Baby deaths payouts begin in Vic

Compensation for families whose babies died at a regional Victorian hospital has begun.

An emergency department sign at a Hospital in Melbourne

File photo Source: AAP

The families of two babies who died at a Victorian hospital have received compensation, potentially paving the way for others.

Maurice Blackburn has received more than 50 inquiries about perinatal deaths and injuries at the Bacchus Marsh hospital dating back three decades.

Principal Kathryn Booth says they are trying to reach settlements on up to 20 cases for clients whose babies died or were injured or mothers who were injured at the hospital.

Obstetrics expert Euan Wallace, who last year led the review into the deaths of 10 babies at Djerriwarrh Health Services between 2013 and 2014, found seven could have been avoided.

The deaths were blamed on "multi-system" staff failures but no one doctor was found to be common to each case.

Following the results, Health Minister Jill Hennessy asked Professor Wallace to look at baby deaths and other serious cases at Djerriwarrh from before 2013, something which medical negligence law firms managing cases related to the deaths have also called for.

Anne Shortall, of Slater and Gordon, says the review should go beyond an investigation of stillbirths to include babies born at the hospital with significant neurological problems.

"I think the Department of Health should be looking at babies born with adverse outcomes who ended up needing ongoing care - that's very relevant in a case where babies are dying and also being injured," she told AAP on Wednesday.

Ms Shortall said her firm was investigating close to 20 cases involving Djerriwarrh dating back as far as the 1990s, including stillbirths and babies born with developmental problems before and after the review period.

Ms Hennessy last year sacked the Djerriwarrh board, replacing it with an administrator.

She said the compensation was another step in dealing with the tragic saga at Bacchus Marsh.

"You can never be compensated for losing a baby," she told reporters on Wednesday.

Parents have been urged to come forward if they had a baby who died or was injured during birth at Bacchus Marsh.

A spokesman for Djerriwarrh said a major change program was underway at the hospital, with support from the Royal Women's Hospital and Western Health.


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Source: AAP


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Baby deaths payouts begin in Vic | SBS News