Parents Turn Tragedy Into NHS Compassion Initiative After Baby’s Death

Grieving parents who were wrongly blamed for their infant’s death are collaborating with the hospital trust responsible for the tragedy to reshape patient care across the NHS.

Neil and Katie Russell lost their daughter, Poppy, in April 2021 at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. The baby survived only 12 hours after birth. An inquest later determined that Poppy’s death was preventable and could have been avoided had she been delivered an hour earlier.

During her pregnancy, Katie Russell reported suffering from tokophobia, an intense fear of natural childbirth, and requested a caesarean section. She stated that midwives repeatedly insisted she could not simply request the procedure. When labour began, she was induced and claimed she was left without care for extended periods. Once transferred to the labour suite, she alleged that monitoring was inadequate and signs of fetal distress were missed, ultimately requiring an emergency caesarean by which time Poppy had suffered a hypoxic brain injury.

Following the death, the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust (SaTH) accused Katie of refusing fetal monitoring, a claim the subsequent inquest debunked as untrue. The couple also alleged that staff attempted to cover up the failures.

“The trust left us in an appalling position,” said Neil Russell. “Not only were they found to have neglected our care, but in the months and years following, we uncovered that members of staff had tried to cover it up. Losing your daughter is one thing, but then to find that there was a cavalcade of lies was almost as bad.”

After the 2023 inquest, the trust issued an apology, acknowledging failings in the care provided. In March 2024, theRussells met with hospital leadership to discuss these events, leading to the creation of “Poppy’s Promise.”

“We could have very easily been consumed by hate and anger and rage at what happened – and those feelings are still there,” Katie Russell said. “But if no change comes from what happened to Poppy, then what’s the point?”

Neil Russell described the initiative as stemming from a desire to be treated as human beings. The framework rests on four pillars: compassion, acknowledgement, respect, and empowerment. It emphasizes seeing the patient as a person rather than a diagnosis and involving them actively in their care.

Katie recalled a midwife who offered genuine kindness during the traumatic birth, noting that the gesture remained a beacon of support. “She came in and said, ‘how are you doing? I just want to hug you,'” she remembered. “That will always stay with me because it’s exactly what I needed at that point.”

Poppy’s death occurred against the backdrop of a wider maternity inquiry which found that up to 201 babies and nine mothers might have survived with improved care. In response, SaTH is now rolling out Poppy’s Promise to all 8,000 staff members, integrating the principles into recruitment processes.

Tasha Simmons, a midwifery ward manager, highlighted the importance of focus on the patient’s experience. “The most important part of the training is to remind me that we are here on a woman’s journey, they are not on our journey,” she said.

Dr. Adrian Marsh, an emergency medicine consultant, acknowledged the challenges posed by high workloads and emotional fatigue but noted research indicating that compassionate care leads to fewer complications and better outcomes.

The Russell’s efforts have already attracted interest from other NHS organizations and universities looking to adopt the program. Their ultimate goal is to embed compassionate care throughout the health service.