Inquest into the death of baby Teddy at Nottingham Hospital

By Sadie Simpson

Published October 25, 2021In: Clinical Negligence - Inquests

I recently represented the family of ‘Teddy’ at an inquest into his death, which concluded on Friday. Along with a number of our recent cases, this one related to maternity services at Nottingham Universities Hospital Trust (NUHT).

Teddy was born on 23 November 2020 and died less than 48 hours after birth. The family would like to say that “he was a glimmer of hope in what felt a very uncertain pandemic world. He was a much wanted, and much-loved baby, and our hearts are broken because he is not with us today.”

The Conclusion into Teddy’s death has confirmed that there were undoubtedly failings in Teddy’s care and that the Trust accepted that they failed to follow national and Trust guidelines. There were systemic failings and senior leadership should have ensured guidelines were embedded in to practice. There were concerns that there was a misunderstanding of the guidelines by the midwives. This misunderstanding had been going on for five years. Knowledge of the failings has been devastating for the family.

The coroner was unable to determine the cause of Teddy’s death.

The family would like to thank the Coroner for taking the time to investigate Teddy’s death and their family and friends who continue to support them through this difficult time.

There are ongoing independent investigations into the Trust and we would like to urge other parents whose babies have died or been injured at NUHT to add their voice to the current independent CCG Investigation into the Trust.