Midwife suspended over failings in baby death case
AMIDWIFE has been suspended for 12 months following a series of failings in the care of a mother and her baby who was stillborn.
Kerri Ann Hamblin, who worked in the maternity unit at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, was found to have made several errors which collectively amounted to serious misconduct.
A fitness to practise hearing conducted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) concluded that Mrs Hamblin had demonstrated a “significant number of recording failures” in the care of a mum in labour, known as Mother A, during a night shift between December 5 and 6, 2014.
The hearing found that Mrs Hamblin did not record Mother A’s high blood pressure in patient notes and did not fully document whether a full assessment had been carried out on her.
It was also discovered that the midwife had failed to record that she had administered painkillers cocodamol, pethidine and cyclizine in
Mother A’s maternal notes.
Similarly, Mrs Hamblin did not properly document when she had listened to the unborn baby’s heartbeat and did not complete vaginal examinations or assess the mother prior to administering pain relief.
The NMC report states: “Mrs Hamblin’s actions and omissions demonstrate a pattern of behaviour and would have impacted on other professionals’ ability to understand the holistic care given to Mother A, and to provide continuity of care.”
Mother A, who was in attendance during the hearing held between November 11 and 19 at Holiday Inn, Castle Street, Cardiff, confirmed her baby daughter was stillborn.
“The whole experience, apart from holding my beautiful child, was bad and horrible,” she said.
“I felt utterly abandoned and confused during the process of induction. This was my first child and I had no issues at all throughout my pregnancy.
“I was full term at 39 weeks pregnant and my daughter’s heart continued to beat until just before she was delivered. I find it incomprehensible that a baby can become so ill overnight and nobody notice.
“I trusted we would be looked after and we were not.
“Now my daughter who would have been five years old this December is instead gone, leaving an irreparable gaping hole in our family forever.”
In a separate incident on October 9, 2015, the hearing also found Mrs Hamblin had failed to take and record observations carried out on a different baby, known as Baby B, which amounted to serious misconduct in its own right because it “had the potential to cause harm”.
And on June 14, 2016, Mrs Hamblin’s failure to escalate her concerns about an incident to a more senior member of staff also amounted to serious misconduct.
“This incident should have been reviewed so that any potential harm could be discussed and managed appropriately,” the NMC report states.
The NMC panel determined that Mrs Hamblin’s failings related to “basic and fundamental tenets of midwifery practice” and that her conduct was liable to bring the profession into disrepute.
“She failed to keep accurate records, escalate appropriately and, as a consequence, placed patients at risk of harm,” the report went on to state.
Despite completing a practice programme following the incident involving Mother A on December 5 and 6, 2014, which had addressed the issues highlighted by an investigation, the hearing found that Mrs Hamblin had not demonstrated that she had “remedied her misconduct” and would remain a risk to patients if she were able to practice without restriction.
Although stating that she does not wish to return to the profession, the NMC placed a 12-month suspension order on her.