Midwives and maternity staff to share £750,000 over nitrous oxide exposure
More than 120 midwives and maternity staff will share £750,000 in compensation after exposure to high levels of nitrous oxide, the main component in gas and air used in labour.
How it was covered
- Channel 5 was the only channel found covering it.
- BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News and ITV: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- Sky News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
More than 120 midwives and maternity staff will share three quarters of a million pounds in compensation after being exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide. The payout relates to exposure to the compound used in gas and air.
Nitrous oxide is the main component in gas and air, which is widely used for pain relief in labour. It is safe for women to use during birth, but long-term exposure can have serious side effects.
No employer was named. The number of sites involved, the symptoms reported by staff, the dates of exposure, and the legal process behind the compensation were not set out.
The item was short and gave no further detail on the terms of the payout.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Gas and air, widely used for pain relief in labour, is mainly composed of nitrous oxide. | |
| More than 120 midwives and maternity staff are to share £750,000 in compensation after exposure to high levels of nitrous oxide. | |
| Nitrous oxide is safe for women to use during birth, but long-term exposure can have serious side effects. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
5 treated the compensation as a short, straight news item in a wider lunchtime bulletin. It focused on the headline payout figure and the link between nitrous oxide and gas and air, then moved on to unrelated stories. It did not name any employer, quote affected staff, or explain the legal basis for the compensation.
- “More than 120 midwives and maternity staff will share three quarters of a million pounds in compensation after being exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide.”
- “The compound is the main component in gas and air, widely used for pain relief in labour.”
- “It is safe for women to use during birth, but long-term exposure can have serious side effects.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.