What We Know About Poppy Russell's Death and NHS Reform Push

Poppy Russell lived 12 hours. Her parents have spent the years since trying to make sure other families don't lose the same way, according to BBC News.

Who was Poppy Russell and how did she die?

Poppy died in April 2021 at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, part of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH). Her mother, Katie Russell, had told midwives during pregnancy that she had tokophobia — a fear of natural birth — and wanted a caesarean section, but Katie said she was repeatedly told she "couldn't just ask for a c-section," per the BBC. When labour began, Katie said the couple was left in a room for long periods with no care, and once in the labour suite she was not monitored appropriately, so signs that Poppy was in distress went missed. Poppy was eventually delivered by emergency caesarean but had already developed a hypoxic brain injury. She died later the same day.

What did the inquest find?

An inquest concluded Poppy's death was preventable and that she would have survived had she been born an hour earlier, according to the BBC. The trust had blamed Katie for her daughter's death, saying she had refused fetal monitoring — a claim the inquest found to be untrue.

How did the hospital respond?

Neil Russell, 45, said the trust's conduct compounded the family's grief. "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," he told the BBC. "Losing your daughter is one thing, but then to find that there was a cavalcade of lies was almost as bad." Following the 2023 inquest, the trust said: "We recognise there were failings in the care we provided and we are truly sorry," calling the death of any baby a "tragedy" and pledging improvements to maternity services, the BBC reported.

What is Poppy's Promise?

In March 2024 the couple met with the trust to discuss what had happened, and from those conversations came Poppy's Promise, a set of four care principles: compassion, acknowledgement, respect and empowerment. "The first conversations about Poppy's Promise were about being human," Neil said. "It spun from our treatment, and not being treated like human beings." Katie described the goal as seeing the person rather than the diagnosis — someone holding a patient's hand, someone acknowledging that a moment is difficult.

What happens next for the Russells and the trust?

Katie said the family chose partnership over estrangement from the trust that failed them. "We could have very easily been consumed by hate and anger and rage at what happened — and those feelings are still there," she told the BBC. "But if no change comes from what happened to Poppy, then what's the point?" The BBC reports Neil and Katie are now working directly with the hospital where Poppy died to build the four principles into maternity care, though the source material does not detail a formal rollout timeline or independent verification of implementation across SaTH facilities.

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