Mother dies after hospital ‘fundamental failures’ – report

A woman died shortly after the birth of her fifth child due to “fundamental failures” in her care, a report says.

Laura-Jane Seaman, 36, died on 23 December 2022 at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, Essex, after significant peritoneal haemorrhage.

The prevention of future deaths report by the coroner said bleeding was not identified, despite Ms Seaman’s repeated concerns that she was bleeding “too much” – and that she told staff “I am not going to die”. Appealed to give.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said it was improving training “to prevent this happening again”.

Ms Seaman was admitted to hospital on 21 December and while her baby was not born well, she later suffered bleeding which went unnoticed by staff for hours – despite having a known history of bleeding .

earlier this year, A coroner found several “gross failings” And it was said by health care professionals that if this had not happened, Ms Seaman, of Witham, would not have died.

Before Ms Seaman was admitted to hospital the Essex Trust knew she was at high risk of post-partum haemorrhage – heavy bleeding after birth.

She recovered after a vaginal delivery and was able to breastfeed her baby.

She was sitting on the bed and planning to go home after her baby was discharged.

However, two hours later she began to feel unwell and asked the doctors: “Am I bleeding?”

Her concerns did not go away – the medical staff attributed her symptoms to dehydration, and when she lost consciousness she was simply given a biscuit.

Essex coroner Sonia Hayes said in the report that Ms Seaman’s maternal collapse was “classified as unconsciousness by staff” when it should have been delivered to the critical care team.

Dianne Sarkar, chief nursing and quality officer at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to Laura-Jane’s family.

“Following the investigation into the circumstances that led to her death, our focus has been on improving training in our maternity services to recognize early signs of decline and pathways to escalation to prevent it happening again.”