More than 120 midwives and maternity staff at Basildon University Hospital were awarded nearly £750,000 in compensation after being exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide from 2021 to 2023 due to poor ventilation and leaking gas lines. The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) took legal action on behalf of the workers who experienced symptoms like fatigue and headaches. An independent review found that the hospital delayed addressing these issues for over a year after initial concerns were raised in July 2021, leading to unnecessary risk for staff.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In 2021, midwives and maternity staff at Basildon University Hospital were exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas or Entonox, due to poor ventilation and leaking gas lines. The exposure continued until 2023 without proper safety measures being implemented, despite the trust knowing about potential risks since July 2021. Symptoms reported by staff included fatigue, headaches, brain fog, and anxiety. After legal action initiated by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) on behalf of over 120 workers, including 85 midwives, a settlement was reached in early 2024 for nearly £750,000. The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged the delay in addressing the issue and apologized to staff. This case marks one of the largest group legal actions ever brought by midwives in the UK.
Written for “Midwives Payout Over Gas Exposure” on 2026-10-13,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 75406 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-13
More than 120 midwives and maternity staff have been awarded almost £750,000 in compensation after being exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide.
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midwives → award → oxide
The compound, known as laughing gas, is used for pain relief in labour, but long-term exposure has side-effects.
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exposure → know → effects
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said staff at Basildon University Hospital were exposed due to poor ventilation on the maternity unit and leaking gas lines from 2021 to 2023.
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staff → say → 2023
Midwives reported symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, brain fog and anxiety.
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Midwives → report → fatigue
The RCM took legal action on behalf of more than 120 workers, with a settlement of almost £750,000 agreed.
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RCM → take → 750,000
Daniel Poet, of the RCM's solicitors, Thompsons, said: 'We're proud to have secured compensation for our clients, but they should never have been put at risk in the first place.
'
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they → say → place
The trust knew about the dangers in 2021, but staff weren't told until the following year and it took another year for safety measures to be introduced.
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measures → know → year
'
An independent review in 2024 by the Good Governance Institute found an 'unacceptable delay' by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
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review → find → Trust
It concluded midwives and other staff on the maternity unit were 'exposed to unnecessary risk or potential harm' and that high levels of gas on wards 'needed to be treated as a significant risk to health' when concerns were raised in July 2021, but this was not done until October 2022.
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this → conclude → October
More than 120 midwives and maternity staff have been awarded almost £750,000 in compensation after being exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide (stock image)
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midwives → award → oxide
Gill Walton, head of the RCM, said: 'For years, midwives were breathing in nitrous oxide at dangerous levels while caring for women and babies.
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midwives → say → women
Even once the problem had been discovered, it was more than a year before staff were told.'
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staff → discover → ?
She hailed the settlement as a 'landmark' that 'should make every NHS employer sit up and take notice' but stressed that the gas is safe for women to use for pain relief during labour, saying: 'This case was about the conditions midwives were working in, not the gas itself.'
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midwives → hail → conditions
She added: 'No settlement can fix the crumbling buildings midwives are working in across the UK.
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midwives → add → UK
Too many are still working in units with failing ventilation, leaking equipment and outdated facilities.
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many → work → ventilation
Our members continue to report recurring problems with ventilation and clean air systems and we are taking these up at local level.
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we → continue → level
They must be fixed, in Basildon and in every maternity service across the UK.
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They → fix → UK
'Safe workplaces mean safe care.
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workplaces → mean → care
The Government must invest urgently to bring maternity buildings up to standard.
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Government → invest → standard
We will not stop until every midwife can go to work without fearing for their health.'
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midwife → stop → health
Louise Crosby, chief nursing and quality officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: 'We have acknowledged that we should have acted faster to address the issues and have apologised to staff.
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we → say → staff
Since the incident we have learnt lessons, and as part of this, we have improved our oversight of the monitoring of medical gases across the maternity unit at Basildon Hospital.'
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we → learn → Hospital
A spokesman for the trust said: 'We should have acted faster to address the issues and have apologised to staff.
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We → say → staff
We've learnt lessons and improved oversight of monitoring medical gases across the maternity unit at Basildon Hospital.'
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We → learn → Hospital
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