'Reasonable precautions' could have stopped deaths of three babies at Lanarkshire hospitals

"Reasonable precautions" could person prevented the deaths of 3 newborn babies, a fatal mishap enquiry has found.

Leo Lamont, Ellie McCormick and Mira-Belle Bosch each died wrong hours of their births successful 2 Lanarkshire hospitals, successful 2019 and 2021.

The study recovered each 3 deaths could "realistically" person been avoided had the children's mothers been asked to spell into infirmary erstwhile they called to study problems, alternatively than being told to stay astatine home.

The McCormick household said they could "never person imagined" the magnitude of failures that led to their daughter's decease and called it a "catalogue of errors".

The enquiry ruled "defects" wrong the strategy contributed to each death, including that determination was a "lack of an effectual means" to item risks successful 1 of the pregnancies and that midwives had nary guidance to measure preterm labour symptoms.

Sheriff Principal Aisha Answar KC made 11 recommendations for the future, including creating a "trigger list" to place and measure aboriginal labour symptoms.

Among these are reviewing physics diligent accusation records to amended alerts for astatine hazard mothers, and having a nonstop telephone enactment to each maternity portion successful Scotland for ambulance crews.

In a statement, the McCormick household said: "The household could simply ne'er person imagined the standard of some the idiosyncratic and systems failures that came to airy during the inquiry.

"What seemed to beryllium flaws with the physics strategy of grounds keeping really turned retired to beryllium a catalogue of errors with galore opportunities to debar the tragic result that followed.

"It was highly hard for the household to perceive the grounds and speechmaking the determination is bittersweet successful presumption of achieving immoderate consciousness of closure but besides learning erstwhile again however antithetic things ought to person been."

The household added they hoped each the inquiry's recommendations would beryllium implemented.

Leo Lamont died connected 15 February 2019 astatine University Hospital, Monklands, conscionable 2 hours aft birth.

His household called the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital successful Glasgow due to the fact that mum Nadine Rooney was experiencing "agony backmost pains" – but the midwife triaging the telephone didn't spot it arsenic a motion of preterm labour for her astatine 27 weeks.

This was contempt Ms Rooney being considered a precocious hazard pregnancy, having antecedently fixed commencement to a preterm babe and being a smoker.

She was alternatively advised to instrumentality painkillers, and gave commencement little than 2 hours aboriginal connected her bath level astatine home.

By the clip an ambulance unit arrived her lad was bluish successful colour - known arsenic cyanosed - and struggling to breathe.

He was aboriginal pronounced dormant astatine University Hospital, and Sheriff Anwar recovered that had Ms Rooney been told to spell to infirmary the decease could person been avoided.

Ellie McCormick was considered a precocious hazard gestation owed to her parent Nicola having a precocious BMI.

She antecedently reported bleeding and reduced foetal question but aft introspection her observations were considered to beryllium wrong mean limits.

On 4 March 2019 she called Wishaw General Hospital to study that she was experiencing contractions, and was told to instrumentality painkillers and telephone backmost aboriginal if she continued to person problems.

Ms McCormick called backmost that evening astatine astir 19:30 and was told to spell to the hospital, wherever an exigency caesarean was carried out.

However, Ellie McCormick had been deprived of oxygen and died successful the aboriginal hours of 5 March, astir 5 hours aft birth.

Experts agreed that had Ms McCormick been advised to travel successful astatine the clip of her archetypal telephone connected 4 March Ellie would person apt survived.

She should person been advised of the request for induction astatine oregon earlier 40 weeks gestation during a erstwhile appraisal successful February.

Mira-Belle Bosch died connected 2 July 2021 astatine Wishaw General Hospital, 12 hours aft her birth.

She had suffered a encephalon wounded caused by a deficiency of oxygen during labour.

Her parent Rozelle called Wishaw General to study her waters had breached and she was suffering contractions connected 30 June, but aft attending the infirmary was discharged.

The pursuing time she again called astir contractions and was told to stay astatine home, lone to springiness commencement that evening.

Paramedics who attended the country past made further calls for assistance, including 5 calls to Wishaw General that went unanswered.

Sheriff Anwar recovered unit were excessively reliant connected NHS Lanarkshire guidance to hold 47 hours aft waters had breached earlier inducing labour and this had contributed to the decease of Mira-Belle.

The enquiry stated Rozelle Bosch should person been asked to spell for induction 24 hours aft her waters had broken.

Sheriff Anwar said she acknowledged the "pain and suffering" each household had been done with the deaths.

She said: "The decease of a kid is an unimaginable and profoundly achy lawsuit successful immoderate parent's life; 1 from which it is undoubtedly hard to recover.

"What ought to person been a clip of solemnisation for the parents and families who awaited the births of Leo, Ellie and Mira-Belle, turned to 1 of sorrow and tragedy."

Procurator Fiscal Andy Shanks, who leads connected fatalities investigations for the Crown Office, said helium hoped the enquiry would springiness the families "the answers they sought" aft "overwhelming loss".