A HOSPITAL in Liverpool has apologised after “cultural bias and stereotyping” caused delays to the care given to a pregnant Black woman who later died.

The woman was taken to Liverpool Women’s Hospital (LWH) by the North West Ambulance Service on 13 March 2023.

The 31-year-old woman – who was 18 weeks pregnant – was taken to the gynaecology ward. She was suffering from “acute” pain, according to investigators from the Maternity and Newborn Safety Investigations (MSNI).

The mother – whose condition was deteriorating – was given an ultrasound scan the following day, which found that her baby had sadly died.

“Missed opportunities”

She was then rushed to the Royal Liverpool Hospital, as her condition became critical, but she also sadly died two days later.

The MSNI report into her death suggested that “an unconscious cultural bias delayed the timing of diagnosis and response to her clinical deterioration”. 

The report also concluded that ethnicity and health inequalities impacted on the care provided to the pregnant woman.

A MNSI concerns panel on 7 November 2023, also noted that “the approach presented by some staff, and information gathered from staff interviews, gives the impression that cultural bias and stereotyping may sometimes go unchallenged and be perceived as culturally acceptable within the Trust.”

The women’s cause of death was recorded as acute intestinal ischaemia – where the blood flow to the bowel is restricted – and thrombophilia and pregnancy. 

According to the report there were “missed opportunities” to escalate the level of care and pain relief the women received.

In England, Black babies are almost three times more likely to die than white babies, according to alarming new figures.

The latest data from the National Child Mortality Database, shows the child death rate in the year ending 31 March 2023 was highest for children of black or black British ethnicity, at 8.7 per 1,000 live births, approximately three times the rate of infants of white ethnicity at 3.0 per 1,000 live births.

‘Racism exists’

LWH has issued an apology and has said they recognise racism exists within the organisation.

The hospital said: “At Liverpool Women’s we recognise that racism, including that which might present as unconscious bias, exists in our society, in our city and therefore exists within our organisation. 

“We do not shy away from this, and we are committed to learning and improving in partnership with our workforce, our patients, and our communities.”

The statement continued: “We acknowledge our failure to be more explicit in our language when talking about the existence and impact of racism in our organisation. We are sorry for the upset that this has caused. We recognise the seriousness and the scale of the change we need to make. We openly and transparently shared the details of this tragic case within our board meeting for public scrutiny.

“Our anti-racism programme, which we commenced in 2022, will continue and will be further shaped by the learning from recent events and from the feedback we have received over the last few days.

“We want to extend our sincere condolences to the family involved in this tragic case. We are absolutely committed to learn, improve and embed change to ensure that no woman experiences any detriment in her care due to her ethnicity.”

The hospital has recently published the findings of a report which detailed the tragic death of the pregnant Black mother in their care.

The report can read here: