Heartbeat data sent via WhatsApp before death of baby

The mother had made 10 visits to Borders General Hospital

The parents of a premature baby who died at five days old say they feel "let down" by their treatment from NHS Borders.

Heartbeat data from before the boy's birth was sent to a senior doctor via WhatsApp messenger, rather than the mother being seen in person.

The health board has apologised to the family after a Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER) of the case.

A complaint was also made to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which has been upheld as an infringement of data protection law.

The parents said they were "shocked" to discover that WhatsApp had been used to communicate their unborn son's heart monitoring readings.

The mother had experienced a difficult pregnancy, with ongoing bleeding leading to 10 previous visits to Borders General Hospital – but the couple were assured there was nothing to worry about.

Their son was born in August 2022 at 31 weeks' gestation but died five days later.

An investigation by NHS Borders found the use of WhatsApp rather than the consultant seeing the expectant mother in person.

It highlighted that concerns around the birth “warranted attendance from the obstetric consultant in person”.

The ICO also found the health board failed to keep personal data secure and advised it to take a number of measures to ensure data security.

“We have found this really shocking," said the baby's mother, who does not wish to be named.

"We didn’t know anything about a consultant who should have been present until we read the SAER report.

"It has been pretty devastating to find this out."

She said it was "unbelievable" they had been sending vital information in such a way.

'Sincere apologies'

Her husband said they felt "let down".

"This cannot be allowed to happen again to any other family," he said.

The family is now working with medical negligence specialists at Slater and Gordon to investigate their case.

NHS Borders said it reiterated its "sincere apologies" to the family and said it was "dedicated to learning" from the situation and making improvements.

It said that included the development of an action plan to meet the ICO's recommendations.

The health board added that it was working in partnership with Healthcare Improvement Scotland to upgrade services.

"We maintain a strong focus on safety in maternity services and have an active local safety programme to ensure learning is used to improve all aspects of how we provide our service," it said.