Hospital Has Admitted There Were Failings In The Care They Provided

The parents of a baby girl who died following failures in care by the medical staff at North Middlesex Hospital, which resulted in a delayed birth, are taking legal action to get answers for why they lost their child.

Alba-May Pemberton was born on 10th August last year, one week overdue. She was Rochelle and Wesley Pemberton’s first child, conceived with the assistance of fertility treatment.  

Rochelle, aged 33, and Wesley, aged 37, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care Rochelle received from the North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust, after concerns that midwives failed to recognise concerns in Rochelle’s condition during labour.

The NHS Trust’s own Root Cause Analysis Investigation Report found that the ‘delay in recognising deviation from normal which resulted in a delay of escalation’ may have led to Alba-May’s death.

The Report states that Rochelle should have been taken straight to theatre once problems were first identified but the significance of the issues were not fully understood by the midwife.

Rochelle, from Enfield, said: “Both Wesley and I have suffered immeasurably from losing Alba-May. While nothing will ever bring her back, we want to know that if mistakes have been made, then lessons have truly been learnt by the Trust and other parents won’t have to suffer the same tragedy we have.

“No new parents expect to leave the hospital without their baby, and the pain you feel when you do is indescribable. Wesley and I want answers and the reassurance that no baby, or parents, will ever have to suffer the way our family has.”

Sarah Wealleans, an expert medical negligence solicitor at Irwin Mitchell representing Rochelle and Wesley, said: 

Expert Opinion

“This is a devastatingly sad case. Losing a child in any circumstance is a tragedy. Nothing can turn back the clock for them, but it is important for Rochelle and Wesley to get definitive answers as to why Alba-May died so they can try and make sense of their loss and heal as best they can for the sake of their own health.

“We will continue to work for Rochelle and Wesley to help them obtain the answers they are seeking and to ensure that everything is done to ensure that lessons are learnt and similar tragedies are prevented from occurring in the future.” Sarah Wealleans - Senior Associate Solicitor

Background

On 9th August 2016 Rochelle believed her waters had broken and she was admitted to hospital around 5pm. Shortly after being admitted, Rochelle was examined by a midwife and there were difficulties in determining the position of the baby. 

Throughout her pregnancy Rochelle was deemed low risk due to her routine scans being normal and no issues being noted, and at this point her risk assessment was not changed. Due to being categorised as low risk, Rochelle was allowed to follow her birthing plan for a water birth and as her labour progressed the baby's heart rate was checked every 15 minutes.

At 8pm, there was a shift change and a new midwife took over Rochelle’s care and shortly before 11pm it was noted that Rochelle was beginning to have trouble passing urine and her contractions had slowed down.

This led the midwife to undertake a closer examination of Rochelle and it was at this point that she noted that Rochelle’s full waters had not broken. However this examination was cut short as, according to Rochelle, the midwife could see Alba-May’s head.

At 11:45pm the midwife began to accelerate Rochelle’s labour by breaking her waters. The midwife also noted ‘non-significant meconium stained liquor’ which had actually been recognised at 11:35pm. This should have led to a change in the management of the labour as Rochelle’s waters had been clear up until this point.  Meconium stained liquor can indicate that the baby is in distress and at risk.  

At 12:25am when significant meconium was noted by the midwife, Rochelle should have been prepared for an emergency caesarean to ensure Alba-May was delivered as soon as possible. However, Rochelle was instead transferred to the labour ward 20 minutes later  During this period, monitoring of Alba-May’s heart rate showed that it was decreasing.

At 12:50am, it was noted that Alba-May’s heart rate had further slowed, at which point the emergency team was called for to help deliver Alba-May immediately. Once the team arrived, Alba-May was delivered at 12:56am.

Sadly, Alba-May did not respond to resuscitation and required intubation and ventilation. After discussion between her parents and the medical staff, Alba-May was transferred to Homerton Hospital for more treatment and intensive support.

At Homerton Hospital, Alba-May’s condition remained extremely poor and although different treatment and medication options were explored, her health remained unstable and she sadly passed away after only 62 hours of life.

If you or your child have suffered a birth injury due to medical negligence, our medical negligence solicitors could help you claim compensation. See our Birth Injury Claims page for more information.