More than 100 maternity staff sue NHS over gas exposure

More than 100 maternity staff are taking legal action against a hospital trust after being exposed to what they say were "hazardous" levels of nitrous oxide.

The staff, who include midwives and healthcare assistants, all worked at Basildon Hospital in Essex between 2018 and 2023.

Symptoms including fatigue, anxiety, headaches and "brain fog" were reported.

The trust that runs the hospital has said it "should have acted faster to address the issues".

The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has already paid out £89,000 in settlements over claims staff were exposed to "excessive and foreseeably dangerous" levels of Entonox, which is often called gas and air.

A total of 141 claims have been received, according to the NHS.

Entonox is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen that is used as pain relief for women giving birth. Levels can build up quickly in the air without adequate ventilation.

According to the claimants, levels of nitrous oxide can build up quickly in maternity units with poor ventilation. The gas enters the atmosphere when birthing mothers exhale, when gas lines are leaky, and when cannisters of nitrous oxide are opened and connected to equipment.

Maternity staff were exposed to gas levels up to 30 times higher than the legal workplace exposure limit, an internal hospital report found.

For people giving birth, the NHS says gas and air is "generally very safe", and side effects are not expected until after patients have used it for longer than six hours.

One female staff member taking part in the legal action, who did not wish to be named, told the BBC she and her colleagues had been "poisoned".

The way they were treated was a "massive kick in the teeth" and it had caused widespread anger, she said.

"A lot of people were suffering from chronic fatigue, constant headaches, low vitamin B12, which was subsequently causing things like heart palpitations and very foggy heads," she said.

They were seeking "justice for the staff" who "work tirelessly" to safely deliver babies, she added.

"You've got people sitting in offices that need to be held accountable for their actions," she said.

In another case, a midwife said she had collapsed at work due to the symptoms, which included headaches, low mood and anxiety.

Another claimant said she had experienced pain in her hands and feet.

Other symptoms listed in the court filing include "excessive fatigue and irritability".

The women are seeking compensation for personal injury in excess of £1,500 each.

In 2024, the trust admitted there had been "unacceptable delays in responding to and mitigating a serious risk".

Denise Townsend, the acting chief nursing officer for the trust, said: "Since the incident we have learnt lessons and part of this is that we have improved our oversight of the monitoring of medical gases across the maternity unit at Basildon Hospital."

The BBC understands that the trust has since installed equipment that removes nitrous oxide from the air.

The case is next due to be heard in July.

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