badly if you look from

June until now in terms of inflation has picked up, and it will pick up

more, because of the depreciation of the pound. The jobs picture is still

pretty good right across Britain, given that we are still in emergency

measures in terms of monetary policy. And consumer spending

remains robust. So up until now, the growth through 2016 is staying

steady but the problem is, next year, strong expectations across

almost all economists. The economy will slow down, inflation will rise.

With the economy slowing down, tax revenues will struggle, and that

puts the Chancellor had a very different position, but in terms of

where the whole economy is but also in terms of the balance between

taxation and spending. They have ripped up the rules they have.

We will find out tomorrow what the new rules will be. She will have to

be clear to the market, backbenchers and to the public that he has a

plan. What will we hear about Scotland specifically? They will

spend more on infrastructure or housing, if they do that, part of it

will come through the Barnett Formula, into Scotland for Derek

Mackay in his just budget to decide how he is going to spend extra

money. How he will spend all the budget for 2017 and 2018. More

powers for income tax and what he can do to mitigate welfare cuts. He

will therefore next financial year make decisions about whether he uses

any of these powers, and he is cautious according to the SNP

Government. There will be a response to what Philip Hammond says for

Derek Mackay. He has a short periods to turn that around and four MSPs to

make their judgment on the budget. -- for MSPs.

A group of charities issued a joint warning today that people

with disabilities still face discrimination,

They asked 80 people what life was like for them.

And they said they simply didn't feel like equal members of society.

Well, I've been speaking to Delia Henry from

Disability Agenda Scotland, which published this report...

And John Clarke, who volunteers with Enable Scotland and has

John, is there still a lot of prejudice around people with

learning disabilities? There is... There are sort the Lee certain jobs

I have done. In charge of opening up and locking the shop. The manager

felt I was taking family first. It was a volunteer job. Why get rid of

you for doing a volunteer job? You are asking time off to take your

family to the Dr or whatever. A disgrace. Did you know your rights?

Know. I have a learning disability so I didn't know if I would have any

rights. Really, there was nothing that I did because I didn't know

there was anything I was able to do because they have a learning

disability. -- I have a learning disability. Going about your daily

business, do you feel equal with everyone else? No. Wherever you are,

I am still getting picked on. If I am on a bus when I was at school, I

had a speech problem. I got to the Lee taken out of the class. I went

to a special unit. I still get called names. I think everyone

should be treated the same as everyone else. You didn't ask to be

born with a learning disability. Why should you be treated different?

That is shocking, isn't it? We are still dealing with prejudice and

name-calling. It is dreadful. At Disability Agenda Scotland, we as

people like John about their experiences. It is all very well for

charities to say it is discrimination and stigma. We spoke

to people like John critically to get their experiences. Without it

was getting worse, people were telling us that. We are not sure why

but there is a lot of evidence to say that systems, the new welfare

system, Social Security is being much more difficult for people. It

is putting people under stress. We know people are telling us, like

John's experience, in the public that, critically, they are not being

treated well. This is not a small issue, there are 1 million people

with a disability in Scotland. This report we have launched today is

about raising the issues and asking the public to treat people with

dignity. John, what could make your life better's? Treating everyone the

same. Being listened to and have someone there to listen to you. And

for people to be patient? Yes. Do you get rushed at a job interview or

maybe if people like yourself are looking for benefits for example. It

is high-pressure? Yes. The benefits thing, it is a nightmare. You get

asked to go for a work focused interview every two or three months.

You get a different person each time. With me having a learning

disability, I would prefer to see the same face each time I go and not

see a different face. And I have chosen the Lee told them, they keep

asking when I can look for a job, I say, well, I am stressed out, I am

waiting to see a counsellor. They have the cheek to ask me how long I

think I will be on the counsellor's waiting list. How long I will be

stressed for? How long is a piece of string? That is what you have to say

to them. They are not happy with the answer you give. It is not just read

forward prejudice and dissemination. Often down to the system? Down to

lack of funding? -- discrimination. We are seeing public sector budgets

being cut, so is it getting worse? It is a challenge. We are hearing

that the thought of going to these assessments is even a challenge.

