Midwives linked to deaths of two babies struck off

Two midwives who failed to seek emergency care for two newborn babies who later died have been struck off the nursing register.

Jasper White died in June 2019 and Margot Bowtell died in May 2020 after being delivered at the Cheltenham Birth Centre in Gloucestershire.

Hazel Williams and Lisa Land were struck off on Wednesday after a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel heard both babies may have lived if they had heeded warning signs.

Panel chair Derek McFaull said allowing Ms Land and Ms Williams to continue to practice “would undermine public confidence” in midwifery.

Neither midwife was present or represented at the hearing.

The birth centre, part of the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, allowed women with low-risk pregnancies to give birth away from a busy hospital.

But there were no emergency facilities and in the event of complications, patients should have been transferred to the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, a 30-minute drive away.

Jasper’s health deteriorated within minutes of being born, but there was a 50-minute delay in transferring him to the neonatal unit in Gloucester, the NMC panel heard.

He died 11 hours after being born.

The NMC panel heard that Ms Williams had encouraged Ms Land to change notes describing Jasper’s condition as “poor” to “good” three days after his death.

Ms Williams later added extra entries to his notes.

Margot’s mother Laura Bowtell had two instances of blood stained amniotic fluid during labour, which should have immediately resulted in her transfer to hospital.

She requested an ambulance three times but Ms Williams ignored her, the panel was told.

Margot was not breathing when she was born and was rushed to hospital but she passed away three days later.

The panel concluded that Ms Williams and Ms Land’s actions had resulted in both Jasper and Margot “losing a significant chance of survival”.

Striking them off the register, Mr McFaull said neither Ms William and Ms Land had demonstrated evidence of “insight, remediation or remorse” for their actions.

He added the case had involved “vulnerable victims and a direct risk to people receiving care”.

Mr McFaull noted Ms Williams was a senior manger at the unit and she had influenced Ms Land to falsify notes.

But he added as a midwife of 10 years’ experience “Ms Land ought to have known better and adhered to the NMC code”.

He said that striking them off was necessary to “send both the public and the profession a clear message about the standards expected of a registered midwife”.

Mrs Bowtell told the BBC the fact her daughter may have lived had Ms Land and Ms Williams taken action was “something we will have to live with for the rest of our lives”.

“Knowing that our daughter could be here - no parent should have to live with that,” she said.

“There were plenty of missed opportunities to escalate my care during my pregnancy as well as during my birth.”

When asked how she felt about the two midwives being struck off, she replied: “This is justice for Margot and baby Jasper.”

Former midwife Michelle Prudence was a key whistleblower in the investigation into the two deaths.

She was part of the team that took Margot to hospital and was involved in attempts to resuscitate her.

“I gave everything that day. I gave my heart and soul to try and keep Margot alive and part of me died that day," she said.

Ms Williams and Ms Land have 28 days to appeal the panel's decision.

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