'Our voices were not heard'

Parents of a baby who died only hours after her birth have spoken of their devastation at delays and “multiple errors” before and after their daughter’s delivery, which a Coroner has said were linked to her death and her life would have been “prolonged” if she has been delivered earlier.

Neha Rajesh was 13 hours old when she died in her father’s arms at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, following delays in her mother having the caesarean section birth she repeatedly asked for - despite increasing concerns for the unborn baby’s health.

At the inquest into Neha’s death, Essex Coroner Sonia Hayes pointed to a “lack of a plan” around Neha’s delivery and absence of “holistic care” for Neha’s mother Divya, with poor communication between maternity and neonatal teams within the hospital and a lack of action following concerning CTG readings before Neha’s birth.

Ms Hayes also pointed to the fact that Divya should have remained on the labour ward and not been transferred to the Day Assessment Unit before her caesarean – which, despite Divya being referred as an emergency, took over four hours to action. Neha was also not intubated for more than two hours after her birth, at 10.56pm on May 7, 2024, despite having problems taking in oxygen.

The Coroner concluded that had Neha – whose cause of death was hypoxic brain injury and pulmonary hypertension - been delivered earlier, her life would have been “prolonged” with the development of hypertension “probably being avoided”.

Neha’s devastated parents, Divya and Rajesh, have now spoken about how they feel their concerns were not taken seriously ahead of Neha’s delivery, and how they felt “dismissed” by medics. They have called for urgent change and improvement so such issues in care cannot devastate more families.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has admitted that Neha should have been delivered earlier on May 7. The Coroner said she would be submitting a Prevention of Future Deaths report regarding the hospital’s approach to intubation.

“As parents we tried to explain our concerns and how worried we were about our baby. However, it often felt as though our voices were not heard,” says Rajesh.

“We trusted the hospital and believed that our baby was in safe hands. Learning that there were points where different decisions or actions might have changed the outcome leaves us with deep sadness, frustration and heartbreak.

“The last two years have been the most painful and difficult time of our lives. Losing Neha has left a deep and permanent void in our family. Every day we think about the life she should have had and the memories we will never get to create with her.

“Instead of watching her grow, we are living with grief and the constant thought that things might have been different if our concerns had been taken seriously.

“Much of the past two years has been spent trying to understand what went wrong and why our worries as parents were not properly heard when we repeatedly sought help.”

When Divya went to Broomfield Hospital at 35 weeks’ pregnant, showing signs of pre-term labour, options around her birth were discussed – Divya and Rajesh say they repeatedly raised their preference for a planned caesarean section birth, believing it would be the safest option. The Coroner said it was well documented that the couple were vocal in their opinion that they wanted a caesarean birth.

But while she first went to Broomfield Hospital on May 5, 2024, “abnormal” CTG readings on May 7 were not escalated and Diyva was moved from the labour ward to the Day Assessment Unit, where she did not receive continuous monitoring. It was not until 5pm that a caesarean was recommended by medics – and Neha was not actually delivered until 10.56pm.

Neha needed resuscitating after birth, and was not intubated until concerns were raised by nurses when she was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Tragically, only hours later, at 1pm on May 8, she died in her father’s arms after her care was withdrawn.

Rajesh says he and his wife are haunted by the failings in the care given to their daughter, and how different things could have been.

“We were concerned about our baby and wanted to make sure everything was safe – but despite being in the hospital and raising our concerns, we felt that the seriousness of the situation was not recognised,” he says.

“Instead of feeling supported, we often felt that our worries were dismissed, almost as if we were worrying for no reason. We trusted the medical professionals and believed that they would carefully assess the situation and act if something was not right. Looking back now, it feels like there were several opportunities where further checks or earlier action could have been taken.”

The bereaved parents are calling for lessons to be learned by Broomfield Hospital – particularly with regard to listening to parents and taking their concerns seriously.

“We believe that parents’ voices must be properly listened to. When parents repeatedly say that something does not feel right, those concerns should never be dismissed,” says Rajesh.

“There must be better communication and genuine shared decision making between medical professionals and parents, particularly when discussing delivery options and risks. Parents should feel that their concerns matter and that they are part of the decisions about their baby’s care.

“Most importantly, warning signs should be taken seriously and acted on quickly. Our hope is that by understanding what happened in Neha’s case, lessons will be learned so that no other family has to go through the devastating loss that we have experienced.”

Divya and Rajesh are being supported by law firm Slater and Gordon, with specialist clinical negligence solicitor Emily Welstead acting for them against Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust. They were represented at inquest by Stuart Brady at Farrar’s Building Chambers.

“Divya and Rajesh have suffered the most unimaginable loss and are understandably traumatised by the way they lost their precious daughter. To know things could have been so different had they received the care and compassion they were entitled to expect is absolutely heartbreaking,” says senior associate Emily.

“We will support them in every way possible in finding the answers and accountability they need over what went wrong here, and led to the worst possible consequences for their family.”