Medical Negligence Experts Call On Hospital To Learn Lessons After Newborn’s Death
20/01/2011
A medical negligence solicitor has called on the NHS to learn from the mistakes that led to the death of a newborn baby following a completely avoidable delay in delivery.
Harley Hikin-Balderson was just 36 minutes old when he died as a result of a deprivation of oxygen at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport on 11 September 2009.
An inquest into Harley’s death returned a verdict of medical misadventure and highlighted a number of errors made by the hospital. Coroner John Pollard will also write to the Secretary of State to advise that consultant doctors are given clear guidance on the advice they provide to junior doctors over the telephone.
Stockport Coroner’s Court learnt that foetal blood samples showed Harley’s condition was deteriorating and he should have been delivered as an emergency. Instead, medical staff took the decision to deliver Harley using suction and forceps, leading to an ultimately fatal delay. A caesarean section was finally carried out two hours after the blood sample revealed abnormalities.
During the inquest, consultant Dr Depares testified that the delay in Harley’s delivery “significantly contributed” to his death and that Harley may have survived had he been born just half an hour earlier.
Dr Depares also added that had he had been on the ward in the lead up to the birth, “Harley would probably still be alive.”
Medical negligence specialists at Irwin Mitchell, who represented Harley’s family at inquest, are now calling for the NHS to take measures to prevent stop other families from suffering in the future.
Leena Savjani, a medical law expert at Irwin Mitchell, said: “The delay in delivering Harley put his family through a tragic ordeal, and his parents are naturally heartbroken. They just want to know what went wrong in their case and why, so that they can be assured that no one else has to go through what they have.
“This case highlights how just one error in judgement can have such an impact and effect on a family forever. It is crucial that the NHS learns important lessons from its failings in this case to ensure this cannot happen again in the future.
“We see these cases time and time again. Tragically, Harley’s is not the only example of poor obstetric care leading to injury and as in this case, death and utter anguish for the parents.
“This is an area that needs urgent attention from the NHS as it clearly shows the capacity for serious error with junior doctors and flags a training need that cannot be ignored any more. The guidance to consultants must be improved quickly and we welcome the coroner’s plans to write to the Secretary of State and hope it prompts quick action.”
Harley’s mother, Kirsty Hikin, 23, from Stockport, said: “The past 16 months have been horrendous. For so long we had been looking forward to Harley’s birth and couldn’t wait to bring him home, but tragically we never got that opportunity. His death has left a massive void in our lives that has left us devastated.
“The inquest has helped to answer some of our questions as to why Harley died but sadly nothing can ever be done to bring him back.
“We only hope that the hospital learns from its mistakes so that nobody else has to go through the horrible situation what we have over the past year.”
Back to news