Warwick Hospital apologises after mistakes led to baby’s death

Sarah and Tyron Kunigiskis lost their son Daniel when he was just four days old after he suffered a lack of oxygen at his birth in Warwick Hospital which resulted in a severe brain injury.

This week Mrs Kunigiskis called on hospitals to be made more accountable for their actions and to be more quick to apologise for their mistakes.

An inquest last year revealed how failings in Daniel’s care during labour had led to his death.

These included three different midwives not reading Mrs Kunigiskis’s antenatal notes which would have flagged her up as a medium risk patient and a failure by staff to monitor the foetal heart properly.

A consultant obstetrician indicated that if he had been aware of the problems during Daniel’s birth he could have ensured delivery 45 minutes earlier - which would have meant he would have survived.

Solicitors Wright Hassall, acting on behalf of the family, also revealed that one of the midwives had made mistakes in the past.

Mrs Kunigiskis said: “The hospital initially tried to imply that there was something wrong with the baby before delivery and would not admit they were at fault.

“During the labour I had a feeling things were going wrong because I had a child before and I was saying, ‘he’s not coming out, he’s not coming out’.”

“They were telling me ‘Oh no, you are fine’. You put your faith in them getting it right and then they make these kind of catastrophic mistakes - it’s then made worse when they won’t admit to it.

“By speaking out now about what happened to Daniel, I hope it can help to put pressure on hospitals and NHS trusts to be more accountable for their actions when mistakes are made.

Jeanette Whyman, the solicitor who acted for the family, said: “One of the most alarming and frustrating aspects of Sarah’s case was the length of time it took the hospital to admit their mistakes....they admitted there were issues with the birth but they didn’t say that had caused the terrible injuries Daniel suffered.”

Helen Lancaster, director of nursing at Warwick Hospital, said: “At the inquest the trust accepted that mistakes were made during the delivery of Daniel Kunigiskis, which we sincerely regret.

“I apologised to the family at the inquest which I then followed up in writing. We have also offered to meet with the family to discuss any additional concerns they still may have and discuss the changes we have made.”