Hospital covered up baby’s death, says senior coroner

A senior coroner has accused Chelsea and Westminster Hospital of a cover-up over the death of a baby who died when midwives failed to act on clear signs that his mother was in distress.

Elton Deutekom was pronounced dead 37 minutes after his birth in January 2022. During labour his mother had a placental abruption — when some or all of the placenta separates from the wall of the womb. This was not picked up by her care team, and Elton was starved of oxygen.

Doctors at the west London hospital did not refer the incident to the coroner and wrongly told the NHS’s healthcare safety investigation branch (HSIB) that Elton had been stillborn and no investigation was required, an inquest into his death was told.

It was not until his parents learnt of this anomaly in the records that an investigation was carried out by the HSIB, which uncovered serious failings in his care.

Professor Fiona Wilcox, the senior coroner, said: “I need to say this on the record and in public — this feels like there has been an attempt at a cover-up.” She later repeated: “I am concerned there is an element of cover-up in this death. I will say it categorically.”

Concluding that Elton had died from natural causes to which neglect contributed, the coroner said there had been “gross” failings in his care. She said that if the midwives had adequately monitored his heart rate, acknowledged his mother’s pain and recognised hypoxia — oxygen deficiency — he would have been delivered earlier and would have survived.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 21 November 2024