Mother bled to death hours after blunders at top abortion clinic
A CORONER yesterday criticised ‘ repeated failures’ at a high-profile abortion clinic after the death of a mother following a termination. Dr Sean Cummings said the case of Aisha Chithira, 32, who came to England from Ireland for a termination at the Marie Stopes clinic, had been ‘catastrophic’ for all concerned.
He identified an ‘element of complacency’ at the clinic in Ealing, West London, where antiabortion campaigners were banned last month.
Mother- of- one Miss Chithira died in January 2012 following a late- stage abortion. She had been discharged despite vomiting and swaying so much she looked drunk, West London Coroner’s Court heard.
That night the mother died after catastrophic internal bleeding, losing around two litres of blood.
Miss Chithira had suffered a tear to her uterus during the ‘blind’ procedure as a surgeon struggled to remove the 22-week-old foetus from her womb.
Afterwards she vomited and complained of feeling unwell to her husband, but was helped into a taxi to her cousin’s home in Slough, Berkshire, by staff who had told her she could not stay overnight.
Miss Chithira had complained of feeling hot, thirsty and dizzy after the procedure, and suffered ‘light bleeding’, clinic staff reported.
However, a nurse found her blood pressure and pulse were normal and doctors told the inquest her symptoms were ‘atypical’ and ‘unlucky’.
This meant her position was ‘difficult to diagnose and consequently the severity was missed’, the coroner concluded. Dr Adedayo Adedeji,
‘There were repeated failures’
who performed the procedure, and nurses Gemma Pullen and Margaret Miller had been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence and a health and safety breach, but the case was dropped in 2016.
Recording a narrative verdict, acting senior coroner for West London Dr Cummings said the case was ‘desperately sad’. He said: ‘Her death resulted from the manifestation of a recognised complication of the procedure resulting in sometimes subtle and atypical symptoms and signs which were not appreciated as potentially sinister at the time.
‘There were repeated failures of recording of observations by different clinicians involved in her care.’
Miss Chithira, who was from Malawi but had settled in Ireland, had a history of growths around the womb called fibroids which complicated the procedure. She decided to have an abortion after miscarrying twins at 30 weeks then having her baby girl by caesarean section, making her fear birth was too much of a risk.
Miss Chithira had to wait a month for a UK visa after it became clear she could not have a termination in Ireland, and a number of clinics would not accept her due to the late stage of the pregnancy.
Yesterday her husband Ryan said: ‘When Aisha was taken from me in such a shocking way my world was torn apart. Coming to terms with my loss was extremely difficult, but this has been compounded by the torturous process that has seen my wife’s case dragged through the courts over the past six years.
‘I am relieved that the facts around her death have been revealed and the inquest is finally over.’
Dr Cummings identified an ‘ element of complacency’ within the clinic, but said he was not satisfied there had been a gross failure.
Lawyer Emma Doughty, representing Miss Chithira’s family, said it was crucial that lessons were learnt. Richard Bentley, of Marie Stopes UK, said ‘significant steps’ had been taken since 2012.
Last month Ealing Council became the first to set up a protest-free zone outside the clinic after concerns for women having abortions.