Latest news with #Nottingham
BBC News
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Man in hospital after police car and e-bike crash in St Ann's
A man was taken to hospital after a crash involving an e-bike and a police car in happened at about 15:15 BST on Thursday, near the junction of Marmion Road and Carlton Road, in St Ann's, Nottinghamshire Police said. An e-bike rider was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre with injuries "not thought to be life-altering or life-threatening", the force added. A cordon was put in place while the crash was dealt with and the police car involved was recovered from the scene. The road has since reopened.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
What next for troubled Nottingham NHS trust after £1.6m fine?
The NHS is largely funded by public money paid for through taxes and national February, one of the busiest and biggest NHS trusts in England was given a record £1.6m fine over maternity failings in connection with the deaths of three University Hospitals (NUH) NHS trust is already at the centre of the largest maternity review of its kind in the NHS, following hundreds of baby deaths and injuries. When it was fined at Nottingham Magistrates' Court, the judge said the trust was operating at a deficit of about £100m, and added there was "no money to pay any substantial fines without requiring the trust to make further cuts".District Judge Grace Leong considered other court judgements and guidelines for comparable offences before handing down the why was an already struggling, publicly-funded service given such a large fine, and what justice did the fine bring for the families the trust let down? The details of the case Adele O'Sullivan died on 7 April 2021 - just 26 minutes old - Kahlani Rawson died on 15 June at four days old and Quinn Lias Parker died on 16 July at two days old. NUH pleaded guilty to six counts of failing to provide safe care and treatment to the babies and their mothers, in a prosecution brought by the healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The court heard there were similar failings in all three cases, including a failure to expedite the delivery of the babies, not recognising serious conditions, communication issues and staff not being equipped to interpret anomalies in foetal heart monitoring. It was the second time the trust had been prosecuted by the CQC for maternity failings. In 2023, the trust was fined £800,000 over the death of Wynter Andrews, who died shortly after her birth at the Queen's Medical Centre in 2019. Until this year, that fine was the largest handed down for maternity failings. NUH prosecutions make up two of five maternity-related criminal prosecutions brought by the CQC. The watchdog gained powers under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated activities) Regulations 2014, in prosecution by the CQC is separate from any prosecution that could arise from a corporate manslaughter investigation, which was opened earlier this 2 June, Nottinghamshire Police said it was examining whether maternity care provided by NUH had been grossly negligent. How did the judge decide on £1.6m? In her sentencing remarks, District Judge Grace Leong said she would have to fix a "significant financial penalty" to mark the gravity of the offences, but also had to strike "a delicate balance"."I cannot ignore the negative impact that the fine will have on services to patients at a time when the NHS continues to face unprecedented challenges both in terms of insufficient funding, the backlog of patients waiting for treatment and the demands placed upon the trust's services from an ageing population," the judge was no ceiling to the level of fine the judge could meant the sentence was a matter of discretion, with the judge considering other sources of guidance - such as any High Court or Court of Appeal judgements - and other sentencing guidelines for comparable was reduced from a starting point of £5.5m, as the judge took into account the financial implications on the public body and its guilty pleas. How could the fine impact services? In response to the BBC, a statement from NUH chief executive Anthony May said: "We fully accept the findings from court, including the fine handed down by the judge. "The mothers and families of these babies have had to endure things that no family should after the care provided by our hospitals failed them, and for that I am truly sorry."We will work to ensure to minimise the impact of the fine on our patients, including ongoing efforts to improve our maternity services."NUH did not want to put anyone forward for interview, and did not wish to detail how the fine might impact services. Roy Lilley, former chairman of the old Homewood NHS Trust in Chertsey, Surrey - which later merged with Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust - and now an independent commentator on health service issues, said some impact on services would be "inevitable". "Clearly a chunk of money like £1.6m is going to have an impact on the trust's ability to operate."The day-to-day running of the trust is, of course, difficult enough with all the financial pressures but to have this kind of money taken out of its revenue balances, it makes it even more difficult," he said. Mr Lilley - who has not worked for NUH - added: "It will certainly slow down some of the plans that they had in terms of improvements.""Generally it has a very bad effect, a big impact on the trust's ability to respond," he said. Mr Lilley said it was possible for trusts to seek loans from the Department of Health of Social Care (DHSC) in the face of financial difficulty. The BBC understands while NHS trusts are expected to meet their legal and financial obligations - including prosecution fines - they can access loans in some instances. The trust's annual budget is £1.8bn. What does the fine mean to the families? The families affected by NUH's maternity failings have consistently called for the sentencing, solicitor Natalie Cosgrave - representing the parents of baby Quinn - said in a statement that the prosecution was "the only system that exists" to obtain Simpson, an associate clinical negligence solicitor who represented the families of Adele and Kahlani, told the BBC the trust's guilty plea was "some level of accountability, but it's only one part of a much bigger picture".To the bereaved families, it is individuals who should be held accountable, not just the trust as an organisation, Ms Simpson Simpson has also represented the families of Adele and Kahlani, as well as others, in civil claims against NUH. At each stage of the various investigations and proceedings they have endured - including inquests, internal reviews and court hearings - the families have called for more change and scrutiny. Ms Simpson said: "The judge was very clear that a fine is the only sentence that she can impose, and no fine is ever going to be enough when you've lost your child." During the sentencing in February, the earlier case of Wynter Andrews - who died 23 minutes after being born - was referenced several parents Sarah and Gary Andrews watched the hearing from the public gallery "as concerned parents", but did not know their daughter's case would be mentioned "quite so prominently". "I think for us it's important to highlight that this process is the only avenue that families have to get some accountability," he said."The judge is in a really difficult position, I feel, but we're counting pennies over babies' lives." Where does the money go? The fine is paid to HM Treasury - the government's finance ministry which controls public spending - as with any prosecution affected in this case will not receive any of the money from the trust was also told to cover prosecution costs of £67,755.23 and a victim surcharge of £ costs in this case will be paid to the CQC. The victim surcharge - which is imposed on offenders to ensure they hold some responsibility towards the cost of support victims and witnesses - goes to a general fund and not directly to those involved. That money provides a contribution towards Ministry of Justice-funded support services for victims and witnesses. The £1.6m fine is separate from the tens of millions of pounds the trust has paid out in damages for civil claims in relation to maternity care. What next for the trust? Nottinghamshire Police's investigation into the trust's maternity services - called Operation Perth - has seen more than 200 family cases referred to it so the separate maternity review by senior midwife Donna Ockenden is currently examining the testimony of more than 2,000 cases. The review began in September 2022 and closed to new cases at the end of May. Ms Ockenden's final report of findings is due to be published in June last week, the trust announced plans to cut at least 430 jobs in an attempt to save £97m in the next planned job cuts follow the government's instruction to all trusts to reduce the size of their corporate and support services, and were not as a result of the record fine, the trust said.
Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Katie Boulter triumphs in sweltering three-set Battle of the Brits against Sonay Kartal - as British No2 eyes Nottingham Open three-peat on the court she calls her 'house'
Katie Boulter calls the Centre Court here in Nottingham her 'house' and showed on Thursday she will not be handing the keys over without a fight. The 28-year-old, who grew up in nearby Leicester and trained at this tennis centre as a child, has won the Nottingham Open in each of the past two years. And she kept her bid for a record-breaking third successive title on course by beating Sonay Kartal in a 2hr 26min Battle of Britain. Boulter appeared to be wilting in the 28°C heat against her Billie Jean King Cup team-mate, requiring painkillers after being blown away in the second set, then going a break down in the third. 'I am definitely proper British because I can't handle the heat,' the eighth seed joked afterwards. 'It was killing me.' But Boulter came back from the dead to break back for 4-4 in the deciding set, then went on to seal a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 win and set up a quarter-final today against American McCartney Kessler. 'This is as close as home can ever feel like for me,' said the world No 39, who confirmed she has entered the US Open mixed doubles with her fiance Alex de Minaur. 'I literally feel like I step into my house when I come on to this court. 'At the very end, I just wanted to grit my teeth as hard as I could and get over the line.' Boulter will reclaim the British No 1 spot if she reaches another final in Nottingham, having been displaced by Emma Raducanu last week. However, she expects Kartal to soon surpass her in the rankings. Kartal was ranked as low as 271st at the start of last year's grass-court season. But the 23-year-old has enjoyed an astonishing rise in the past 12 months to soar into the world top 50 for the first time. 'I am going into Wimbledon feeling super confident,' said Kartal. 'My goal was to end the year top 50, so I am proud to have done it halfway through. 'To have three Brits close together in the rankings, the No 1 spot is in the back of our minds. It is really good to have that rivalry.' British 17-year-old Mimi Xu lost 7-5, 6-1 to Polish sixth seed Magda Linette in her debut WTA tournament. Defeat came a day after she sat a biology A-level exam - and was handed a wildcard for Wimbledon. 'After my match on Tuesday, I was just in revision mode and I didn't think about tennis until after the exam,' said Xu. 'To get the news about the wildcard was amazing. I was so happy.'
BBC News
16 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Boulter passes Kartal test to reach Nottingham quarters
Katie Boulter had to dig deep to beat Sonay Kartal in an all-British tie and keep her bid for a third straight Nottingham Open title on trailed in the deciding set and almost went a double break down before regrouping to win 6-4 1-6 7-5 and reach the seed Boulter also called for the doctor during the match after struggling with the hot weather."I am definitely proper British because I can't handle the heat at all," the 28-year-old said."I'm just glad I got over the line."Boulter is on a 12-match winning streak in Nottingham, having won her first WTA Tour title in the city two years Englishwoman will now face American McCartney Kessler for a place in the last four."I feel like I step into my house when I come on to this court. I have such great vibes here," Boulter is the last Briton in the women's singles after Welsh teenager Mimi Xu was beaten by Poland's Magda Linette earlier on Thursday World number 39 Boulter said before the match that she expected Kartal, who is just 11 places behind her in the rankings, would surpass her at some started strongly, breaking Kartal for a 5-4 lead before serving out the opening set, but her opponent reeled off five games in a row on her way to taking the quickly found herself trailing in the third set and Kartal had a break point for a 5-2 Boulter rallied, first holding serve, then breaking for 4-4 and breaking again as Kartal served to force a tie-break."I have so much respect for Sonay, she is such a tough competitor," Boulter said."I just wanted to grit my teeth as hard as I could and get myself over the line."
Times
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Times
Katie Boulter overcomes heat to beat Sonay Kartal at Nottingham Open
Katie Boulter is on home territory at the Nottingham Open, returning to courts she has played on since childhood, but even the British No2 was surprised at the problems posed by temperatures of 28C as she battled to a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 victory over Sonay Kartal. She was less surprised by the stiff challenge posed by Kartal, the upwardly mobile British No3 who has risen rapidly up the rankings in the past year. Although grass is not her favoured surface, she forced Boulter to dig deep to keep alive her hopes of a third consecutive victory in this tournament. After Boulter had moved smoothly through the first set, Kartal hit back to dominate the second and build a 4-2 lead in the third. But Boulter kept her cool and rediscovered her rhythm, with the help of a few ice towels and the local support, putting pressure back on Kartal's serve, edging a compelling contest that lasted 2hr 26min, sapping the energy of both players.
