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A grieving mother is suing the NHS after a locum doctor refused to give her a scan when her unborn baby was in distress.Ammie Fearon, 26, was 39 weeks pregnant when a midwife was concerned her bump had not grown so booked her in for an emergency scan at the hospital.
But when she arrived at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, locum consultant Dr James Davis told her there were no slots available and examined her before sending her home.
Ammie Fearon (pictured with her partner, Paul Foster) is suing the NHS after her baby was stillborn just days after a locum doctor told her she didn't need an emergency scan
Four days later a GP examined Ms Fearon and discovered her baby had died in the womb.
She was forced to give birth to her dead daughter Lily-Ella on April 26, 2012.
Following the death, the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, carried out a full investigation which revealed six key failings.
They included Ms Fearon not being referred for a scan, staff not having adequate training and poor communication between the midwife and Dr Davis.
Ms Fearon, from Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, is convinced that had she had undergone the scan on April 20, her baby could have been saved.
She said: ‘I know that Lily could have been saved if the problems had been detected earlier. Instead I had to go through the worst experience of my life, something which no one should go through.
When Ms Fearon was 39 weeks pregnant, a midwife became concerned her baby had stopped growing and referred her for an emergency scan but a doctor said it wasn't necessary
‘Everything was fine with the pregnancy up until 39 weeks. I went for a check up on April 17 and the midwife was concerned my bump hadn’t grown.
‘I was booked in for an emergency scan but no slots were available until April 20.
‘A locum consultant then checked me out on April 20 and he just said I was fully engaged and there was no problem with the growth, so I didn’t have the scan.
Four days after the scan should have taken place, Ms Fearon's GP realised her baby had died. Lily-Ella had to be induced and was delivered using forceps. Image shows her footprints
‘The problem was he was looking at notes which said I had been seen just a few days before so he said “of course the baby hasn’t grown”.
‘He said it was unethical the nurse had referred me for a scan because it would have concerned me unnecessarily.
THE TIME LINE OF EVENTS:
April 17, 2012 - Midwife refers Ms Fearon for an emergency scan because of concerns her baby has not grown.
April 20, 2012 - Locum consultant accidentally reads notes from April 17 check up and refuses to carry out scan wrongly believing the baby’s growth to be normal.
April 24, 2012 - GP examines Ms Fearon and discovers the baby died in the womb.
April 26, 2012 - Lily-Ella is stillborn.
April 20, 2012 - Locum consultant accidentally reads notes from April 17 check up and refuses to carry out scan wrongly believing the baby’s growth to be normal.
April 24, 2012 - GP examines Ms Fearon and discovers the baby died in the womb.
April 26, 2012 - Lily-Ella is stillborn.
‘I was in shock, I had felt her kicking the night before.
‘If I had had the scan on April 20 then all this would have been picked up. I was then induced to go into labour and sent home.
‘I had a 12 hour labour - it was horrible. My placenta ruptured and I was in so much pain, I was given every drug and even a spinal during the labour.
‘I was then taken into theatre and she was delivered using forceps.
‘It was very surreal, Lily-Ella was so quiet and there no crying. I was able to stay with her in the bereavement ward.’
Shockingly, as she was in the bereavement ward another locum consultant wrongly believed he was in the maternity unit and congratulated Ms Fearon on being a new mum.
Ms Fearon, who works part-time at Asda, said: ‘Another locum consultant, who clearly didn’t know where he was just came blustering into the ward and said “congratulations” to me.
Ms Fearon and Mr Foster have now had another baby - Macie - who was nearly lost like Lily-Ella as she also stopped growing and became distressed near the end of the pregnancy
‘I didn’t know what to say but the nurses quickly told him he was in the wrong place and told him to get out. It’s just another example of how badly trained the staff were.’
After her ordeal, Ms Fearon became pregnant with daughter Macie and at the same stage her midwife became concerned the baby was not growing.
This time she underwent a scan which revealed her unborn child was in distress and she had an emergency Caesarean.
Ms Fearon, who lives with partner Paul Foster, 21, and six-month-old Macie, is now contacting solicitors to take legal action against the NHS.
Ms Fearon said: 'I know that Lily could have been saved if the problems had been detected earlier, instead I had to go through the worst experience of my life, something which no one should go through.' Image shows the order of service from her funeral
She said: ‘I was terrified during the whole of the pregnancy with Macie because I thought the same thing was going to happen again.
‘It did happen again though, the bump hadn’t grown enough but it was picked up on and I had a scan. The doctors said she needed to be delivered immediately.
‘Macie was born through a Caesarean six weeks early and she was in the neonatal unit for two weeks but she was absolutely fine - that was what should have happened to Lily.
‘I was treated like royalty during the second pregnancy and I always feel like it was because they knew something wrong had been done before.’
In his report to the NHS Trust, Dr Davis, who had been working at the hospital for seven months, said: ‘I was informed that there were no (ultrasound) slots available as the department was too busy.
‘I called the patient in to see me in the clinic room. I felt after clinical examination findings an ultrasound scan was not warranted. I transferred her back to midwife led care.’
The NHS Trust denies negligence but has apologised for the standard of care Ms Fearon received.
Joy Payne, head of midwifery for Heart of England NHS Foudation Trust, said: ‘We would like to send our sincerest condolences to Ms Fearon and her family at this very sad time.
‘We take the safety and care of all of our patients very seriously and have undertaken a detailed investigation into the antenatal care Ms Fearon received.
‘I would like to apologise to Ms Fearon and would welcome an opportunity to meet with her to discuss any aspect of her care further.’
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