An NHS trust paid out £44 million in childbirth and maternity medical negligence claims over a four-year period.

NHS Resolution released the data following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by law firm Legal Expert.

It showed that between April 2019 and April 2023, 32 of these claims against Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust - which runs the Royal Free Hospital, Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital - were closed.

In total, the trust paid out £44 million in damages, £1.3 million in NHS legal costs and £4.2 million in claimant legal costs.

Due to the fact medical negligence claims can sometimes take years to resolve, some of these claims will have been lodged before April 2019.

Over the same period, the Royal Free Trust received 60 medical negligence claims for childbirth and maternity services, but many of these are still yet to be resolved.

The trust’s two main maternity hospitals are Barnet Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital.

It also provides maternity services at Chase Farm Hospital, Edgware Community Hospital, and Finchley Memorial Hospital.

Responding to the FoI findings, a Royal Free London spokesperson said that the trust delivers over 7,500 babies every year, and that the 32 claims relate to incidents that occurred as far back as 20 years ago.

They added: “The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust provides a safe environment for those who choose to give birth at one of our sites.

“The vast majority of women and birthing people have a positive experience with our services.

“When this is not the case, we ensure our staff share and learn from their experiences, and listen to patients, to reduce the risk of mistakes happening again in the future.

“We would like to take this opportunity to once again apologise to all the families affected.”