Missed opportunities led to the death of couple's newborn son

HOSPITAL SAYS 'WE FULLY ACCEPT WE FAILED BABY THEO AND ARE DEEPLY SORRY FOR DEVASTATING LOSS'

- By SOPHIE BUSCIMESE

A NEWBORN baby died after the delivery was delayed for five hours and his heart rate readings were not recognised as a concern, an inquest has heard.

The parents, Rosie and Mathew Disney-Wood, aged 32 and 30, had arrived at Royal Derby Hospital shortly after midnight on June 17, 2022, after Rosie's contractions had started. Rosie experienced bleeding and the monitoring of the baby's heart rate indicated he could have had an infection.

During the inquest, the coroner found that six members of staff had noted the readings but did not recognise them as a concern.

The couple's first son, Theo, should have been delivered by 5.30am, but the decision to proceed with assisted delivery was not made until nearly 8.40am. Theo was delivered in “poor” condition with the help of forceps just after 10.35am.

Although medics spent over 30 minutes trying to resuscitate him, Theo was pronounced dead just before 2pm.

After Theo's death, Rosie and Mathew, of Heanor, instructed expert medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate his care and secure answers.

The couple spoke after the inquest concluded Theo died due to his overwhelming response to an E.coli infection.