‘Just a shambles’: Heartbroken couple allege baby girl died after hospital failures
Deputy Premier Steven Miles held back tears fielding questions about the tragic death of a baby girl just hours after being born at a Queensland hospital. But he denied it was another black mark on the state’s health sector.
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An emotional Steven Miles held back tears fielding questions about the tragic death of a baby girl who died just hours after being born at a Queensland hospital.
The daughter of first-time mum Meg Flaskett died in catastrophic circumstances just hours after being born at Redcliffe Hospital in September.
Ms Flaskett alleges her baby Thea was met with an empty oxygen tank and malfunctioning equipment and that her concerns were not taken seriously enough.
The Deputy Premier on Sunday said his heart broke for the family.
However, he denied that the death was another black mark on the Queensland health sector, saying most families had good experiences.
“Having heard it, it’s just devastating for people to experience that so early in their parenting lives,” Mr Miles said.
“When I heard of the story, I contacted the Health Minister and Metro North to make sure they were offering all the support that they should.”
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday morning, the minister was visibly emotional and revealed the parents had approached his office last week.
“It’s a very sad story,” he said.
“I think all the responses are in place and the Health Minister is managing this. But our heart breaks for Meg and James and the experience they had.”
Mr Miles said Queenslanders were blessed with a world-class health system and hard-working staff.
“I don’t think you can take one example and extrapolate that out to the system,” he said when asked if it was another health crisis, at another hospital.
“I know many many people who have really good experiences and many who have had their babies at Redcliffe Hospital with great experiences.
“Clearly, though, the outcome here is not what anyone would have wanted.”
The Sunday Mail earlier reported a full clinical review of the care received by Ms Flaskett and her daughter Thea is under way, with the coroner and Health Ombudsman undertaking separate investigations.
Thea Ann Flaskett was born just after midnight on September 11. She would live for four hours.
Ms Flaskett, 21, and her husband James, 22, believe their daughter could still be alive if clinicians had treated Ms Flaskett’s growing concerns more seriously in the final weeks of the pregnancy, had listened to pleas for a C-section as per the birth plan, and had ensured critical equipment was functioning properly.
Health staff have rejected parts of the allegations with investigations ongoing.
“I truly feel that because I was a young first-time mum that I was brushed over and treated as if I didn’t know what I was talking about,” Ms Flaskett said.
“In Thea’s legacy I want to bring change so that young mums are listened to and that we’re treated just the same as any other mother.”
Metro North HHS has denied, based on interim findings of the clinical review, that any equipment was faulty or that clinical staff did not know how to operate equipment appropriately.
Ms Flaskett was admitted to hospital on the evening of Saturday, September 9, to be induced. Her labour was stressful, with allegations the gas mask meant to deliver pain relief medication was broken, the hospital was understaffed, her care team was made up of lesser-experienced staff and they did not inform her the baby was in distress.
When Thea was eventually delivered, with the cord wrapped around her neck once, she did not cry and only made soft grunting noises. But Thea’s resuscitation efforts were allegedly delayed up to 15 minutes, according to Ms Flaskett, including an eight-minute argument between the pediatric registrar and a midwife over whether the baby needed help breathing.
The midwife ultimately ordered Thea be put on the resuscitation trolley so she could receive potentially lifesaving oxygen.
“They went to put oxygen on her but the oxygen tank was empty … and none of the staff knew how to change that. They didn’t know where (a spare tank) was located or how to fix it,” Ms Flaskett said.
A spokesman for Metro North HHS acknowledged an oxygen tank was replaced during resuscitation on Thea “in line with standard clinical processes”.
They did not specify how long it took to replace the tank.
“It is recognised that resuscitation is a traumatic event and involves a significant number of staff performing critical roles at a rapid pace,” he said.
“Interim findings also indicate that the ward was fully stocked with oxygen supplies on the night of September 10 and that staff were appropriately trained in how to replace oxygen tanks.”
An obstetrician, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said medics were taught that a newborn baby needs oxygen within three minutes before the brain is affected.
“In any birth it would be a normal process for the medical staff to do their checks and balances on the equipment in the room before the mother is wheeled in. Checking the oxygen supply would be included in that preparation,” he said.
“I cannot comment on any particular case but having no oxygen in a tank would be a very big oversight. Some wards have an oxygen supply piped from the wall.”
Ms Flaskett said clinicians began doing CPR on Thea after an oximeter used to measure her heart rate gave a reading of 60bpm.
But, according to Ms Flaskett, a health worker using a stethoscope found the measurement was wrong and the baby’s heart rate was closer to 120bpm.
“It was just a shambles … and nobody telling us how dire the situation was,” she said.
The decision was made to activate a neo-rescue team to transport Thea to the closest tertiary hospital but her condition would never stabilise enough for this to happen.
Ms Flaskett said that about 3.30am on September 11 clinicians told her Thea was not showing signs of brain activity and it was likely she would not survive the trip to the Mater Hospital.
“(They said) if we wanted to hold her, now would be the time,” she said.
“So we did and they passed her to me with her tubes in and told me once they removed the breathing tube she would pass, but it could be minutes, hours, or days.”
Thea died in her father’s arms within five minutes.
The Winnie-the-Pooh-themed nursery at the couple’s Griffin home, prepared over the Easter long weekend with the help of Ms Flaskett’s mum, remains untouched.
“More than anything we want to be parents and we will always be parents, Thea has made us her mum and dad forever, but we do want to get to parent a child at home,” Ms Flaskett said.
“Being a mum has always been my greatest dream.
“I never knew what I wanted to do with my life, but I’ve always wanted to be a mum.”
Redcliffe Hospital confirmed a full clinical review was under way and an open disclosure meeting had been offered to the couple. “The death of an infant is a tragedy for all involved. Our deepest condolences are with this family at what must be an unimaginably difficult time,” acting executive director Louise O’Riordan said. “The matter has been referred to the Health Ombudsman and the Queensland Coroner in line with standard procedures and we are unable to provide more details at this time.
“Metro North Health is working with the family to ensure they have access to the support they need.”
The Flasketts are set to meet with Health Minister Shannon Fentiman on Tuesday, and hope as a “voice of power” she can fix the systemic issues at Redcliffe Hospital and ensure mothers are heard.
Ms Fentiman said her “heart goes out to Meg and her family” for the “unimaginable pain” they had experienced in the past few months.
“My office has previously been in contact with Meg, and I will be meeting with her personally next week,” she said.
“I will always make myself available to women who wish to share their experiences with the healthcare system, and (to) hear what more can be done to support bereaved families.”
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