1 day Ago
Katalin Szabo and James Moore were preparing to welcome their son, Dexter, into the world. However, in December 2020 at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, the pair were told the devastating news that he had died at 27 weeks gestation. Katalin had sought help from the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust-ran hospital twice in the space of five weeks during her pregnancy.
Katalin Szabo visited Hinchingbrooke Hospital twice in the space of five weeks during her pregnancy. (Image: Supplied) On December 3, 2020, she was forced to seek further medical attention from the maternity unit after experiencing high blood pressure, sickness and dehydration. She had also began to experience severe pain.
Katalin was told by staff at Hinchingbrooke Hospital that she had a stomach bug and at 1.50am, after checking Dexter's heartbeat, attempted to discharge her. However, Katalin was still experiencing pain and felt that something was not right, so refused to leave.
An hour later, she was told that Dexter's heartbeat could no longer be found and that he had died. Within that hour no consultant was called to assess Katalin further, despite still being in pain whilst heavily medicated. It later emerged that Katalin was having a placental abruption.
James, Dexter's father said: "High blood pressure is a risk factor for placental abruption, as is significant pain, so we just want to know why continuous heartbeat monitoring was not used? "This could have given a window for an emergency caesarean, which could have saved our baby's life." Keep up to date with the latest news across Huntingdonshire by signing up to our newsletter email alerts here James was refused entry to the hospital and was told to either wait in the car or go home while Katalin was being treated, as the incident occurred during the Covid-19 Pandemic. He phoned the maternity ward for an update, and was told that he could text Katalin as she was "fine".
The next call he received was from Katalin, telling him that Dexter had died. After Dexter's death, the Huntingdon-based couple made a complaint against the hospital over the care they were given the night that Dexter died. "We just felt absolutely fobbed off from start to finish, and the care given throughout the pregnancy was below acceptable standards.
"Kat was told on one hospital visit "not to be dramatic", and that "you're pregnant, you can still get poorly", said James. The pair also raised concerns about errors in hospital documentation, claiming that the wrong time was recorded for Dexter's delivery and the misspelling of his middle name when he was registered. The Trust paid out £20,000 to Katalin and James, which they have since said was a "slap in the face".
"The slap in the face is that they valued Dexter's life at a total of £20,000. We don't matter to them." Dr Callum Gardner, Chief Medical Officer, for North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We can confirm the settlement of claim by Ms Szabo concerning her care and the stillbirth of Dexter, and we are deeply sorry for Dexter's death and the loss and distress this has caused the family.
" The couple have since had another son who was born at a different hospital. They said: "We will never trust that hospital again, and our message to all pregnant women and partners is if you're not 100 per cent satisfied with the care you're receiving, ask to speak to the sister in charge, or the matron, or jump in the car and drive to another hospital for a second opinion." Have you got a story you want to share with us? Get in touch at: francesca.
[email protected] or newsdesk@huntspost.
co.uk..
