Maternity inquiry must include care culture - dad

The father of a baby girl who died five days after she was born in a Leeds hospital has said he wants an independent inquiry into maternity services to focus on culture as well as potential negligence.

Freyja Green died in March 2019 after a traumatic birth at St James's University Hospital.

Her father, Damon Green, who is part of a campaign group calling for action over failings in maternity services run by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said his family had received poor bereavement care following Freyja's death.

While an inquest found no medical negligence, the trust has apologised for the bereavement care Freyja's parents experienced, adding it was "deeply sorry for the tragic loss".

In October, Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed there would be an independent inquiry into the trust's maternity units.

Mr Green said he felt the trust was more concerned with protecting its reputation than with bereaved families, and suggested there was a "culture of arrogance".

He said a resident doctor - formerly known as a junior doctor, a person who has completed their medical degree and is now working - attempted to manually rotate Freyja in the birth canal before she was then taken to theatre for a forceps delivery.

The baby needed resuscitation and tests revealed she had serious neck and spinal injuries from the forceps.

"There were no cries, no sound," Mr Green said.

"Just beeping machines, hushed whispers and a lot of heaviness in the air.

"That was when it really hit home. When there was no cry from Freyja, that was really quite hard."

After a couple of hours Mr Green said he and Freyja's mother were told the baby had a neck and spine fracture and was not breathing on her own so needed to be moved to Leeds General Infirmary's specialist unit.

The baby had more tests and on the third day a consultant sat the parents down and explained her spine was fractured in three places and her spinal cord severed.

"We were told she would never walk or talk or breathe on her own," Mr Green said.

"She'd constantly be at the hospital and would never have a life."

Freyja's life support was removed and she died on 15 March 2019.

Mr Green said there was "no empathy in that discussion" and he thought some NHS staff could be "desensitised" to giving bad news.

He said they were offered very little bereavement support and at his daughter's inquest he found hospital notes had been changed, but the resident doctor involved in the birth had not been required to attend the hearing.

An inquest found Freyja died because of "fractures and birth trauma" rather than medical negligence, but the hospital has apologised for the bereavement care.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Magnus Harrison said Freyja died from a rare complication during forceps delivery which was "an absolute tragedy" and said the trust was "deeply sorry for the tragic loss".

He said: "Freyja's family did not receive appropriate bereavement support and communication during their care, and for this we sincerely apologise."

Dr Harrison said the trust was "committed to doing better" and family support from bereavement midwives had improved.

He said it was a priority in the trust's maternity and neonatal improvement plans.

Mr Green said he was still unhappy that the trust had not apologised for the events during the birth itself, and a more senior medic should have stepped in earlier.

The inquiry follows a BBC investigation into potentially preventable deaths at the trust.

"Everybody is really happy it's going forward," Mr Green said.

"In our case I do believe things were hidden, brushed aside."

Mr Green said he would be putting questions to the trust's new chief executive, Brendan Brown.

"If [the hospital and maternity services] hadn't failed, my little girl would still be here," he said.

In a statement following the inquiry announcement, the trust told the BBC the vast majority of births at Leeds were safe, and deaths of mothers and babies were fortunately very rare.

It added that Leeds cares for a higher volume of babies with complex conditions as it is one of a "handful of specialist centres" in the UK.