Adam Cheshire was born at Shrewsbury Hospital nearly 35 hours after mum Charlotte’s waters broke. In the hours after his birth Adam struggled to feed, was crying and started grunting, all signs of early-onset Group B Strep infection, a type of bacterial infection which can lead to life-threatening conditions such as meningitis if not treated quickly.
Now aged 11, Adam has brain damage. He has hearing and visually impairments and has been diagnosed with autism, severe learning difficulties and behavioural problems. He is likely to be reliant on others to care for him for the rest of his life and will be unable to work.Charlotte, 45, of Newport, Shropshire, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the family’s care under Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust.
The next stage of his case involves obtaining evidence to establish the amount of compensation Adam requires to help fund the specialist life-long care and therapy he needs. “At no point in my pregnancy or in the hours after Adam was born was I told about Group B Strep. I later found out following a review of my records, that early in my pregnancy it was decided that I wouldn’t have a test for GBS because I didn’t have the risk factors associated with it. It was very hard to learn that this had been considered but not discussed with me considering the eventual outcome.
“My heart goes out to all the other families who have been affected by maternity issues, not only at Shrewsbury and Telford but elsewhere. There continues to be too many stories of how families are left to pick up the pieces following care failings so it’s vital that families continue to speak out. What’s happened can never be forgotten and improvements in care need to continue to be made, not just at Shrewsbury and Telford but elsewhere.