Hospital ‘sorry’ over IVF tragedy
AN NHS Trust has apologised for “serious failures” after a mother died while starved of oxygen in labour.
Joanne Lockham, 45, had endured years of IVF treatment before falling pregnant with her first baby.
But she never saw her son Finn after a catalogue of mistakes at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Bucks, in October 2007.
Mrs Lockham, a nurse, suffered a heart attack just one minute after her son – who is being brought up by husband Peter – was safely delivered.
Yesterday an inquest jury identified four serious failings in the way Mrs Lockham was treated. This included the failure of hospital staff to provide her with 100 per cent oxygen and failure to use a machine to measure her carbon dioxide levels.
Recording a narrative verdict, the jury also said medics wasted time by repeatedly attempting to ventilate Mrs Lockham. Yesterday the hospital trust apologised to the family and said steps had been taken.