Secret $10m payouts in Bacchus Marsh Hospital baby tragedy

UP to $10 million has been paid to families whose babies died or were injured at Bacchus Marsh Hospital’s notorious obstetrics unit, it can be revealed.

THE full scale of the Bacchus Marsh Hospital baby death scandal can finally be revealed, with dozens more families ­suffering tragedies than previously acknowledged.

Up to $10 million has so far been paid to 35 families for the deaths or injuries suffered during botched deliveries in the hospital’s obstet­rics unit.

COUPLE ALLEGES MIDWIVES FAILED TO MONITOR BABY’S HEARTBEAT

PARENTS BLAST BACCHUS MARSH HOSPITAL OVER BABY’S DEATH

BACCHUS MARSH HOSPITAL PATIENT NUMBERS DROP

More claims against Djerriwarrh Health Service, the authority which runs the hospital, are pending. The confidential settlements have all been made since April 2015, when a cluster of suspect deaths emerged at the hospital in a scandal medical and legal experts say is unprecedented.

Details obtained by the Sunday Herald Sun reveal the number of families caught up in the tragedies has spread far beyond the previously confirmed 11 infant deaths, which two high-level investigations ruled were potentially avoidable.

The number of families caught up in the tragedies has spread far beyond the previously confirmed 11 infant deaths. Picture: Nicole Garmston

The Andrews Government, its insurer and Djerriwarrh Health have all fought Freedom of Information bids to avoid detailing the scale of the scandal but, as details emerged, Maurice Blackburn medical negligence lawyer Tom Ballantyne said the numbers were “extraordinary”.

“The problem is far wider than just the avoidable deaths that have been identified,” he said. “It’s extraordinary in this day and age with the advances in medical training and advances in technology to still have this sort of cluster.

“If a child has, hypothetically, suffered a permanent brain injury, the care and assistance they require for their life is always assessed into the millions of dollars.

“It is a double trauma for them (the parents). They have gone through the initial trauma of the death or injury and then, in some cases up to 10 years later, someone has come back to them and they have found out it was all avoidable.”

The Sunday Herald Sun learnt confidential details of the settlements after months of investigation and Freedom of Information battles.

It is believed the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority paid between $7 million and $10 million in damages to Bacchus Marsh Hospital patients between April 1, 2015, when the baby deaths first came to light, and March 1 this year.

Lorraine Long from Medical Error ­Action Group. Picture: John Appleyard

Of the 38 claims settled with Djerriwarrh Health, 35 involved death or injury during obstetric care dating back to 1994. In many cases, families were not told of issues around the death or injury to their ­babies until the cluster was ­revealed by the Herald Sun.

Families involved in seven avoidable deaths in 2013-14, who were identified in an initial investigation, have all received payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars. A second investigation found four more babies died in avoidable circumstances between 2001 and 2013. It is not known how many of their families have ­received settlements.

Systems at the hospital have since undergone a major overhaul, with staff training, equipment, governance and oversight all improved to avoid further issues. But Lorraine Long from Medical Error ­Action Group said action was needed to stop hospitals and doctors hiding behind confidential settlements.

“I can’t understand why they want to keep this secret,” she said. “It all comes down to what is more important — the reputation of the hospital, or the safety of patients?”

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