The British government apologized on Wednesday after publishing a report concluding that the deaths of 200 children in a hospital in northwest England could have been avoided with proper care and not insisting on avoiding caesarean sections.
"I offer my apologies to all the families who have suffered so badly," British Health Minister Sajid Javid told MPs.
He explained that this report, which highlights the scale of this two-decade scandal, "clearly shows that you suffered because of a service that was there to help you and your loved ones bring life into this world."
The report, launched in 2017, and published on Wednesday morning, looked at 1,592 reported incidents at Shrewsbury Hospital, involving 1,486 families, mostly between 2000 and 2019.
The report reached alarming conclusions, as it asserted that 201 children would have survived if the hospital had provided them with better care.
Nine mothers died due to poor care, while others were forced to give birth naturally when they had to undergo a caesarean section.
The 250-page report refers, in particular, to cases of newborns suffering from skull fractures, broken bones and brain problems after they faced a lack of oxygen at the time of birth.
'Significant' deficiencies were also noted in a quarter of the 498 stillborn babies studied.
In 40% of cases, no internal investigation was conducted in the hospital.
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- Agencies