Surgeons operate on patient. Stock image

The parents of a 45-year-old woman left with severe learning difficulties due to hospital mismanagement of her birth have spoken of their relief at a £4.2m compensation payout.

Susanne Turner, of Lloyds Green, Wittersham, has needed a lifetime of care after Buchanan Street Hospital, in St Leonards-on-Sea, delayed a caesarian section during her mother, Sandra's, labour in 1967.

Speaking after the High Court hearing, Susanne's father, Christopher, and his wife said: "What we feel today is a sense of relief, knowing that Susanne's settlement will fund her care for the rest of her life and that she can now lead a fulfilled and happy life to the best of her potential.

"She has been denied many opportunities because of her learning difficulties but we now feel we have done the best we can to ensure her future."

Susanne's entitlement to compensation went unmet until her parents read the story of a similar case in a women's magazine and contacted lawyers.

The NHS authority responsible for the now-closed hospital admitted liability.

The case was heard at London's High Court

The court heard Susanne's delivery on April 28, 1967, was mistakenly delayed by staff, meaning she was starved of oxygen in the womb and was not breathing when born.

She was resuscitated, but the oxygen deprivation caused catastrophic brain damage which has left her with permanent learning difficulties and needing full-time care.

Although Susanne has a low mental age, that has not stopped her becoming a keen artist, displaying her work at the Rainbow Gallery run by the Canterbury Oast Trust.

Approving the settlement, Mrs Justice Nicola Davies paid tribute to Mr and Mrs Turner.

She said: "I hope some of this money can put towards her artistic development and I hope that, after so many years of unstinting love and devotion, it will allow you some free time too."