Premature baby's care 'unacceptable' - parents

The parents of a premature baby boy who died just hours after his birth have described the care he received in hospital as "unacceptable".

Benjamin Arnold developed breathing difficulties shortly after being born just over five weeks before his due date at St James's Hospital in Leeds in 2022.

Doctors "missed" opportunities to diagnose a pneumothorax, also known as a collapsed lung, and had this been treated he would likely have survived, area coroner Oliver Longstaff said at an inquest.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT), which runs the hospital, said it was "extremely sorry that Benjamin died whilst in our care".

Mr Longstaff's narrative conclusion, following the inquest into Benjamin's death at Wakefield Coroner's Court last week, said the baby had "collapsed" during a procedure to help his underdeveloped lungs to breathe three hours after his birth.

Efforts to resuscitate him were ultimately unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead less than eight hours after he was born.

Mr Longstaff said there was a "missed opportunity to consider the possibility" of a pneumothorax early on in the process, because procedure policy "did not mandate a chest X-ray", which he said would probably have revealed it.

A further opportunity was also missed when the medic performing the procedure did not discuss it with the neonatal consultant involved, the coroner added.

The consultant would likely have asked if a pneumothorax had been ruled out as a cause of Benjamin's condition, the conclusion read.

Mr Longstaff said: "No thought was given to the pneumothorax being a potential, and potentially reversible, cause of the collapse.

"If they had been treated he would have, on the balance of probabilities, survived."

The coroner said he was preparing a prevention of future deaths report, which would examine what lessons could be learned from the case and that would be published in due course.

In a statement to the BBC, Benjamin's parents said: "We are devastated by Benjamin's death.

"The standard of care he received was unacceptable.

"We urge Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to take the prevention of future deaths report seriously.

"We ask the government to urgently provide the funding for the new hospital building in Leeds.

"This would allow all maternity and neonatal care to be provided from a single site and improve patient safety. This cannot wait any longer."

In January, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the planned redevelopment of Leeds General Infirmary would not begin before 2030.

At the time Professor Phil Wood, chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said he was "extremely disappointed" by the delay.

Following the inquest, Dr Magnus Harrison, LTHT's medical director, said: "I am extremely sorry Benjamin died whilst in our care and I cannot imagine how difficult the last three years have been for his family.

"I want to reassure everyone that we have already made important changes to improve our neonatal service.

"These include changes to our policies to have a consultant neonatologist available on each hospital site and involving them earlier in the delivery of complex clinical procedures.

"While we recognise these do not undo the loss of Benjamin, we will continue to review our service and make improvements so we can deliver the best possible care for our babies and their families."

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