Investigation into girl’s death delayed due to concerns from ‘whistleblower’

An inquest into the baby girl’s death has been postponed following concerns raised by a ‘whistleblower’.

A hearing into the circumstances of Ayda Locke, who died at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary in November 2019 at just seven days old, was due to begin on Monday, but an email was sent to Lancashire Senior Coroner Dr James Adery on Friday afternoon. It was canceled after the email was sent.

Dr Adery said the message was sent by Ian Kemp, who said an inspection report into the maternity service at the Royal Lancaster and Burrows Furness General Hospital was submitted in December 2019. She said she was a midwife who had “blown the whistle” to the Healthcare Quality Commission over the allegations. “watered down.”

The court heard that allegations of “possible concealment” between the independent healthcare regulator and NHS England were made alongside allegations of ongoing concerns about the safety of maternity services.

Royal Lancaster and Furness General are both managed by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Foundation Trust, and in 2015, Furness General’s maternity ward, which had become “seriously dysfunctional,” suffered from a range of “deadly” problems. It turned out that something had happened and was the subject of a major report. The incident caused the needless deaths of 11 infants and one mother between 2004 and 2013.

The Morecambe Bay inquiry, chaired by Dr Bill Kirkup, revealed a series of failures “at every level”, from the maternity ward to those responsible for regulation and oversight of the trust that runs the ward.

Dr Adeley said Mr Kemp’s claims were “well within the scope of the inquest” and required further investigation as he may not have the “complete factual basis to deal with this case”. Stated.

He said statements would be sought from all parties before proceedings resumed.

CQC lawyers told the coroner that Mr Kemp’s claims were inadmissible.

Dr Adery told the health trust’s lawyers: “I think the trust is suggesting that (Mr Kemp) has ulterior motives and that there is a fraught relationship between you and him. I would like to know in writing. ”

Ayda’s parents, Ryan Locke and Sarah Robinson, attended the hearing in Preston.

Both parties are represented by Mackenzie Jones, who previously said concerns were raised by the Medical Safety Review Unit regarding Ayda’s birth in April 2020, but the trust’s internal investigation found no problems with the provision of care. It was determined that.

The trust later admitted there had been problems with Ayda’s delivery, admitting: “The fact that she was experiencing difficulties should have been recognized sooner and the birth should have been expedited.”

Mr Locke and Mr Robinson said they believed the trust had “not changed much” since 2015.

Dr Adery adjourned the inquest to fix a date.