A mother reveals how her stillborn baby was "left to
rot" for six days on a floor in Medway Maritime Hospital instead of being
taken to a mortuary.
According to the woman, the reason her daughter, born in
April 2014, was put in a cold cot, was to keep the baby's body cool to allow
parents to spend time with their child.
Later on, the baby girl was transferred to a transport cot,
which does not keep the body cool, to be taken for a post mortem investigation.
The woman however, lamented that the corpse was not then
taken to the mortuary as it should have been.
The 31-year-old mother, who does not want to be named, told
the BBC: "It is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
"The hospital apparently only had one cold cot but
another baby was in it. So she was in a transport cot on the floor. They
totally forgot about her and left her to rot.
"She didn't take a breath but she was still a human
being and she had the right to be treated the way she should have been."
The mother, later on received a "satisfactory
settlement" after she took legal action against the hospital.
Her solicitors, Fairweathers, while speaking said the error
was noticed only when Great Ormond Street Hospital, who carry out the
post-mortem investigations, asked where the baby was.
Thus, the hospital said it has announced new procedures to prevent
it from repeating itself.
While speaking, Dot Smith, Head of Midwifery and Gynaecology
at Medway Maritime Hospital said: "We're extremely sorry for the distress
the family has suffered. We've already written to the family to acknowledge the
failings on our part.
"In 2014, we carried out a Serious Incident
investigation report into the circumstances surrounding this matter – the
findings of which have been provided to the family.
"As a result of this incident, we've introduced new
guidelines for our nursing staff to prevent this from ever happening again.
"We've employed the services of a bereavement midwife
to provide specialist support to our staff, and to help grieving families in
coordinating bereavement care, should they suffer the tragedy of losing a
child.
"In addition, we will also be unveiling a new
bereavement suite this autumn – a facility that is being specially constructed
for families who experience a stillbirth, or lose a child shortly after birth.
"Once again, we would like to convey our sincere apologies
to the family."
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