NHS trust paid £2m under maternity safety scheme despite being blamed for the avoidable death of newborn Ida Lock, raising serious concerns about the accountability of the Maternity Incentive Scheme.
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay (UHMB) NHS Trust received substantial financial rewards after self-certifying compliance with safety standards—even though a coroner ruled its negligence directly contributed to the death of baby Ida in 2019.
Coroner slams ‘gross failure’ in care
Senior coroner James Adeley concluded that three midwives at Royal Lancaster Infirmary, managed by UHMB, failed to provide basic medical care during Ida’s birth. The newborn suffered a fatal brain injury due to oxygen deprivation and died a week later.
The lead midwife was found to have shown a “wholly incompetent failure” in delivering urgent care and neonatal resuscitation, with eight critical opportunities missed to alter the outcome.
Family ‘disgusted’ as trust claims safety record
Despite the ruling and evidence that UHMB had not learned from previous maternity failings, the trust claimed it met all 10 safety standards under the NHS’s Maternity Incentive Scheme in 2019, the same year Ida died.
This certification earned the trust £734,112. UHMB also received £1.28m in 2018 and later claimed full compliance again in 2020—although this was downgraded following a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection that rated the trust’s maternity care as “inadequate”.
The trust was forced to repay most of the 2019 payment after the CQC report triggered a review by NHS Resolution.
Ida’s mother Sarah Robinson described the trust’s claims and payments as “another kick in the teeth,” while her father Ryan Lock called it “disgusting,” accusing UHMB of “painting a false picture” to gain financial benefit.
Failures echo past tragedies
The coroner’s findings echoed failures highlighted in a 2015 independent inquiry by Dr Bill Kirkup, which exposed 11 preventable baby deaths and one maternal death at UHMB’s Furness General Hospital.
Dr Kirkup said he was not surprised by UHMB’s latest actions, stating that some NHS trusts focus more on “presenting the best picture of themselves” rather than making genuine improvements in care.
Systemic abuse of incentive scheme
UHMB is not the only NHS trust to misuse the Maternity Incentive Scheme. Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust and East Kent University Hospitals NHS Trust were also forced to repay nearly £1m and £2m respectively after falsely claiming compliance, despite high-profile scandals and hundreds of preventable baby deaths between them.
NHS Resolution confirmed UHMB’s self-certification was later found to be inaccurate for multiple years. The trust had to repay the funds, which were redistributed to compliant trusts.
In a statement, NHS Resolution said UHMB was “not fully compliant” in 2019 and 2020. Despite previously apologizing for its role in Ida Lock’s death, the trust declined to comment on its participation in the Maternity Incentive Scheme.
