Herpes deaths: NHS trust lied about virus links, inquest hears

The mother of a young woman who died with herpes said she was "disgusted" with an NHS trust which "lied" about the potential cause of the virus.

Kim Sampson and Samantha Mulcahy died with herpes after the same obstetrician at the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust carried out their caesareans.

Yvette Sampson's daughter had been "fit and healthy" until she gave birth on 3 May 2018, an inquest has heard.

She said the trust had lied about links between the two mothers' deaths.

They were treated by the same surgeon and midwife six weeks apart, neither of whom were tested for herpes, the inquest in Maidstone was told.

Ms Sampson said her daughter had been "in agony" from 3 May when she gave birth to her second child, until she died on 22 May.

She told the inquest she had received "poor treatment" by midwives at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital (QEQM) in Margate, which she felt also "contributed" to her daughter's death.

Ms Sampson was initially denied a Caesarean and instead told to push for almost three hours, despite repeatedly telling midwives that "something wasn't right" and "clinging to the bed in agony", her mother said.

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Source: BBC News, 20 April 2023