Chesterfield hospital trust apology over death of newborn baby

Brody's mother Natalie Holland said "not for a second" did she think her newborn son would die

A hospital trust has apologised over mistakes that led to the death of a newborn baby boy.

Brody was just over 18 hours old when he died at Chesterfield Royal Hospital in Derbyshire on 5 October 2019.

The trust accepted that had his mother been treated for the bacterial infection Group B streptococcus (GBS), Brody probably would have survived.

It said improvements have since been made to raise awareness of GBS and midwives had undergone more training.

Group B streptococcus is common in pregnant women but not routinely tested for.

It rarely causes problems but there is a small risk it can spread to babies and make them ill.

Natalie Holland, from Creswell, Derbyshire, was 38 weeks' pregnant when she was induced at the hospital.

The labour was planned as she was deemed "high risk", due to one of her other children being treated for GBS shortly after birth.

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Brody - her fifth child - was delivered by emergency Caesarean section on 4 October 2019.

He was later noticed to be experiencing breathing difficulties and referred to a doctor.

Over the next few hours, his condition deteriorated and he required resuscitation but later died.

A post-mortem examination confirmed the cause of death to be early onset sepsis and GBS.

'Absolutely devastating'

Ms Holland said: "I knew when he started grunting that something was wrong.

"Not for a second did I ever think I would lose him though, and being told that he had died was absolutely devastating.

"It makes me so upset to think things could have turned out differently had I been treated with antibiotics, and all I want is to wind back the clock."

A Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said it had made improvements to raise awareness of GBS

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust acknowledged shortcomings in its care.

It agreed a process was not in place to make staff aware that Brody needed further monitoring when he was born.

The trust conceded Ms Holland's antenatal management plan - listing her history of Group B strep - was filed when she was admitted to the ward and not revisited.

It also accepted that, on the balance of probabilities, if Ms Holland had been treated with antibiotics during labour, Brody would have survived.

A spokesperson for the trust said: "We are sincerely sorry for the events surrounding Brody's care.

"A number of improvements have been made to raise awareness of Group B strep, including strengthening the paediatric care pathway for babies and pregnancies where the development of GBS has been identified as 'at risk'.

"Our midwives have also undertaken specific GBS training. We know that none of this will compensate for the loss of Brody."

An inquest into Brody's death is due to take place on 30 September at Chesterfield Coroner's Court.