Medical Negligence Patient Safety 1.10

MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE PATIENT SAFETY ITEM 1.10

PATIENT SAFETY ACT 2023

John Whelan Solicitor with specialist expertise in Medical Negligence and Patient Safety gives an example of a Notifiable Incident as envisaged by Item 1.10 of the Act. 

There are 13 notifiable incidents set out in the Act but other notifiable incidents may be introduced by Ministerial regulation under Section 8 of the Act.

An unanticipated and unintended stillborn child where the child was born without a fatal foetal abnormality and with a prescribed birth weight or has achieved a prescribed gestational age and who shows no sign of life at birth from any cause related to or aggravated by the management of the pregnancy and the death did not arise from or was a consequence of or wholly attributable to the illness of the Patient or an underlying condition of the child. 

Item 1.10

An example of an unanticipated and unintended stillbirth where the child had no fatal fetal abnormality.     In this case, a woman was nearing full time in her pregnancy with a healthy

 baby who had reached a normal gestational age and showed no signs of any congenital abnormalities during prenatal scans.  

During labour, mismanagement of the delivery process, including delays in performing a necessary caesarean section, led to the baby being deprived of oxygen (fetal Hypoxia) for an extended period.   The medical team failed to monitor the baby’s distress signals adequately during labour and took too long to intervene.    By the time the caesarean was finally performed, the baby was delivered stillborn, showing no signs of life at birth.  

The stillbirth was a direct consequence of mistakes in the management of labour and delivery, particularly in not responding promptly to signs of fetal distress.   The baby was otherwise healthy, with a normal birth weight and no fatal fetal abnormalities, and the stillbirth did not arise from or was not attributable to any underlying illness or condition of the mother or the child.   Had the labour been managed appropriately and in a timely manner, the outcome would likely have been different. 

The tragic case shows how mismanagement of the pregnancy or delivery process can lead to an unanticipated and unintended stillbirth in a healthy baby, where the cause of death is related to clinical decision during labour rather than any pre existing condition of the mother or child.  

 

For more detailed insights into how the Patient Safety Act 2023 impacts you and how Whelan Law can support you, please visit our Patient Safety Rights Legal Advice https://www.whelanlaw.ie/news/medical-negligence-and-patient-safety/