We’re pleased that, following a High Court ruling, Charlotte can be confident that her son, Adam, will get the support he needs for the rest of his life.
Adam Cheshire was born at Shrewsbury Hospital nearly 35 hours after mum Charlotte’s waters broke. In the hours after his birth, Adam struggled to feed, was crying and started grunting, all signs of early-onset group B Strep (GBS) infection.
Around 14 hours after his birth, Adam was transferred to a neonatal intensive care unit. The following day he was diagnosed with GBS and meningitis. He spent nearly a month in intensive care.
Now aged 11, Adam has acquired brain injury. He has hearing and visual impairments. He has been diagnosed with autism, severe learning difficulties and behavioural problems. He is likely to be reliant on others to care for him for the rest of his life and will be unable to work.
Charlotte instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the family’s care under Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust. Last week, the High Court approved an agreement which will mean Adam will receive the lifetime specialist care and support he needs.
“Adam will never live an independent life and will need lifelong care. While I’m devoted to him, I’m now raising a severely disabled son, which is extremely challenging and has changed the path of both our lives forever.
My motivation is to make sure his needs are met and cared for, that is primary. Secondly, we’re trying to prevent any other family going through what I have gone through.”
Charlotte Cheshire, Adam’s Mum
Unlike many countries, the UK does not offer pregnant people testing for group B Strep carriage. National guidelines recommend that they should be provided with information about GBS during their pregnancy, but research has found this is not always happening.
“Charlotte’s concerns both before and after his birth weren’t acted upon and, when Adam was showing signs of infection, escalation came too late.
Most group B Strep infections in newborn babies are preventable. Adam’s was not prevented and, as a result of his GBS infection, he now lives with multiple and severe disabilities. We can and must do better to stop this from happening. The financial cost is huge, and so is the human cost.”
Jane Plumb MBE FRCOG FRSA
