Burnley General Hospital failings blamed for death of newborn

Theodore David Rutherford sadly died shortly after his birth on January 16, 2021 at Burnley General Hospital.

An inquest into the newborn’s death was held on July 4 and 5, with the coroner concluding that his death could have been prevented if not for multiple failings in the care provided by the hospital.

At the hearing, It was heard that Theo's mother reported episodes of reduced foetal movements shortly before her membranes ruptured spontaneously at almost the fortieth week of being pregnant.

The coroner found there was a failure to offer induction of labour at this stage which would have prevented Theo's death.

His mother returned to the hospital following bleeding and Theo was born by caesarean section at the hospital. However, he was unwell and his condition did not improve.

It was determined that he died as a result of hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy caused by placental abruption.

The Lancashire coroner found there was a failure to admit Theo's mother to the Central Birthing suite at the hospital following passing of blood prior to admission which would also have prevented her baby's death.

In addition, it was found there was a failure to handover information about the passing of blood between staff at the hospital which also contributed to his death.

The two-day inquest concluded with the coroner’s verdict that Theo's death was contributed to by neglect as a result of the failures identified in this conclusion.

What did the hospital say?

Jawad Husain, deputy chief executive and medical director at East Lancashire Hospitals said the Trust had fully cooperated with and accepted the verdict of the coroner.

He added: "There is no apology I can make that will lessen the pain felt by Theodore's family following his death but I do want to say, on behalf of the entire Trust, that we are truly sorry to have lost him in this way.

“The Trust has reviewed all the learning from this case and is committed to implementing improvements to ensure it never happens again.

“I want to provide some assurance for parents and families that the Trust safely supports over 6,000 births each year and our maternity and family care services are held in high regard, which was recognised by our most recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission."