Health

Poppy Russell’s Parents Push NHS to Adopt Compassionate Care After Baby’s Preventable Death

By Today News Hours Editorial Desk

When Poppy Russell died 12 hours after birth in April 2021 at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, her parents were left bereft. An inquest later concluded that her death was preventable. Instead of leaving the trust that had failed them, Neil and Katie Russell are now working with the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH) to bring compassionate care back into the NHS.

Katie Russell said the family could have been consumed by hate and anger, but if no change came from what happened to Poppy, then “what’s the point?” Poppy’s mother had told midwives during her pregnancy that she had tokophobia, a fear of natural birth, and wanted a caesarean section. She was repeatedly told she could not simply ask for a c‑section. When labour began, Katie was induced and then left in a room for long periods with no care. When they finally entered the labour suite, she was not monitored appropriately and signs that Poppy was in distress were missed. Poppy was delivered by emergency caesarean, but by then she had developed a hypoxic brain injury and died later that day.

The inquest found that if Poppy had been born an hour earlier she would have survived. SaTH, which ran the hospital, blamed Katie for her daughter’s death, claiming she had refused foetal monitoring; the inquest concluded that was untrue. Neil Russell said the trust left them in an appalling position and that staff had tried to cover up the failings. “Losing your daughter is one thing, but then to find that there was a cavalcade of lies was almost as bad,” he said.

Following the 2023 inquest, the trust acknowledged failings in the care provided and promised improvements to maternity services. In March 2024 the couple met with the trust to discuss what had happened. From those discussions, Neil and Katie decided they needed to honour Poppy. They created Poppy’s Promise, based on four care principles: compassion, acknowledgement, respect and empowerment.

Poppy’s Promise is now being rolled out to all 8,000 SaTH staff as part of an improvement programme. The trust has also embedded a question about compassionate care into its recruitment processes. Midwifery ward manager Tasha Simmons said the training reminds staff that they are there for a woman’s journey, not their own. Emergency medicine consultant Dr Adrian Marsh noted that staff face high pressure and compassion fatigue, but research shows that treating patients with compassion and empathy leads to better outcomes.

Poppy’s parents say other NHS organisations and some universities have contacted them to explore incorporating Poppy’s Promise into their teaching programmes, with the goal of embedding compassionate care throughout the health service.