At least 350 newborn babies are dying each year in Britain because the NHS financial pressures are putting off doctors from checking for a life-threatening abnormality during pregnancy.

Vasa praevia occurs when the blood vessels from the placenta or unbilical cord block the baby’s exit from the womb. When the mother’s waters break, these blood vessels rupture and cause the baby to lose massive amounts of blood and die.

The condition can be detected by ultrasound as part of the routine 20 week scan, and the mother then admitted to hospital to be monitored for several weeks before her baby is born by caesarean.

Cutting costs

However, NHS trusts resist carrying out checks for the condition owing to the fact that affected women have to spend between four and 14 weeks in hospital being monitored. Senior consultants have admitted not carrying out the checks for the condition to avoid the costs of caring for those affected.

The condition is routinely checked for in countries such as the USA, Germany and Holland, and survival rate is almost 100% if diagnosed early. If the condition is ignored, then the mortality rate in babies which would otherwise be healthy is over 90%. One in every 2,500 babies born may die of the condition.

The cash-strapped NHS, who resist performing checks which prevent healthy babies dying unnecessarily, spent around £55million on translation services for those who do not speak English, spent thousands of pounds on Trust name changes and spent £70,000 on a “decorative” rock which was placed in the entrance of a London hospital. All these things are obviously more important than saving the lives of babies!”

As well as the things you say the NHS would rather spend money on, they have also spent "at least £62 million" on foreign nationals who are not entitled to free treatment. ( full article here )

Outrageous beyond belief.