Pregnancy fears were 'ignored by doctors'

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman said the couple went to the Simpson Centre for Reproductive Health in Edinburgh on 15 June, 2008, after becoming concerned that the baby had stopped moving as much as it had been.

Ms A had also suffered bleeding, but, despite their concerns, the couple were sent home. They returned the next day with continued concerns, but were again sent away believing the pregnancy was normal.

A week later, after phoning their community midwife, the couple returned to the centre and, following further tests, the baby was born by Caesarean section.

The couple believed they suffered from a series of mistakes – crucially that the centre failed to identify that the pregnancy "was not on the right course".

" Mr C and Ms A believed Baby A suffered unnecessary stress in the womb… for a week before her birth… and this resulted in abnormalities developing in Baby A's brain," the report stated. "These abnormalities were revealed through postnatal examinations of Baby A."

The ombudsman said the couple's concerns were not responded to appropriately by the centre. The couple also believed that, as a result of the way they were treated, their daughter suffered severe medical complications.

The ombudsman's midwifery adviser said the baby's medical notes showed she "sustained a widespread brain haemorrhage and had an increased risk of long-term disability".

The report also found the woman had to wait 95 minutes from the decision to carry out a Caesarean before the operation starting – despite a recommended gap of only 30 minutes.

Melanie Hornett, nurse director at NHS Lothian, said: "We would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologise to Ms A and her family. This case highlights the importance of communications and interaction between staff and patients, even on a busy ward, and we have worked with staff to ensure questions are answered concisely and sensitively."