Baby death probe at scandal hospital
Dad’s fury at sudden c-section op delay
A DAD has blamed blundering medics over his baby’s death at a scandal-hit hospital.
The baby died in the womb after doctors allegedly abandoned plans for an emergency caesarean on the mum, 21, as she was being taken for surgery.
The first- time mother, two weeks overdue, was allegedly left unmonitored on a trolley for several hours while a consultant carried out a pre- planned caesarean section on another patient.
The baby’s dad, 25, has said that when midwives came to check the mum more than three hours later, they could no longer find a heartbeat for the baby.
A day after the tragedy at North Middlesex University hospital, in Edmonton, North London, he said: “If they had not stopped but gone ahead with the operation, my baby may still be alive.”
At an inquest earlier this year into another baby who died after a delayed caesarean, a coroner had warned North Middlesex hospital that more tots could die if urgent operations were deferred.
The latest tragedy there happened last month, two weeks after a four-day Care Quality Commission inspection.
The baby’s father alleges his wife was about to have an emergency caesarean when the consultant changed her mind.
He said: “They were monitoring the baby’s heart when there was a dip in the reading. They were concerned as my wife had a miscarriage last year. They said they needed to get our baby out quickly. She was well past her due date. They did all the pre-op blood tests very quickly.
“Then, as they were about to take my wife to theatre, they changed their minds.
“They told my wife they were going to deliver naturally and walked off.
“We waited three-and-a-half hours and for half that time my wife was not being monitored. When they finally came to us, they checked with a foetal heart monitor and we were told the baby was dead.
“Then they said my wife had to give birth to her dead child. We couldn’t believe how cruel they were.”
A hospital spokesman said: “We are sorry a baby tragically diedied during labour in our maternity unit and nd offer sincere condolences. We instantlyntly reported it as a serious incident. A full investigation with external input is under way. We’ll share results with h the parents as soon as possible.”