Baby death 'almost certainly preventable' - report

The parents of a stillborn baby are reporting the case to professional bodies after a report condemned the care provided.

Harriet Hawkins was delivered nine hours after dying at Nottingham City Hospital in April 2016.

An external review of the case found 13 failures and concluded the death was "almost certainly preventable."

Parents Sarah and Jack said all they wanted was for the hospital trust to be "open" and "transparent".

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The Root Cause Analysis Investigation Report comes from an official external investigation into the circumstances surrounding Harriet's death.

Sarah and Jack Hawkins believe if previous stillborn deaths had been investigated, their baby may have survived

It found failures to record or pass on information correctly, failure to follow correct guidelines and delays in administering the correct treatment.

Mr and Mrs Hawkins, who both worked for the trust as a hospital consultant and senior physiotherapist respectively, planned for Harriet to be delivered at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC).

After a trouble-free pregnancy, they had a series of contacts with the hospital between 13 and 17 April, including two visits.

Harriet was pronounced dead after almost 41 weeks of pregnancy on 17 April 2016.

The report said errors included:

• Important omission of information on antenatal advice sheet

• Failure to take full clinical history

• Delay in applying appropriate foetal monitoring

• Failure to follow the Risk Management Policy for maternity

It also highlighted broader issues of a poor safety culture and a lack of governance in reporting serious clinical incidents.

Sarah Hawkins said while it was a relief that their concerns were heard following the report's findings it was with "great sadness" the trust they work for had not been "open or honest".

"Apologies won't bring back our dead daughter," she said.

She also added that they were waiting for the report to be published before holding a funeral for Harriet.

Mrs Hawkins added: "Having your daughter lying in a mortuary for 20 months is not a pleasant feeling."

Tracy Taylor, Nottingham University Hospitals Chief Executive, said: "I profoundly apologise that we let them and Harriet down so badly.

"We have already made substantial changes to address the shortcomings in our systems of clinical care and governance processes that arose from this case and have completed a broader review of maternity services."

Solicitors working for the couple have confirmed they are referring the case to the CPS, HSE and the professional disciplinary and regulatory bodies of a number of staff involved in Mrs Hawkins' care.

The couple have previously called for a change in the law which currently does not classify a stillborn child or foetus as a "deceased person".

This means there are no inquests into such deaths.