Verdict of medical misadventure returned in inquest into baby's hospital death
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A verdict of medical misadventure has been returned in the inquest into the death of a baby boy at Portlaoise Hospital.
The verdict on Baby Ódhran Murphy’s death on December 27, 2021, before his delivery the day after, was delivered at Portlaoise Coroner’s Court on the second day of the inquest.
Odhran's parents, Hilary and Patrick Murphy had cried in court yesterday, as they detailed how they were forced to bury their still born son in two separate funerals more than 11 months apart because his organs had been removed and retained.
Today’s inquest heard that when Ms Murphy was admitted to Portlaoise Hospital on December 27, 2021, she had suffered prelabour rupture of membranes (PROM) while she was at home.
The sequence of events from her admission until Ódhran was stillborn the next day has been disputed throughout the inquest.
Ms Murphy says she asked for various scans and procedures but the inquest heard her consultant, Portlaoise Hospital obstetrician Dr Miriam Doyle says she had “no recollection” of these requests.
The inquest heard, in legal submissions, that had Ms Murphy’s requests been adhered to, her baby “would be alive today”.
Other statements by Ms Murphy, including one about a meeting she says she had with a nurse in a hospital corridor where she showed her evidence of bleeding, were contradicted by hospital staff involved in her care.
The inquest had to be adjourned briefly this afternoon over what was described by SC Sara Antoniotti acting on instructions from Ms Murphy’s lawyer Rachael Liston, as “fabricated” evidence from a Portlaoise Hospital midwife.
Ms Murphy burst into tears towards the end of evidence given by the midwife, who had been on duty when Ms Murphy’s son died of a lack of oxygen in the womb.
Midwife Judith Amavu had introduced evidence while in the witness box that contradicted Ms Murphy’s evidence, and which had not been given to either the family or the hospital’s legal teams.
As a result, Laois and Carlow County Coroner Eugene O’Connor suspended the hearing while the hospital’s barrister Will Reidy consulted with the midwife in private.
In giving his verdict, the coroner said: “Some of (the) evidence is conflicting but I don’t think I need to resolve that to reach a verdict in this case
“A silent placental abruption happened over a period of hours, of between no less than two and no more than six hours. That finding is very relevant in this case.
“It appears not to be in dispute that two, if not three guidelines appear not to have been followed.”
He said he had to take into account the fact that between the time Ms Murphy was admitted to the hospital at 1.20am and it was discovered her son had died around 7pm, it was over an extended number of hours.
“This was in the background where two, if not three important guidelines had not been complied with. I am also minded there are inconsistencies in events that occurred and they are part of a sequence of events which do lead me to the conclusion that a verdict of medical misadventure is appropriate in this case.”
The inquest heard that the hospital was aware Ns Murphy had complications that were known to pose a risk to babies in pregnancies, and she also suffered from unexplained internal bruising in her womb.
She should have been fully assessed every four hours but, the inquest heard, she was not.
The coroner is due to make recommendations about Portlaoise Hospital guidelines next week.