Coroner blasts hospital ‘chaos’ that left grieving parents waiting
SHE CALLS DELAY TO INQUEST ‘INCOMPETENCE’
PARENTS have been left waiting nearly a year for answers over the death of their baby due to the “incompetence” of a Nottinghamshire hospital trust, a coroner has said.
Concerns were raised over the care of Arlo Lambert at King’s Mill Hospital before he died at five days old on March 9 last year.
An inquest was opened into Arlo’s death and was due to be heard at Nottingham Council House on Wednesday. However, Sherwood Forest Hospitals (SFH), which runs the hospital, was missing key statements and witnesses, resulting in a delay.
Area coroner Laurinda Bower said this “smacked of nothing more than absolute chaos” in the trust’s legal department. “I cannot understand why they were not pulled together,” she said.
“It’s inexplicable. [The family] have been waiting for answers for almost a year, they shouldn’t have to wait this long. Why does the trust think it’s appropriate to come to inquest with witnesses who weren’t involved with decisionmaking in Arlo’s care?
“I know it will have a devastating impact on you and your ability to grieve Arlo.”
Ms Bower said the trust was first given a four-week deadline to gather evidence on August 17, but repeatedly failed to respond.
She said she did not receive material until the middle of February, adding it was still being sent over the night before the hearing was scheduled. “I have no idea if solicitors have even had time to look at it. So this poses significant challenges,” she said.
“How can you prepare for an inquest if you don’t know the evidence that is involved? It’s incompetence, and if not, choosing to turn a blind eye.”
A solicitor for the family said: “We got an overwhelming amount of documents in a short space of time.
“Because of this we’ve not had the opportunity to have counsel, today has been the first time we’ve been able to speak about it.”
A lawyer acting on behalf of SFH passed on the trust’s apologies. Ben Bentley, from Browne Jacobson, said: “[The trust] wanted to apologise to you and the family and accepts it’s not acceptable. Work volumes exceeded resources at the trust.”