NHS Trust Apologizes After Coroner Identifies Failures in Infant’s Death

An NHS hospital trust has issued an apology after a coroner determined that a series of shortcomings contributed to the passing of a newborn child. Alfie Hinton died 23 minutes after his birth on May 10, 2019, at Airedale General Hospital in Keighley, as a result of a brain injury. Charlotte Keighley, an assistant coroner in West Yorkshire, stated that delays in the induction of labor were due to a lack of available beds at the time, followed by additional delays in monitoring Alfie’s mother. Lianne Robinson, the interim chief nurse at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, commented: “Our deepest sympathies go to Alfie’s family and we are very sorry that our care fell short of our usual high standards.” At an inquest which concluded on November 13, Ms Keighley declared that neglect contributed to Alfie’s death. In her report aimed at preventing future deaths, the assistant coroner noted that Alfie’s mother was admitted to the hospital on May 8, 2019, because of elevated levels of bile acids, a condition that heightens the probability of a stillbirth. Ms Keighley explained that the induction of labor was requested “as soon as possible” – by the next morning at the latest – but it was not carried out until 22:50 the following day. This was attributed to “a significant delay arising from the unavailability of beds on the labour ward,” the report indicated. It further added that there were subsequent delays in monitoring Alfie’s mother, and a “complete umbilical cord occlusion” occurred shortly before Alfie’s delivery. Upon delivery, his heart rate was slow, and Alfie did not survive despite resuscitation efforts. Ms Keighley wrote: “I could find no evidence of how or if the maternal risks were assessed following her admission, nor how the level of risk posed by the level of bile acids was communicated to those tasked with prioritising those patients awaiting induction of labour.” She mentioned that when a low heart rate was observed, it was initially presumed to be an “issue with the monitoring equipment” due to “little awareness of the risks already present.” Ms Robinson added: “We are committed to ensuring that concerns from the coroner will be acted upon. “Following Alfie’s death we have made a number of procedural changes and will continue to review our practices to ensure we learn from this very distressing incident.”