An inquest has heard that hospital bosses were aware of issues with a cramped delivery room, Room 4, at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary well before the birth of a baby who later died. Midwife Amanda Sailor, who was not the lead midwife for Sarah Robinson's birth, testified that Room 4 was 'very small' and that 'everyone found it difficult' due to lack of space. She also confirmed that there were 'definitely known issues about the room and dynamics of the room' prior to Ida Robinson's birth on November 9, 2019. Ida sadly died seven days later after suffering a severe brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen during birth.
Hospital bosses were aware of issues with a new type of delivery room bed well before the birth of a newborn baby who later died, an inquest has heard. Sarah Robinson went to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on the morning of November 9 in 2019 after her waters had broken. Sarah, who was 40 weeks pregnant with her second child, had requested a water birth and was taken to Room 4 at the Central Delivery Suite.
In the cramped room, where equipment often had to be placed in the bathroom, Sarah entered the pool at 10.10am. She says that the midwife, Lisa McGrow, failed to tell her when her unborn baby's heartrate dropped below the acceptable range, and it was only when a registrar appeared, 24 minutes later, that she was made aware that something was wrong. As they prepared Sarah for delivery, one of the midwives had to 'crawl under the bed', in order to attach the stirrups. They also had to leave the room to get the resuscitaire which the baby would be placed into after being born. When Sarah's daughter Ida was born, at 10.42am, she was in 'a very poor condition' with the cord wrapped around her neck. She had to be resuscitated before being transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. Sarah and her partner Ryan, from Morecambe, were then told that Ida had suffered a severe brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen 'at or around the time of birth'. Ida died, aged seven days, on November 16. After Ida's death her parents raised concerns about what had happened during her birth. However, it was only when they instructed a solicitor that the case was referred to Lancashire's Senior Coroner Dr James Adeley, who launched an investigation. That investigation has culminated in an inquest which started on Monday February 10 at County Hall in Preston. On Thursday (February 13) midwife Amanda Sailor gave evidence about Ida's birth. Mrs Sailor was not the lead midwife assigned to Sarah. She was asked about her colleague Lisa McGrow, who has been excused from giving evidence directly to the inquest because it would 'cause her harm', who Mrs Sailor described as 'trusted, confident and conscientious'. The midwife described Room 4 as 'very small' and said that a plan shown during the inquest 'makes it look like there is more room than there was'. Mrs Sailor said that 'everyone found Room 4 difficult' due to the lack of space because of the birthing pool. 'You had to walk in sideways,' she said. 'There's nowhere to put anything in that room. Sometimes you use the bathroom which is where the delivery trolley was.' Mrs Sailor said that 'there were definitely known issues about the room and dynamics of the room' prior to Ida's birth. The other delivery rooms all have whiteboards on the walls to allow medics to document timings of a birth but during Ida's delivery they were forced to write on paper towels. Sophie Cartwright KC, acting as counsel for the coroner, said: 'The family have recalled that adjusting the bed did take time and involved a lot of faffing.' Mrs Sailor responded: 'You kind of have to climb under the bed to retrieve the stirrups and they're very heavy. I would agree it was a faff.' The midwife was asked if issues about Room 4 had been known to bosses at the RLI but not rectified. 'Yes,' she replied. Mrs Sailor, who said that she has found it 'too difficult' to use Room 4 again since Ida's birth, went on to say that she believed that ward manager Kerry Galbraith would have been made aware of the issues. The inquest, which is due to last 17 days, continues.
Hospital Inquest Deliveryroom Babydeath Midwife Oxygendeprivation Royallancasterinfirmary Room4 Birthingpool Medicalnegligence
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