Essex maternity staff pursue legal action over nitrous oxide exposure
Over 100 hospital workers say they suffered health problems
More than 100 maternity staff from ©are taking legal action against Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust due to exposure to nitrous oxide.
An independent review conducted two years ago highlighted that the trust failed to act with candour and significantly delayed its response to concerns about dangerous gas levels in the hospital's maternity unit.
The review, executed by the Good Governance Institute, concluded that midwives and other staff faced unnecessary risks to their health. The institute stated that the high levels of gas on the wards needed immediate attention when concerns were first raised in July 2021, but action was not taken until October 2022.
The complaint includes midwives and healthcare assistants who worked at the hospital between 2018 and 2023, citing health issues such as fatigue, anxiety, headaches, and "brain fog," according to BBC reports.
Nitrous oxide, mixed 50:50 with oxygen and known as "gas and air," is commonly used by the NHS to help manage pain during labour and is generally considered safe for this purpose.
However, the Health and Safety Executive indicates that prolonged exposure in the workplace to high levels of nitrous oxide can lead to serious health effects, including neurological problems and anaemia.
Denise Townsend, Acting Chief Nursing Officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“We are sorry and acknowledge that we should have acted faster to address the issues. Since the incident we have learnt lessons and part of this is that we have improved our oversight of the monitoring of medical gases across the maternity unit at Basildon Hospital.”
Background information from the trust reveals that scavenger equipment has been installed to remove nitrous oxide from the air within the hospital.
This problem has affected multiple hospital trusts across England.
Due to patient confidentiality and legal reasons, the trust has not confirmed the number of claims settled.
However, the total value of claims is slightly more than £89,000, covering damages, claimant costs, and NHS legal costs.
NHS Resolution has received 141 claims related to this issue.