Sussex hospital admits failings after baby's death - grieving mum says tragedy has left 'huge hole in all our lives'

Arundel mum Amy Taylor, 30, lost her baby, Jasper, in May 2021, after St Richard’s Hospital staff failed to acknowledge his slowing growth.

Amy was pregnant with her third child when she attended her local children and family centre for her 28 and 34 week check-ups.

Delays led to baby’s death

According to her solicitors, Irwin Mitchell, Amy was not given the chance to have the baby’s weight measured at either appointment – ‘contrary to the Antenatal Schedule of Care’.

A spokesperson for Irwin Mitchell said: “At 31 weeks, Amy underwent glucose tolerance tests, which were normal. She attended St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester at 35 weeks for a routine growth ultrasound scan, with no concerns raised by the attending sonographer and midwife.

“She returned to St Richard’s Hospital at 36 weeks with concerns of reduced fetal movements. She also complained of increased thirst and an increased need to pass urine.

“A cardiotocograph was commenced to assess the baby’s heart rate and was reported as normal. A urine test was carried out and Amy was discharged home.

“Around four weeks later, at full term, Amy attended a community midwife appointment and said she hadn’t felt her baby move that day. An attempt was made to listen to the baby’s heartbeat but it couldn’t be found.”

Amy attended hospital where ‘it was confirmed that baby Jasper had died in the womb’, the solicitors said.

A post-mortem examination found Jasper had died from a lack of oxygen ‘most likely due to delayed chronic villous maturation of the placenta’ – a developmental placental abnormality, ‘common in cases of gestational diabetes and excessive weight gain during pregnancy’.

Grieving mum calls for lessons to be learned

Following Jasper’s death, Amy instructed expert medical negligence lawyers to investigate her care under the University Hospital Sussex NHS Foundation Trust – which runs St Richard’s Hospital.

She’s now joined with her legal team in calling for lessons to be learned to improve maternity safety. It comes after the hospital trust accepted liability and that there were ‘failures’ in the care provided to Amy.

Emma Chambers, director of midwifery at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We would like to offer again our sincere apologies to Amy and her family for the failings in her care that led to the devastating loss of her baby, Jasper. We have already made changes based on the learnings from this to ensure the very best outcomes for families in our care.”

Amy lives with her fiancée Ryan, 31, and their daughters Isla, 10, Sienna, six, and six-month-old Hope.

She said: “The last two years and trying to come to terms with Jasper’s death has been nothing short of traumatic.

“I knew something wasn’t quite right as I reached the final few weeks of my pregnancy as I didn’t feel the same as I did during my others. However, I trusted the doctors and thought that they would be able to pick up on anything of concern.

“When I got to full term, I was worried that Jasper wasn’t moving as much so I mentioned it at my midwife appointment, by which point I couldn’t feel him at all. Nothing prepared me for being told my baby boy had died; I felt like I’d had my heart ripped out.

“I would give anything to have Jasper back. It’s difficult not think how he should be growing up and causing mischief alongside his siblings; instead there’s a huge hole in all our lives. I don’t think I’ll ever get over losing him. Coming home from the hospital without him in my arms was the worst pain I’ve ever felt.”

Amy said trying to grieve for Jasper ‘has been awful’, particularly with ‘all the questions hanging over us’.

"I know I can’t change what’s happened,” she said. “I’m just grateful that the hospital trust has now admitted the issues I faced and provided me with some answers.

"All I can hope for now is that lessons are learned from what I went through. I wouldn’t want another family suffering like we have. Jasper now lives on in our hearts and memories.”

What failings did the hospital trust admit?

The hospital was accused of failing to weigh Amy at 28 and 34 weeks gestation. According to Irwin Mitchell, an investigation report from the trust stated that, had Amy’s weight been measured, it would have identified her ‘excessive weight gain’ of 20 kilograms and ‘may have prompted a discussion with specialist midwives’.

A spokesperson for the solicitors added: “There was also a failure to acknowledge a slowing foetal growth as well as carry out Umbilical Artery Doppler scans at the 35-week scan, which the trust accepts should have been undertaken to ascertain Amy’s placenta function.

"The report states this was ‘a missed opportunity to fully assess Jasper’s wellbeing’ and have the scan reviewed by an obstetric registrar. Had this occurred, Amy would have been given the opportunity for a further scan two to four weeks later, which ‘might have shown signs of further slowed growth with a need to expedite Jasper’s birth’.”

The solicitors said Amy should have been provided with ‘appropriate standard of care and management’ throughout her pregnancy. If this was given, ‘it is likely that she would have been referred for closer monitoring’ – the baby’s slow growth ‘would have been observed’ and Amy ‘would have been diagnosed with abnormal glucose metabolism’.

"In turn, this would have been appropriately medically managed, avoiding the delayed chronic villous maturation of the placenta and, as such, the stillbirth of Jasper,” the report noted.

What changes will be made?

Madeline Nugent, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Amy, said: “It’s been an incredibly difficult time for Amy, who understandably remains heartbroken at losing baby Jasper so suddenly and tragically.

“She’s spent the past two years trying to come to terms with what happened, and her grief has been made worse by having so many unanswered questions about the care she received.

“Sadly through our work we see too many families struggling to rebuild their lives as a result of issues in maternity care. The hospital trust’s report into Amy’s case has identified worrying issues, including a failure to refer Amy for specialist management.

"While we welcome the trust’s pledge to introduce safety recommendations it’s now vital that these are upheld at all times to improve patient safety. We’ll continue to support Amy as she attempts to navigate her way through this distressing time.”

The trust has made a ‘series of safety recommendations’, the solicitors said. This includes ensuring all community midwives have access to scales for maternity weight measurement, with guidelines reviewed to offer a formal pathway for advice and referral for excessive weight gain.

The spokesperson added: “A pathway is also to be developed for referral to the diabetes team for concerning symptoms in the presence of a normal glucose tolerance test, while improvements are to be made to midwives’ awareness of symptoms that fall outside of normal pregnancy.

“Documentation of scan reviews are also to be improved, with a review of criteria for post-scan plans, and all sonographers will be made aware to include Doppler studies as recommended."

For help and support on stillbirths, visit www.sands.org.uk.

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