Our Client, a 31 year old woman from Chatham, Kent, gave birth to a stillborn daughter at Medway Maritime Hospital via caesarean section, on 07.04.2014.
The baby was cleaned and clothed following the delivery and then handed to our Client and her partner so that they could spend time with her.
Our Client was discharged the following day.
On 17.04.2014 she received a phone call from the Head of Maternity, at Medway NHS Foundation Trust, who requested an urgent meeting with her, which took place that same day.
Our Client was informed that her daughter had not been collected for transfer to the mortuary for post-mortem until 6 days after her delivery. Her daughter had also not been placed into a cold cot during this time. The hospital had only realised this when had received a phone call from Great Ormond Street Hospital (who were to perform the post-mortem) asking where she was.
It was later identified, in a Hospital-led investigation, that this was not the only family who had been affected and that the policies for dealing with stillborn babies were inadequate or in large part non-existent.
Expert evidence confirmed that our Client had suffered a psychiatric injury as a result of the discovery that her daughter had been left in a room, outside of a cold cot for several days.
Following investigations, a formal letter of Claim was submitted to Medway NHS Foundation Trust.
Subsequently, a satisfactory settlement was reached.
Steevi Henderson, Trainee Solicitor with conduct of this claim, commented:
“It is abhorrent that at my Client’s time of grief the Defendant Trust failed to take care of her daughter. It must be hoped that the Trust will have now put into place robust and effective policies to ensure that this never happens again.”