Health chiefs told to say sorry to mother after birth tragedy

MIDWIVES failed to listen to the concerns of a pregnant woman whose baby was born with severe brain damage and died nine days later, a report says.

The Scottish Public Service Ombudsman (SPSO) ordered NHS Tayside to apologise to the woman after the death of her first child following complications at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee last year.

The baby girl’s parents said that the death had “destroyed their lives” as they endeavoured to come to terms with their loss.

The death came after the patient suffered a prolapsed cord, where the cord comes out before the baby’s head and can be compressed, blocking oxygen supply – a rare but potentially deadly complication.

The patient – referred to as Ms C – was admitted to hospital in the early hours of 18 March last year.

After arriving at Ninewells, her waters burst and she was taken to the labour suite, where she continued to lose amniotic fluid, which became more and more green with every contraction.

A monitor was placed on her stomach to trace the baby’s heartbeat, but as it was quite loud, the volume was turned down.

The midwife left the room and Ms C had another contraction, with large amounts of green fluid soaking the bed and floor.

The patient said she also “felt something move downwards” with the force of the fluid coming out.

Her partner told the midwife what had happened.

Ms C said the midwife simply said: “We will get this mess tidied up and take it from there.” She said it would be quicker to tidy up if Ms C got out of the bed.

But in doing so the trace of the baby’s heartbeat was lost, which went unnoticed because the volume of the monitor had been turned down.

The ombudsman agreed and upheld the complaint that Ms C was not listened to during her labour.

“While I acknowledge the prolapsed cord was an unexpected event and there cannot be absolute certainty that this could have been predicted or recognised earlier, if the failures I have detailed had not occurred, this may have given Ms C and Baby A a better chance of avoiding the outcome that followed.

“I consider there was an overall failure by midwifery staff to ensure that Ms C received the correct level of care and treatment which could have been reasonably expected, given the combined set of circumstances she presented at the final stages of her labour,” the ombudsman added.

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: “Tayside NHS Board accepts the recommendations in the SPSO’s report.

“Arrangements are already in place to ensure learning from this event is fed back to staff via supervision.”