NHS trust apology after boy's stillbirth in 2013

A hospital trust has apologised for failures in its care before a mother gave birth to her stillborn son more than 10 years ago.

Kaiden Brunt was delivered at 39 weeks and four days at Nottingham City Hospital in April 2013.

Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust - whose maternity services are currently subject to the largest review of its kind in NHS history - failed to follow up signs of an abnormal heart rate or induce pregnancy.

Hayley Brunt said the loss of her son "destroyed my life for many years".

Ms Brunt, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, had no issues with her pregnancy until January 2013, when at 27 weeks she began to feel reduced movement in the womb.

She was given assurances not to worry but the following month spent two days in hospital due to vaginal bleeding, and had two more episodes of reduced movement in March and April, both of which resulted in her being returned home.

On 22 April - one week from her due date - a test showed signs of heart rate abnormality, but the test was not continued and Ms Brunt was sent home.

She attended a growth scan the following day but on 24 April, she was told a scan had showed the baby had died, and an induced stillbirth took place two days later.

Ms Brunt said she did not feel her concerns were taken seriously as she was only 15 years old at the time, adding her mental health suffered as she blamed herself for Kaiden's death.

"The deep grief I experienced over my son's death resulted in my mental health spiralling over many years," she said.

"I blamed myself for his death and only because of the Donna Ockenden inquiry did I find out about how much had gone wrong in my maternity care."

In December 2022, Ms Brunt received a letter from NUH chief executive Anthony May apologising for failings, and also explaining Kaiden's stillbirth had been identified as a relevant case for the review.

After receiving a letter of claim in February this year, NUH has written to Ms Brunt to admit liability over Kaiden's death.

Tracy Pilcher, chief nurse at the trust, said: "I would like to apologise to Hayley for mistakes made during the birth of her son in 2013, and that the details of the subsequent investigation into his death were not shared with her at the time.

"We are committed to making improvements in this area and all investigations into cases like Hayley's are now being carried out along with families."

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