Chelsea & Westminster hospital admits liability for baby Elton Deutekom's death
Following the inquest into the death of baby Elton Deutekom in which the coroner found neglect by the Chelsea and Westminster hospital contributed to Elton's death, the Trust has now admitted liability for the errors and sincerely apologised to Elton's parents.
The midwives looking after Elton and his mother Eli did not notice clear signs of an abrupted placenta nor that baby Elton was in distress, indicated by CTG readings.
Elton was starved of oxygen and pronounced dead 37 minutes after his birth.
The coroner also highlighted that senior clinicians at the hospital did not appear to understand the regulations for referring a baby's death for inquest after they wrongly informed the HSIB that Elton had been stillborn, meaning no investigation was needed.
Helen Thompson, representing Elton's parents, told ITV News which reported the inquest that this begged the question whether other baby deaths have also been wrongly reported.
In its Letter of Response to a claim submitted on behalf of Elton's parents, the Trust admitted breach of duty for shortfalls in the maternity care provided.
Following its own expert evidence, the Trust accepted that delivery ought to have been achieved 13 minutes earlier and that, very sadly, this delay 'materially contributed to Elton’s death on 12 January 2022'.
'On the balance of probabilities, had the delivery taken place by 04.22 hours, it is probable Elton would have survived but with some neurological damage', it concluded.
The Letter also said: 'We would like to sincerely apologise for the poor care provided and would like to extend our apologies to Ms Hoy and Mr Deutekom.'
Read more about Elton's case and the coroner's Preventing Future Deaths warning
Following the inquest, Eli told the Times:
'Knowing that Elton's death could have been avoided is both validating and deeply tragic. We believed that we were in a safe place, with the people and the technology surrounding us to help us.
'Please do better - please listen and trust women in distress, please act wisely and swiftly when they are in danger, and please take accountability for your mistakes so that others don't have to suffer through the same fight for justice.'
Read more about our neonatal death claims
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