Coroner Karen Harrold said Rafe Angelo died shortly after birth from oxygen deprivation due to what she called a “critical system failure.”
PORTSMOUTH, England — A newborn baby died after transport delays that included an EMS crew stopping for a bathroom break.
According to the BBC, Kellly Angelo was giving birth at a midwife-led birthing center when she felt “something was wrong” and asked to be transferred to a hospital, according to a hearing that was held about the incident.
It was then said in the hearing that it took several hours for the hospital transfer request to be granted, because the midwife was new and didn’t know how to make an emergency call.
The responding EMS crew was allegedly not told the call was critical and took a 13-minute bathroom break before arriving at the birthing center.
“Based on the information provided, the call was categorized as requiring an emergency ambulance response within 30 minutes,” director of operations Mark Ainsworth said. “Midwifery staff were not familiar with the Time Critical Transfer Process for requesting an ambulance.”
Upon arrival, Angelo was then allegedly taken to the wrong door and was not met by doctors. Angelo’s lawyer, Victoria Hydon, said the hospital was also not warned about the seriousness of the situation, which caused another 20-minute delay.
Angelo’s baby, Rafe, died 37 minutes after he was born, and officials said his death could have been prevented if not for the delays.
Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs both the hospital and birthing center, said changes have been made after the fatal incident.
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