Report Confirms Failings Of The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust Contributed To Unexpected Death Last Year

A heartbroken couple from the Bradford area who are now expecting their second child are desperate for answers following the tragic death of their newborn son over a year ago.

Yvette Crook, (31), and Paul Swaine, (34), live in Wyke and are over three months into their second pregnancy but are growing increasingly anxious as their due date gets closer after their first baby, Jacob, died just five hours following birth at Calderdale Royal Infirmary on 5 April last year.

Yvette’s first pregnancy progressed well with little concern, however a delay in identifying Jacob’s distress during labour and a failure to expedite his delivery led to his unexpected death.

A Serious Incident Report carried out by the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust responsible for his care highlighted a number of failings, and Yvette and Paul have now instructed specialist medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to carry out an investigation into what happened. 

Expert Opinion

“Yvette and Paul were understandably devastated by the passing of their son Jacob last year. This was meant to be a happy time for them, but sadly it ended in tragedy.

They are both trying to come to terms with what has happened, but it is difficult for them as there are still so many unanswered questions as to what went wrong during Jacob’s birth. Delays by the NHS Trust in providing the information mean that an inquest into Jacob’s death is not likely to take place until later this year.

Now that Yvette is pregnant again, there is obviously a lot of worry and anxiety and the couple really need to know what led to the unexpected death of their baby and that the mistakes identified will not happen again. We are supporting them and liaising with the NHS Trust on their behalf. The NHS Trust made some recommendations in the Serious Incident Report and we hope that these will be implemented as soon as possible to improve care at the Trust.”
Lauren Bullock - Solicitor

The Serious Incident Report details the failings which contributed towards Jacob’s death and states that “the root cause was found to have been the failure to monitor him during labour.”  A total of 10 recommendations are outlined in the report to improve the level of care, which include Human Factors including training for midwives .
 
In addition to the failings identified in the report, it was found that Jacob “died as a result of acute on chronic hypoxia (lack of oxygen both during the pregnancy and during labour).”

A witness statement from an independent Consultant in Obstetrics and Fetal Medicine in Leeds also concludes that there was a failure to appropriately monitor Jacob’s heart rate during Yvette’s labour, and had it been monitored then they would have identified it was slow and would have made a decision to expedite labour.

A pre-inquest review into the incident was held at the beginning of March, however the inquest has come to a halt until full medical records can be provided by the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust.  Jacob’s parents are distressed at the time being taken for the case to progress, given that the medical records were first requested back in July last year.

Paul said: “It’s deeply upsetting to know that Jacob died following the failings of the hospital, and Yvette and I don’t think it is too much to ask to be given some answers and reasons as to why he was taken from us so soon. We are told that the inquest can’t take place until we have the full medical records but these have not yet been provided by the NHS Trust so we are left in limbo which is especially tough for us as we are going through a second pregnancy and trying our best to stay positive.

“We were absolutely devastated by the death of our son, and we have learnt that his death was preventable if the trust had followed guidelines. We still don't have all the answers into the cause of his death and feel the trust could have prevented further pain by being transparent and honest and by providing crucial information in a timely manner.

“We want the trust to realise the effect their conduct has had on us and hopefully prevent other families from going through the same.”

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