John has talked about the stress. Importantly, people with a

disability want to work. But we know 75% of the working population,

working age population, who don't have a disability are working. Only

just over 40% of people with a disability are working. Given the

financial pressures of the Social Security system, it is a really big

challenge. If you want to work, motivated to do it, not able to get

a job. We are looking for the importance of giving people

individual support, know the individual, treat them with dignity,

if you can get support and get into a job it will take a great

difference to your dignity. With me now to discuss some

of today's news are the author and political commentator

Gerry Hassan and the health We were talking at the start of the

programme about maternity wards. The Health Secretary says that Spielberg

bull stillbirth levels are the lowest ever. But it is often not

dealt with very well, as we have seen. To put yourself in the

position of losing a baby, it must be the most dramatic circumstance. I

am also concerned for women who are due to have their babies soon. It is

important they know that having a baby in Scotland has never been

safer than now. We have a patient safety programme. Over the last

eight years it has addressed issues of adverse events in our hospitals.

Stillbirths are down 18%, the lowest level ever. It is important that

people going into maternity hospitals know that now. How health

boards and systems handle caring for people who have been through

dramatic events is something that obviously needs to be dealt with.

Still, if people like Kenny Gibson and his family has to wait five

years. That is an astonishing amount of time. When I was a news

journalist, the people who spoke to me about debt problems, they didn't

want compensation. They wanted to know what had happened. -- care

problems. They wanted to know that lessons had learnt and it wouldn't

happen again. Surely the biggest problem is the lack of

accountability? One of the families in Ayrshire and Arran who lost their

child four years ago, they said no one asked us our story. You hear the

pain for years on. And the rightful anger of Kenny Gibson. He has been

critical of his Government appropriately. Talking about

accountability, a whistle-blower in Ayrshire. There are lots of good

news stories about public services, things like stillbirth, but Ayrshire

and Arran have the highest rate of death of newborn babies anywhere in

Britain. It is the fact I want people to know. If I heard people

saying it was about short staffing of maternity, if that is the case,

that is one of the strongest argument for centralising specialist

services such as maternity. If we are spreading our resource to then

-- too thin. Let's look at that. It takes a brave minister to do that.

Do you want to hear heartbreaking stories if they are avoidable? If

they are avoidable, that is a big if.

Well, President-elect Donald Trump has been busy,

announcing he'll abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade

Suggesting Nigel Farage become UK ambassador to the US.

And, according to one associate of Mr

Farage, who met him in New York last week, he's not very happy

He think Scotland is the most beautiful country in the world. That

he does not like wind farms. When I look out of my window, she says, the

windmills of enemy. Nigel, you have to do something about this. Put them

off shore, why spoil the countryside? He has asked about

getting rid of wind farms, get them off shore, I don't want to the most

beautiful country ever to be sullied by these awful windmills. Hasn't he

got bigger issues? What we will find with Donald Trump is that small

issues matter to him, in a negative way. He is thin skin. He pursues

vendettas. He has lost the popular vote by 2 million votes. An

accidental presidency. Ten years ago, he was a so-called Liberal

Democrat in New York. This will be a toxic, pick and mix presidency. It

will cause problems for the Democrats and the Republican Party

and the rest of the world. If you will be difficult, how will Scottish

politicians react? He seems to be vengeful and will stop at nothing to

take his revenge on people who see things has slighted him. He will be

pursuing his own business interests through his presidency, it has been

set, and the wind farms back that up. But there are people suggesting

that Nigel Farage ought to be the UK ambassador to the United States,

which is an extraordinary suggestion. It shows that it is

almost surreal, I think. If you are the Prime Minister, you are looking

to get a good deal post Brexit, does it not make sense to use whoever you

can to get a good deal? That is terrible logic. Donald Trump once do

conventional politics because he isn't a conventional politician,

which is why he got elected. And then it moves on to the Tories and

their internal strife. Nigel Farage is being used and she is being used

-- and she is using people as well. That's it for tonight.

Thanks for watching. I'm back again tomorrow

night, usual time. So do please join me then,

bye-bye. There are so many moments when you

walk outside how tiring I'd find it.

It's overwhelming. Welcome to Scotland's most remote

inhabited island. Came to Fair Isle and fell in love

with Fair Isle.