Hospital’s apology will never bring my baby home, says grieving mum
A MOTHER whose son died as a result of medical misadventure has said an apology from the hospital is “never going to bring my baby home”.
Sandra Cullivan was speaking outside Dublin Coroner’s Court af ter a verdict of medical misadventure was recorded at the inquest of her baby boy Stevie Cullivan.
The child suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain shortly before his birth at Midland Regional Hospital. Ms Cullivan, who lost her husband Stephen to a heart attack five months into the pregnancy, said she felt the verdict delivered justice for her son.
“We fought long and hard, it ’s two years and seven months since Stevie died. I just feel it’s too long for any parent to wait to get justice for their baby,” Ms Cullivan said.
Ms Cullivan said she felt let down by the hospital, which issued an apolog y at the closing of the three-day inquest into her baby son’s death. “The apolog y is fine. It’s never going to bring my baby home,” she said.
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane issued a number of recommendations alongside her verdict including ending the practice of placing induced patients in the post-natal ward before deliver y. Ms Cullivan had been given a private room on the post-natal ward due to her sensitive circumstances.
However, she was lef t alone for 90 minutes before staff returned to find her in advanced labour. Ms Cullivan had asked for pain relief and was examined but was deemed not to be in labour by a midwife at 10pm on April 28, 2015, two hours before the birth. The baby was born gravely ill at 11.59pm. He was transferred to the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, where he was baptised and died at 1.40am on April 30.