A Knaresborough couple are continuing to campaign for change after an inquest found delays in performing a cesarean contributed to their baby’s death.
Whitney and Andy Pickup’s daughter died on July 12, 2018 at just nine days old as a result of a severe brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen.
Mrs Pickup had a difficult birth with her first child, Charlie, at Leeds General Infirmary. Matilda was born at Harrogate District Hospital.
She believes if the notes from Charlie’s birth had been requested by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust a cesarean could have been performed earlier and Matilda’s death could have been prevented.
This was confirmed at the inquest which found that intrapartum (medical intervention) delay contributed to Matilda’s death.
Since Matilda’s death her parents have campaigned tirelessly for “Matilda’s Law” which would make it mandatory for hospital trusts to share maternity notes if a mother changes hospitals.
The pair, who have since welcomed baby Isaac in April 2020, have said they plan to resume conversations with NHS England and their local MP Andrew Jones about the law.
Mr and Mrs Pickup are determined to keep campaigning in their daughter’s name.
Mrs Pickup said:
“I’m glad it [the inquest] is over it was difficult listening to it all again but we are ok we are now pushing for her law so it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Sometimes we do still think ‘did it really happen?’. We are doing this for her, it’s Matilda’s legacy.”
The pair were keen to emphasise that the “service is great when it works” but improvements needed to be made.
During Matilda’s birth the inquest heard various opportunities were missed including delays in delivering Matilda via an emergency cesarean when her heart rate dropped.
Following an unsuccessful forceps delivery, Matilda was born by caesarean section with severe brain damage.
Mr Pickup said:
“Whatever we do it can’t bring her back but we just hope we can stop it happening to someone else. We had built momentum with the campaign but it was halted due to the pandemic. We respected the NHS needed that time to deal with covid. But now is the time to start again. We have a long way to go but we will keep going.”
He added:
“She’s with us everyday.”
Baby Matilda
Matilda was later admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary before being transferred to Martin House Hospice, where she died.
The Pickups subsequently instructed medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care provided by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
Victoria Moss, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Whitney and Andy, said:
“The past few years have been very difficult for the couple who are continuing to grieve for their daughter while holding many questions over her death, but we’re pleased to have helped provide them with the answers they deserve.
“The findings over the past few days demonstrate the need for improvements, in particular regarding the sharing of patient notes, and we now urge that the hospital trusts work together to implement these fully.
“In the meantime will continue to support Whitney and Andy in their campaigning as they attempt to come to terms with their loss.”
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On behalf of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Jacqueline Andrews, Medical Director, said:
Knaresborough couple campaign for ‘Matilda’s Law’ after death of baby daughter“We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Matilda. Following Matilda’s death, the Trust carried out an in-depth investigation, the detail of which have been shared the family and HM Coroner before and during the inquest.
“Following this investigation and as part of our wider and ongoing commitment to providing high quality care to all of our patients, we have already made extensive improvements to our processes and training. This includes the process for requesting patient notes from other hospitals. These improvements were fully shared with the family and HM Coroner during the inquest.”
A Knaresborough couple are campaigning for changes to maternity services after ‘avoidable delays’ in delivery led to their baby daughter’s death.
Whitney Pickup went into labour at Harrogate District Hospital on July 2, 2018.
She was advised by doctors to proceed with a natural delivery even though her first child was delivered via emergency caesarean section at another hospital.
Following an unsuccessful forceps delivery, her daughter Matilda was born by caesarean section with severe brain damage.
Matilda was admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary before being transferred to Martin House Hospice, where she died at nine days old.
Ms Pickup, 33, and husband Andy, 35, subsequently instructed medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate the care provided by Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
An investigation, carried out by the trust, found “there were avoidable delays in achieving the delivery of Matilda which caused or materially contributed to her sad death”.
Among the problems identified by a subsequent Root Cause Analysis Report was a failure to obtain previous maternity and delivery notes, which would have alerted doctors to the risks involved as well as avoidable delays in the operating theatre and communication issues.
The couple are now campaigning for Matilda’s Law to make it mandatory for hospital trusts to share antenatal, maternity and labour records if the mother is under the care of a different trust in future pregnancies.
Ms Pickup, who is also mother to Charlie, five, and Isaac, one, believes her daughter’s death could have been avoided if the hospital had requested her medical records. She said:
“It’s still so difficult for me and Andy to accept that Matilda is no longer here and she didn’t get to experience any sort of life.
“What makes it worse and all the more upsetting is knowing our daughter’s death could have been avoided had the hospital simply requested my medical records, making them aware of the risks.
“We will never forget Matilda and she will always be part of our family. We now want to honour her memory by it being law for trusts to share relevant information to improve patient care and ensure staff are aware of any potential complications.
“If we can prevent this happening to anyone else than at least we can take something from what we’ve had to go through.”
An inquest into Matilda’s death, which is expected to last for four days, started in Harrogate yesterday.
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Victoria Moss, the specialist medical negligence lawyer representing the couple, said:
“Through our work, we sadly come across too many families left to pick up the pieces following the death of a baby following avoidable failings.
“We would urge trusts to always work in partnership, not only by sharing patient records so the best possible care plans can be put in place, but also by sharing best practice. This we believe would reduce the number of mother and babies either seriously injured or killed.
A spokesman for Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said it would comment after the inquest.