Baby died in Stevenage after 'gross failure' in medical care

A coroner has raised concerns over the death of a newborn baby in which there was a "gross failure" in medical care.

Eddie Coffey was born in January 2019 at Lister Hospital in Stevenage with a low heart rate and symptoms of hypoxia, where the body is deprived of oxygen.

His inquest heard he died of birth asphyxia during labour "which was not properly managed, constituting neglect contributing to the cause of death".

The hospital's trust said it was "very sorry about Eddie's death".

Speaking on behalf Eddie's family, Tim Deeming of Tees Law, said they "do not want any other family or hospital to go through such a tragic situation again".

He added that change must be "embraced and implemented".

Eddie was born on 13 January 2019 but required resuscitation at birth, according to a prevention of future deaths report by Jonathan Stevens, assistant coroner for Hertfordshire.

He was later transferred to another hospital for ongoing care but died the following day.

Mr Stevens said Eddie's inquest heard evidence there was "a gross failure in the basic medical care provided in the monitoring and management of the foetal heart rate during the labour".

An independent consultant obstetrician said that he would "more than likely have survived" but for that failure.

In his report, Mr Stevens said: "It was not clear... that, despite training implemented by the trust since the death, that the same situation would not arise again".

He added he heard evidence "that 100 maternity units in the country are following the wrong guidelines in relation to managing foetal heart rate monitoring in labour".

Mr Deeming said the family, from Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire, were "grateful" for the coroner's report.

He added: "The coroner was not reassured that such failures would be prevented either at this or other hospitals in the country and we look forward to reassurance as to how lessons can be truly learnt."

Katie Chilton, director of midwifery at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, said: "We are very sorry about Eddie's death and offer our sincere condolences to his family.

"Following our own investigations, we have made changes to the way our maternity teams monitor and manage the foetal heart rate during labour, providing further training to our staff."

Mr Stevens' report was also written to the Department of Health and Social Care and a spokeswoman said it was "carefully considering the issues raised... and will respond shortly".

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]