New Mother Died At Hospital In Swindon

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is set to be sentenced for a breach of health and safety rules following the death of a new mother in a hospital blunder six years ago.

Mayra Cabrera suffered a heart attack shortly after giving birth to son Zac at Great Western Hospital in Swindon when an epidural anaesthetic was attached to her arm instead of saline solution on May 11 2004.

Mrs Cabrera, who worked as a theatre nurse at the hospital, suffered the heart attack caused by Bupivacaine toxicity and died only minutes later. Her son Zac survived.

Bosses at the Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust previously pleaded guilty to an offence under section 3 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, with the charge relating to "risks arising from the storage of drugs and drugs errors".

A February 2008 inquest had declared Mrs Cabrera was unlawfully killed and said that negligent storage of Bupivacaine was a reason for her death. The storage of drugs in the delivery suites was "chaotic", the inquest had been told.

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Julie Lewis, a medical negligence solicitor from Irwin Mitchell's Bristol office, said: "We hope that lessons have been learnt from the death in this tragic case, it is essential that such a catastrophic error is never allowed to reoccur."