A mother from England claims she was denied proper care at a hospital while she was in labor and her baby died from lack of oxygen. Amelia Bradley and her partner, Luke Sherwood, reportedly arrived at King's Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, on September 13, 2023, while Bradley was in labor. The woman allegedly waited to be seen, and her son, Theo Bradley, suffered a catastrophic brain injury.
Per the Daily Mail, an inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court reached a narrative conclusion this week and found the hospital negligent and responsible for Theo's death.
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The mother was reportedly sent home by hospital staff.
According to the Daily Mail, Bradley arrived at the hospital around 11:20 p.m. while having contractions but was reportedly sent home with pain medication. The mother went back to the hospital around midnight, complaining of excruciating pain and passing blood.
Bradley allegedly sat at the hospital for almost 40 minutes before she was seen by hospital staff. The mother was apparently the only person in triage at the time.
The midwives allegedly ignored her.
The court heard during the inquest that multiple midwives were sitting around when Bradley arrived and that she should have been assessed within 15 minutes, the Daily Mail reported.
The mother allegedly heard one of the midwives say, "I can't believe how many Haribo's I've had tonight."
The mother was finally seen about 40 minutes after arrival, and staff found the baby had a slow heart rate and an emergency cesarean section was needed.
Theo reportedly needed oxygen after he was born.
Per the inquest, after Theo's birth, resuscitation equipment was missing, and the infant was transferred to a neonatal unit for treatment. The infant's health deteriorated, and he died the day after he was born, surrounded by family.
The investigation found that the staff did not properly care for Bradley.
A Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch reportedly found no allocated supervisor in the maternity triage department, so it appears staff was unsure who was handling the workload. Neither of the midwives on duty cared for Bradley, which led to unnecessary delays.
Phil Bolton, chief nurse at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said during the inquest, "I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our unreserved apology to the family of baby Theo at what we know has been and continues to be an incredibly difficult time for them."
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The coroner found Theo died from a brain injury.
Theo's lack of oxygen at birth lead to a serious brain injury and, ultimately, his death, per the Daily Mail. Nottinghamshire Assistant Coroner Elizabeth Didcock concluded the hospital was negligent in the care of Bradley and her son and that if the mother and child had been cared for upon arrival, Theo likely would not have died.
"We'd been looking forward to becoming a family, and to have that ripped away from us in such a cruel way was nothing short of traumatic," the mother told the court.
