A "one-off set of events" was responsible for the death of a newborn baby, an inquest has found. Little George Dosanjh's life ended just hours after his birth on December 3, 2022, at the Royal Stoke Hospital, in Stoke-on-Trent. He was delivered via emergency C-section to a mother who was experiencing several serious medical problems. George's family has questioned how the young boy could die after his delivery and the decisions that were made when his mother, Charlotte Hird, was going through a difficult labor. They have raised several concerns about the hospital's treatment of both mother and baby.
An expert witness told the inquest into George's death that the care received by George and Charlotte had been in line with standard procedure.
Consultant Mustafa Sadiq from Wirral University Hospital claims that an unusual combination of factors made a recent delivery particularly complex. The mother, Alyce Hird, went into labor at just 34 weeks, and emergency staff were called to conduct a cesarean when the baby's heart rate dropped. But some time during the surgery, the mother suffered an acute placental abruption—when a normally situated placenta suddenly detaches from the womb—which was starving the baby, named George, of oxygen. Medical personnel had to rapidly counter the situation by extracting George, but he had become lodged in the birth canal in such a way that he was stuck, and most of his weight was pressing against the mother's pelvis.
George was delivered by an uncommon reverse breech maneuver. Following his birth, he was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit, where he lived for only three days before succocmg to multiple organ failure and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy—combined effects of oxygen deprivation that created a perfect storm for disaster in this tiny infant's body. Staff worked hard to try to save George, but sadly and unavoidably, he simply couldn't survive the massive trauma his young body had endured. When asked about the incident, Mr. Sadiq said he believed the staff involved took justifiable actions during a very rare situation of baby George and were not at fault in the sad outcome of this case.
Victoria Allouni, a maternal medicine consultant at the University Hospitals of North Midlands, clarified the medics' actions in her son's death were in line with their training. She said the inquest had prompted moving medics to refresh their procedures. "Most staff will never have to perform under these kinds of circumstances, but the small percentage who will—it is of utmost importance for them," Allouni said. "We are human. We are maternal medicine specialists, and we are human. And we cannot do better unless we learn from what's happened here."
What The Expert Witnesses' Evidence Covered
• Mustafa Sadiq: He described the delivery as “very complex” due to acute placental abruption and an impacted fetal head. (Yahoo News UK)
• Dr. Allouni — consultant in maternal medicine: Supported that the medical staff acted within the expected standard/guidance. (Stoke Nub News)
• Dr. O’Neill: Spoke about how more incisions than normal were required during the C-section. (AOL)
• Dr. McPartland, pathologist: Did the post-mortem, identifying hypoxic brain injury and fractures, but said the fractures weren’t the cause of death.
The inquiry continues at Stoke Town Hall, Kingsway, Stoke-on-Trent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternal%E2%80%93fetal_medicine
https://witnessdirectory.com/signup.php
