Mum relives devastating hospital ordeal

Jun 14 2009 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

A DEVASTATED woman whose unborn daughter died following a 12-mile dash between two maternity units has finally won a legal battle against health bosses.

Andrea and Dean Harrison couldn’t wait to complete their family with a little girl to join their two young sons, and as soon as they knew they were expecting they named her Olivia.

Yet their excitement turned to tragedy when she died before she could be delivered . . . and heartbroken Andrea laid the blame solely at the door of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

Today, Andrea, 35, has opened her heart to the Sunday Sun after finally settling her dispute with the health trust out of court, and she reveals the high cost of her traumatic ordeal, which led to her splitting from husband Dean, 34.

She said: “I want parents to think long and hard before they decide where their baby is delivered. It really can be a life or death situation.

“People should know this happened . . . what was the point of Olivia’s life if I don’t fight for her?”

On the day Olivia was to be born, Bishop Auckland General Hospital’s maternity service had been downgraded to a low-tech suite only capable of dealing with uncomplicated births.

Andrea – who suffered blood pressure problems during her pregnancy – feared there may be complications but was told it would be fine unless she needed inducing, which would mean transferring to Darlington Memorial Hospital.

She was sent to the Bishop Auckland labour ward even though a community midwife had earlier expressed concerns over baby Olivia’s rapid heartbeat.

At the hospital, tests showed Olivia was distressed and that she would have to be induced . . . yet there were no doctors on hand and no spare ambulances, so Andrea and Dean were told to drive themselves to Darlington in the family car.

Andrea suffered agonising pain during the 45-minute journey and had to walk to the labour ward before she was rushed off for an emergency Caesarian.

Wiping away tears, she recalled: “I had to be awake because they thought the baby was still alive. But I knew something was wrong because everyone was so quiet.

“I heard the doctor say ‘the placenta is present’ but that always comes after the baby and I couldn’t hear any sound.

“I kept saying ‘something’s wrong’ and my husband peered over the curtain and saw them trying to resuscitate her. They worked on her for about 17 minutes, but she was gone.

“No words can explain what I was feeling. It was horrendous.

“Then we had to tell the boys . . . how do you tell your children that you aren’t bringing their baby sister home?

“Alex was three at the time and Elliot was eight.

“For a good year after, every time we went to her grave my three-year-old would still say ‘Are you going to bring her home now? Is she going to wake up now?’. He couldn’t understand why she wasn’t home.”

Meanwhile, as news of the Harrisons’ loss spread, their home was inundated with cards and flowers from well-wishers . . . gifts that should have been to celebrate their new arrival.